Lago Superiore (Mantua)

Water type: Artificial lake
Continent: Europe
Climate: Subtropical
Country: Italy

Lake Superior (Lago Superiore) is the largest of the three lakes in the terms of surface area and volume and is regulated at an altitude of 18 meters above sea level, about three meters higher than Lakes Inferiore and Lake di Mezzo, to which it is connected through the supporting structure of the Vaso di Porto or Vasarone. This dam created the reservoir, forming Lake Superior, thus eliminating the risk of marshland.

During the summer months, the Lotus Flower (Nelumbo nucifera) blooms, growing in large floating beds consisting of green leaves with a diameter of up to one meter, on which large white and pink flowers rise. Their introduction to Lake Superior is credited to Maria Pellegreffi, a young graduate in Natural Sciences from the University of Parma, who transplanted the rhizomes in 1921.