1923-2023: THE CENTENARY OF THE GLENO DAM'S FAILURE (PO BASIN, BERGAMO-NORTHERN ITALY)

The first design of a dam in the Pian del Gleno dates back to 1919 and included a gravity dam; in 1923, a design variant was presented which envisaged a buttress and arch dam about 30 m high above the already created plug on the ravine. The collapse of the Gleno dam occurred on Dec. 1, 1923, immediately after being completed and filled up for 46 days. From the 80 m long breach, the outrush of water went down the Val di Scalve and the Val Camonica, reaching the Iseo Lake and destroying everything on its path. From the trial it emerged: incompetent direction and supervision; use of poor building materials, also badly manipulated for economic reasons; the dam was placed directly on the bedrock; the design changed several times as works were in progress without appropriate control of the Civil Engineers Board. In 1927, the Court of Bergamo stated that the defendants V. Viganò, owner of the dam, and G.B. Santangelo, designer and construction manager, were guilty of the crime ascribed and sentenced them to 3 years and 4 months imprisonment, the payment of Lire 7,500 and to refund the legal expenses and the compensation to the plaintiffs. In 1928, the Milan Court of Appeal pronounced the sentence of acquittance for G.B. Santangelo "due to lack of evidence" and V. Viganò, due to death.