Lago di Resia Bell Tower

Lago di Resia (Reschensee), at the head of the Val Venosta in the far west of South Tyrol where Italy meets Austria and Switzerland, holds one of the most surreal and haunting images in the country: the slender 14th-century stone bell tower of a drowned village rising straight out of the reservoir's water. The tower is all that remains of the old village of Graun (Curon), flooded in 1950 when the valley was dammed for hydroelectric power, and the sight of the lone Romanesque campanile standing in the lake against a backdrop of high, often snow-capped peaks has become an emblem of the region. The photographic frame is simple but powerful: the tower isolated in the expanse of water, or set small against the mountains, with the shoreline and reeds as foreground. A telephoto lens isolates the tower and compresses it against the peaks, while a wide-angle places it in the broad sweep of lake and mountains; the classic viewpoint is from the western shore near Curon Venosta, where a flat lakeside path gives easy access. Because the lake is large and open, it works in soft light at both ends of the day, with sunrise and sunset giving warm tone and calm water for reflections, and overcast or misty conditions lending an eerie, melancholy mood that suits the subject. The lake is high and exposed, popular with windsurfers, so wind frequently ruffles the surface; the stillest water for reflections usually comes early in the morning. The site is free to visit with easy parking, and the standard viewpoints involve only a short, flat walk, while a longer lakeside trail and cycle route extend the options. The most dramatic conditions come in deep winter, when the lake freezes solid enough to walk out across the ice to the base of the tower, allowing close, low-angle compositions impossible in summer, and snow and mist transform the scene. Because the valley sits near 1,500 metres, it stays cold and windy year-round, so warm layers and protection for the gear against wind-blown spray or snow are sensible. For the strongest image, shoot from the western shore in the calm of early morning or the warm light of evening, isolating the tower against the water and the peaks.