IDRO - Ecomuseo delle acque di Ridracoli

About the museum

IDRO is a dispersed museum open to the public since 2004 around the Ridracoli dam, in the Casentinesi Forests, Monte Falterona and Campigna National Park. It stands where the village of workers who built the dam once stood. It is not conceived as a traditional museum but as a museum of time and space, in which the entire territory is the heritage to be preserved.

The main site occupies four floors of the village of Ridracoli, with traditional and multimedia exhibition rooms. The sections cover the fauna and nature of the Bidente Valley, with animal skeletons and a 3D room; the relationship between water and life; the ethnographic history of the area from its first settlements to depopulation; and the technologies humans use to manage water, from the reservoir to the dam and on to homes. Eight information points around the village complete the route.

Since 2018 IDRO has been part of the Water Museum Global Network, an international network recognised by UNESCO. The ticket also covers a visit to the dam on the same day.

Highlights

• 3D room “L'acqua degli oracoli”
• Fauna of the Bidente Valley and animal skeletons
• “Acqua e viventi” section with interactive table
• Ethnographic section and permanent photographic exhibition on Ridracoli
• Ticket also valid for the Ridracoli dam

Founded

2004

Operated by

Atlantide Soc. coop. sociale (per Romagna Acque)

Visitors per year

approx. 61,542

Admission & discounts

The ticket covers the dam and the ecomuseum on the same day. Free admission also for residents of Santa Sofia and Bagno di Romagna (with ID), cyclists, anglers and guests booked at the Rifugio Ca' di Sopra. Hikers can access the dam area free of charge via the “sentiero natura Ridracoli”.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

IDRO has a lift and an access ramp; reserved parking spaces are available. The visit is enriched with materials in Italian Sign Language (LIS) and a comic-strip guide in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The boat and canoes are not accessible.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations

3D room, interactive table, a comic-strip guide for children, and offers for schools and summer camps.

Getting there & parking

It is advisable to approach from Santa Sofia along the SS 310 towards Campigna, then the SP 112 to the village of Ridracoli; in the satnav enter “Idro Ecomuseo delle Acque di Ridracoli” or “biglietteria lago di Ridracoli”.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Refreshment points and a bar in the area, a bookshop with books, souvenirs and National Park products, free picnic areas, and charging points for e-bikes and electric cars. Dogs are admitted on a lead.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit