It took 2,000 years and a million workers to drain this swamp
For thousands of years, the Pontine Marshes south of Rome remained a vast, malaria-infested wetland that resisted repeated attempts at reclamation. In 1926, Benito Mussolini launched a massive engineering campaign involving powerful pumping stations, thousands of miles of drainage canals, new roads, farms, villages, and entire cities. Nearly one million laborers helped transform the swamp into productive land, but the project came at an enormous financial and human cost. This video explores the remarkable engineering behind the reclamation, the propaganda surrounding it, the brutal conditions endured by workers, and what happened when World War II brought flooding and destruction back to the region.
2026-07-15T13:04:44Z