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00:00Jewels of the Alps.
00:16The five largest lakes of Upper Italy.
00:23Born of glaciers.
00:27Shaped by water.
00:30Tamed by the human hand.
00:35They tell stories of nature and culture.
00:42In the rhythm of the seasons, they all show a changing face.
00:53Each in its own way.
01:00Where the top of the Italian boot meets the central European continent lie the lakes of Upper Italy.
01:18In easy reach of both Venice and Milan, their beaches and rocky shorelines are an attractive getaway destination.
01:28Lake Iseo is no exception.
01:30Called the Lake of a Thousand Faces, the Lago Iseo is perhaps the wildest of them all.
01:40Fall had arrived at Lake Iseo.
01:47Shortly after dawn, it was still quite cold in the valley.
01:54Even at the southernmost end, where the lake feeds into a peat bog conservation area.
02:06Only a few designated individuals are allowed to enter the core zone of the Torbiere del Zebino.
02:21Once a source of peat and clay for local villagers, the peat bogs of Zebino are now a sanctuary for local animals.
02:29Ornithologist Paolo Trotti visits regularly to monitor the condition and composition of the constantly changing bird population.
02:41Paolo's companion was here for the first time.
03:08Did you hear that?
03:11That's a penduline tit.
03:13A little songbird that nests only in reeds and wetlands of this kind.
03:19Look, there's a kingfisher.
03:22Right, perched on a willow.
03:25They love to perch on willows.
03:28From there they can stake out the little fish.
03:31Are those seagulls?
03:33Yes, those are common seagulls.
03:36They come here when the cold season begins, gathering the hundreds and thousands here in the south, in this peat bog.
03:47While many birds only visit the moor in transit, the nutria has now become a permanent resident.
03:54The forebears of this native of South America first came to Italy a good hundred years ago.
04:11The Torbiere del Zebino offers both migratory and sedentary animals food and refuge.
04:30The name Torbiere del Zebino is derived from the Latin name of the lake.
04:37Lacus Zebinus.
04:40Italy's sixth largest lake.
04:43In addition to its size, the Zebino is also known for frequent weather changes.
04:54Although it's always warm enough for the migratory birds from northern Europe that winter here.
05:04The lake's aquatic plants are a good food source and provide safe cover.
05:19both for potential prey and for the predators.
05:36Countless shellfish populate Lake Iseo, along with catfish and crayfish.
05:49The underwater world of this 250 meter deep lago is also home to many an enigma.
05:57No one can remember how this Madonna got there.
06:10In late fall, the water near the surface is quite calm.
06:16With one exception.
06:27A local legend on its last trip before the winter break.
06:33First launched in the 1950s on Lake Iseo, Riva motorboats were soon world famous.
06:40Every fall, some of the iconic old timers return to their native shipyard at the southern end of the lake.
07:01Each surviving Riva boat is a precious one-of-a-kind, treated here to expert TLC.
07:22After the careful restoration, the boats enjoy a long, cozy winter beauty sleep.
07:36At the southern tip of Lago Dizeo, the mahogany of the boat furnishings is not the only exotic wood around.
07:57Here, where the lake flows into the river Olio, it holds a real surprise in store.
08:11In the late 19th century, a businessman from Sarnico brought specimens of the bald cypress back from Florida
08:19and planted the Bosco dei Tacxodi along the riverbank.
08:23Although they stand in water, the trees can grow to a height of 40 meters and can live for up to a thousand years.
08:39And when a bald cypress does finally die, it lives on in its offshoots.
08:44These giant trees have a special knee just above the roots that stabilize them and support their oxygen supply.
08:53In late fall, the female buds of the bald cypress mature into globus cones.
09:10Just like large trees, they shed their needles every winter.
09:21Now deeply rooted in Lake Izeo, the imported forest has long become an organic habitat for native animals.
09:28Frogs soak up all the sun they can before their winter torpor.
09:46A dragonfly couple lays eggs in the shallow water.
09:50The larvae hatch in spring.
09:53But the parents die even before the onset of winter.
10:06The bald cypress forest was now in fall mode.
10:09Millipede larvae were leaving the treetops to spend the cold season underground.
10:21The high humidity promotes the growth of mushrooms.
10:24Despite the bald cypress trees' autumn leaves, that afternoon the cebino again flashed a radiant sunny smile.
10:44Suddenly, winter seemed very far off indeed.
10:59The wall lizards were in high spirits, no doubt buoyed by the warmth of the afternoon sun.
11:19And the sounds of spring had suddenly returned as well.
11:22All around the lake, songbirds were in the mood for love.
11:39Having just fled the coming winter in northern Europe, their mating calls now filled the fall air.
11:45The cause of the confusion?
11:54Hunters.
12:04Bird hunters.
12:15They keep their decoy birds in the dark until fall.
12:21When the animals finally see the light of day, they think it's springtime and strike up their mating song.
12:31Hearing the racket, thousands of migratory birds heading south make a pit stop to visit with their loved-up feathered friends.
12:38But instead of a willing mate, they are met here with a shotgun.
12:48Shooting birds for personal need is legal in Italy.
12:53Activists may only intervene when someone kills protected species or is caught selling songbird meat.
13:02Andrea Rutigliano gathers evidence in a hunting enclosure.
13:05These casings show the calibre the hunter used.
13:12They are small calibre, which means he was hunting small birds.
13:16A couple of weeks ago, here in a camouflaged shed, we caught a hunter shooting protected songbirds.
13:23At his home, we found another 788 small birds, all protected species, already plucked and ready for sale on the black market.
13:32Here, the decoy birds we seized from that hunter this morning.
13:45A brambling with spring plumage.
13:48He used these birds to make spring.
13:50Here we have a beautiful whorefinch. I can't release it yet because it's not perfectly fit.
13:57When they're in good shape, we release them right away.
14:01But if they're missing feathers, we wait a while, until they've regained their muscle tone.
14:05This one will be gone in a week. I'll put it in a bigger cage, then release it.
14:08Despite hostility and threats, Andrea has fought illegal bird hunting for 20 years.
14:20For me, a songbird is extremely valuable. I was raised to think of their welfare and to love them.
14:26Whenever I see a songbird, it fills me with great joy.
14:31Knowing that they're being systematically slaughtered in 7,000 hidden sheds here in Brescia province alone, it doesn't bear thinking about.
14:40So what I do think about are ways of stopping or reducing these activities as much as possible.
14:45Although we're outnumbered, it's not like Don Quixote tilting at windmills.
14:53The important thing is to take action.
14:55Every effort makes a difference because the hunters now realize that the wind has changed.
15:00Stopping them for good? That could take a long time.
15:03We're getting older, but so are they. And they're older than us.
15:15As if to encourage the bird activists, dusk brought a stunning spectacle.
15:28Thousands of starlings flying in formation in the skies above Lake Iseo.
15:45As if the birds spend the cool way in February, there are another few weeks in the Great we deliver.
15:58The birds spend the cool fall nights in the trees on the eastern shore, huddled up close
16:19for warmth.
16:25More and fewer of them continue on to southern Italy or North Africa.
16:33With current global warming, the winters here have become increasingly mild.
16:46Some believe the lack of cold has its advantages.
16:54But on Lago d'Iseo, climate change is already having a noticeable negative effect, for example
17:00on the island in the middle of the lake.
17:04Monte Isola, the largest island within a lake in southern Europe.
17:10It has a circumference of 9 kilometers and towers more than 400 meters above the water.
17:23The island is largely car-free and can only be reached by ferry.
17:44The first olive groves here were terraced way back in early Roman times.
17:54Several of the heirloom varieties have survived over the centuries, although the harvesting
18:03techniques have been modernized.
18:05Now-a-days, the islanders use battery-operated shaking machines to coax the olives into the
18:11nets.
18:13The terracing, plus the force of gravity, makes collecting the olives easier.
18:36Maurizio Ribola eagerly awaits them down below.
18:49It's my job to extract the oil from the olives, cultivated here in the typical terraced groves.
19:00As an island, we have a unique microclimate, which enables us to produce a unique oil.
19:06You could say it's unlike any other in the world.
19:12A few years ago, Maurizio acquired a small oil mill, hoping to raise the profile of the
19:18island's ancient olive varieties.
19:20Why do I do this work?
19:23I was born in Monte Isola, and I'm very attached to this area.
19:28I probably have it in my blood, in my DNA.
19:33Maurizio made a major investment with the aim of building up a healthy business, together
19:38with the island's olive farmers.
19:41But there are problems.
19:46This year we've had a 95 percent loss of product.
19:50That change can definitely be felt in the olive production on Monte Isola too.
19:57My grandfather is now 90 years old.
20:00When he used to harvest in November, although there was no snow, the temperatures were around
20:05freezing and it was a brutal cold.
20:10Nowadays we harvest at 25 degrees Celsius.
20:14The change has put pressure on the plants, disrupting their natural northern Italian habitat.
20:27Instead of the usual weeks of intensive work, Maurizio would now press the entire annual harvest
20:34in a single evening.
20:38A worrying development that has already prompted Italy to react.
20:44It is the first country in the world to introduce climate change into the school curriculum at
20:49all levels.
20:54Monocultures are a critical aspect.
21:06Fresh approaches, new ideas are needed.
21:10And on Monte Isola, you don't have to look far to find them.
21:17A former olive grove in the northwest of the island is now a lush garden of diverse edible delights.
21:33This is the realm of the Dame Rosse.
21:39On ancestral land, in the family for generations, two sisters work to harness the power of diversity.
21:51With a mixture of traditional knowledge and forward-looking action, Giovanna and Monica Archini are true trailblazers.
22:03The two were born and raised with a love of agriculture.
22:10Our passion for the Dame Rosse, the Red Ladies, comes from our grandfather.
22:15But he farmed for subsistence and made no profit.
22:19We decided to switch to a more diverse cultivation, instead of just olives and corn.
22:25So we added saffron, then soft fruits, and slowly, we're evolving.
22:37Saffron cultivation has a long tradition in Italy, dating back to the 13th century.
22:46In late November, Giovanna harvests the precious crocus blossoms every morning for two weeks.
23:01The sisters then meet up in the farm kitchen to process the delicate produce.
23:07The business is not yet turning a profit, but the women enjoy the fruits of their labors nevertheless.
23:14Well, I'm a big eater, and my favorite dish is saffron risotto.
23:22It was always my dream to grow it here, and that's how our saffron production was born.
23:29To make risotto with your own saffron is a whole new proposition.
23:34It's so satisfying to smell the scent, to handpick it, to taste the saffron threads, it's all just something else.
23:41Two to three threads are carefully removed from each blossom and laid out to dry.
23:50Just one of the many tasks that the sisters carry out in their daily work together.
23:57It's nice to work with your own sister. Very nice.
24:11Yeah, even when we've had a fight, we still call each other that same night.
24:16We work well together. We don't always agree, but we always try to find the middle ground.
24:26Their agreement to focus on diversity is already paying off.
24:30The advantage of diversity becomes apparent in a year like this, when there are no olives.
24:39So at least we can count on the saffron. At least we have an income.
24:44Our father is 81 years old, and he's never seen a year like this. Not ever.
24:51Climate change has probably begun to affect the plants.
25:01Daily changes of weather, on the other hand, has been the norm in late fall on Lago Diceo for centuries.
25:19In the forests on the northern side of the lake, a sudden hailstorm.
25:30The temperature dropped immediately.
25:42Up in the mountains, the first snowfall already lay on the ground.
25:53For mountain animals, that meant major changes in daily life.
25:57The wanderings of the rutting chamois bucks would now be considerably more strenuous.
26:07And with fresh snow on the ground, the red fox would have to sniff harder to read the scent marks of prey and fellow foxes.
26:14In rutting season, chamois bucks visit various herds and challenge the other males to a fight.
26:29The buck that forces his opponent to flee often then scores with the females.
26:47The losers have to wander on.
26:54On the western side of Lake Diceo, there is a place where seasons play no role at all.
27:06Fifteen years ago, in the hinterland of the village Fonteno, researchers discovered a vast cave system.
27:23In the Bueno Fonteno, nature calls the shots.
27:27He who would enter the cave has to play by its rules.
27:38The cave explorers had spent months planning their expedition.
27:41The river system in a remote cave passage had not yet been documented.
27:58The coming 48 hours would change all that.
28:01Here, every move must be well considered.
28:12Speleology, the study of caves, is dangerous and difficult, slippery and cold.
28:19But Fabio Gatti is a true enthusiast.
28:21The passion for Speleology is sort of like falling in love.
28:28You enter a cave for the first time, and without knowing why, you feel good.
28:34No matter how cold it is, or how cramped and uncomfortable, you still feel good.
28:40And suddenly, you don't ever want to be without it again.
28:45You want to keep going further and deeper into it.
28:48When things go well, you can discover incredible things for the first time.
28:53And if you're really lucky, like we are, you have a completely free hand in your research.
28:58The karst cave system is over 32 kilometers long and extends down to depths of 500 meters.
29:19Water is its architect.
29:21It's a long, arduous way down.
29:35So stops for rest and fueling up are important.
29:39Until deep into the night, the cavers tweaked their plans and prepared their equipment.
29:51They wouldn't reach the subterranean river until the next day.
30:04The caves in the cliff coast opposite are man-made, allowing trains to go through the mountains instead of over them.
30:22The little village Velo looks out over the northeastern half of Lake Iseo.
30:35Depending on the season, a train passes by on the singletrack and the road.
30:53As often as every half hour.
30:54Depending on the season, a train passes by on the singletrack as often as every half hour.
31:06A deafening disruption that the villagers of Velo have lived with for over a hundred years.
31:22A deafening disruption that the villagers of Velo have lived with for over a hundred years.
31:27A deafening disruption that was provided for an unknown-of-case basis for a short-termibility event at an top ten-year-old.
31:43At the same time, the traffic lights don't set up to be shared in areas with the central camps.
31:47Back to the city of Veloos, the road of the city of Veloos.
31:50Without its train traffic, Velo would be the epitome of a sleepy lakeside village, especially
32:06in the fall with no tourists meandering through its little lanes.
32:18The only sign of life now was in the pastor's garden by the church.
32:33Marinated fresh water sardines from the lake and freshly foraged sweet chestnuts would make
32:39a simple wholesome dinner.
32:49You might think you were in paradise if it weren't for the last train of the evening.
32:54The olive farmers of Monte Isola bringing their entire annual yield harvested in just a single
33:17day to Maurizio Ribola's oil mill.
33:22This year he was mixing varieties to get as much oil as possible.
33:29The whole fruit, pits and all, goes through the press.
33:34It is very important that olive trees survive here because the olive is synonymous with family,
33:44a plant that brings people together.
33:50To abandon this culture would be to betray the tradition of the region.
33:55We must never allow that to happen.
34:01This year there would be no oil for sale, but there would at least be enough to supply the
34:06local families for the winter.
34:17At the end of the night, a strange fog swept through the Cebino Valley.
34:27A fog so thick and heavy that it seemed able to awaken woodland spirits.
34:42When the fog lifted, the Bosco degli Gnomi, the forest of the gnomes, was revealed in all its glory.
35:00The wooden figures are the work of an artist known as Il Rosso.
35:23The suite of 70 sculptures guides hikers all the way from Lake Iseo up into the mountains.
35:40Meanwhile, the caver's wake-up call was late.
35:46Maurizio, time to get up.
35:50Mamma mia!
35:51I'm still so tired.
35:53The explorers had gone to bed at 4 a.m.
35:57Getting up now was a chore.
35:59Come on, guys!
36:03Duty calls!
36:05But for Italian cavers, instant coffee for breakfast was the real hardship.
36:24And then it was time to go.
36:28Well, what do you say to that?
36:34The documentation of the subterranean river began.
36:41Meanwhile, Fabio pursued other assignments.
36:49Animal life in the cave is his focus area.
36:58Cave isopods and crayfish thrive in the cold, clear waters of the Buenofonteno.
37:06These animals have adapted to the conditions here.
37:11One of the most striking observations is that they've lost all contact with the rhythm of day and night,
37:18and even with the seasons.
37:21That has a major effect, completely altering the animals' biological cycles.
37:26Many of them stay young their whole lives, in a sense, and live longer as a result.
37:33In the meantime, the rubber dinghy crew was approaching a subterranean lake.
37:41One of the speleologists' main aims was to track the precise routes the water takes through the cave complex.
38:02Their data is often relevant for water supply issues above ground.
38:17Nowadays, we're able to carry out hydrogeological research at quite an advanced level.
38:22We can study the subterranean pathways of the water very effectively.
38:28In fact, the real beauty of cave research is the search for water and the study of its pathways,
38:36which, in a cast complex, are totally unpredictable.
38:40So we have to carry out direct on-site experiments to see what paths the water takes within the mountains.
38:49A color marker they introduced into the karst stream would first appear on the surface 25 days later,
38:57in a source 6 kilometers from the cave.
39:01The water took that long to wend its mysterious way to the surface.
39:11On the opposite shore of Lake Iseo, the water literally moves mountains.
39:19It's force is expressed impressively in what are called the pyramidi di zone, the pyramids of the zone.
39:33Rain showers wash scree down the steep mountain slopes.
39:43At some spots, individual boulders act as umbrellas protecting the rock towers they rest upon from erosion.
39:57Such formations arise only with the right hillside slant and regular rainfall.
40:07That's why the pyramidi zone is the perfect habitat for a certain moisture-loving animal.
40:15Fire salamanders take advantage of the rainy fall days to look for suitable winter quarters.
40:33There, they will remain in a winter torpor until they revive again in the spring.
40:48Their conspicuous skin coloring signals predators that they come equipped with a poisonous substance.
41:01Thanks not least to this self-defense mechanism, fire salamanders can live to up to 50 years of age.
41:10The cooler the outside temperature, the slower and more awkwardly these cold-blooded amphibians move.
41:17Beneath the pyramidi, the creature would surely quickly find refuge.
41:38Rain showers are fairly frequent on Lake Iseo, even in summer.
41:42Rain showers are very frequent on Lake Iseo, even in summer.
41:53Due to changes in climate, fall downpours in northern Italy are now harder and more sustained.
41:59Rain showers findises around the numerical trap.
42:09Then, only a few waterproof-ed visitors stroll along the lakeside promenades.
42:24When the rain keeps pouring, trickles turn into rushing rivers.
42:54These forceful waters carry large amounts of detritus and sediment into the lake.
43:24That's how an unruly river called the Borletza created an entire peninsula at the northern
43:31end of Lake Iseo.
43:36The river brought hundreds of millions of cubic meters of sand and stone rolling down
43:41from the mountains.
43:47The landmass is now home to a steel mill owned by the Lucchini family, who diverted the river
43:53in 1915.
43:57The company's intake basin is closely guarded.
44:06Now that the river no longer crosses the peninsula, the steel mill takes its cooling water from
44:12Lake Iseo.
44:15Once filtered and purified, it is conducted to its deployment site.
44:21Because steel processing always involves infernally high temperatures.
44:36The furnaces are fired up around the clock at Lucchini RS.
44:46The RS stands for rolling stock.
44:51The company is founded on its railway division.
45:01They manufacture wheels for most of the world's train types.
45:14The plant uses water from the lake at every stage of the manufacturing process.
45:26When the finished wheels are finally completely submerged, the water appears to recoil from
45:32the heat.
45:36Droplets dance on a cushion of steam.
45:41A roulette wheel of opposites.
45:51After a job well done, the steelworks returns the water to the lake, cleaner than it was to
45:57start with.
46:01At the base of the peninsula, the former bed of the river Borletza nestles against the
46:17foothills.
46:21Coming down from the mountains, it flowed through a gorge into Lake Iseo.
46:31Steel wheels are now stored in one part of the dried riverbed.
46:37The other part has become a little patch of paradise, Tinatso Park.
46:47The former riverbed is special terrain that creates a stable, humid microclimate.
46:58It thus forms the basis for rich biodiversity within a relatively tight space.
47:03The caretaker of this little gem is Massimo Rotta.
47:26The caretaker of this little gem is Massimo Rotta.
47:32In the fall, his job is to take stock and register any damage.
47:40The plan was to ready the park for welcoming tourists and school groups again next summer.
47:50This area is rich in biodiversity because for many years it was enclosed within the grounds
47:55of the steel plant, so no one ever set foot there.
48:00Two distinct worlds met here, separated by a simple fence.
48:09Every square meter of these grounds exudes nature and history.
48:14So when we come in here, it's a magnificent thing for us.
48:26Some spots are in dire need of renovation because fungi have a field day here as well.
48:41At the heart of the park lies the Tinatso Gorge.
48:50There, several of the more delicate animal types had already set up house for the winter.
49:09Even in the wintertime, the gorge offers the comfort of sustained mild temperatures.
49:16And the farther in you go, the more distant the outside world seems to be.
49:23Absolutely the real highlight is the Tinatso Gorge.
49:30This fissure was not carved out by the river, no.
49:33It's a tectonic fault, split open due to geological activity.
49:39The river then took advantage of the terrain, using the gorge as its bed.
49:44It's a tectonic fault.
49:51For millennia, the forces of water worked to carve out the pits, hollows and overhangs,
49:59now used as winter quarters by many animals.
50:16An oasis of serenity, only possible without the river.
50:28The river no longer flows through the gorge.
50:31It was a torrent causing frequent catastrophic flooding.
50:34That's why, over a hundred years ago, it was completely diverted.
50:38This part dried out and is now a fossil.
50:41A thick wall and a long forgotten piece of civil engineering redirected the river out of the gorge.
50:54Now, in late fall, the tamed Borletza flowed calmly down its man-made riverbed into Lake Iseo.
51:10The season was over.
51:12Both human and animal residents of the Lago Iseo were hunkering down to await the winter.
51:23The proverbial lake of a thousand faces always was a master of transformation.
51:34Ever calm at its depths, even amidst storms of change, it still always retains its magic.
51:42The proverbial lake of a thousand faces always has the same.
51:57The proverbial lake of a thousand faces always has the same.
52:03You
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