World Art Utopia

Verzasca Dam — Lombardi, Vogorno

The curved concrete wall of the Verzasca Dam between steep rocky slopes, seen from downstream
Artwork FileVogorno, Switzerland

Verzasca Dam

Standing2026

Lombardi engineers · concrete arch dam, 1960s · Lago di Vogorno, Verzasca Valley, Ticino, Switzerland

Photo: Wladyslaw / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), taken 8 March 2009, as published on Street Art Utopia.

The Verzasca Dam, also called the Contra Dam, is a 220-metre concrete arch dam at the mouth of the Verzasca Valley in Ticino, built in the first half of the 1960s for the Verzasca SA hydroelectric scheme. It was designed by the Lombardi engineering firm. In 1995 stuntman Wayne Michaels bungee-jumped from it for the opening scene of GoldenEye. Source Source Source Source Source Checked

Standing 2026: the bungee operator Trekking Team lists “Opening hours 2026” for jumps from the dam (Easter weekend 3–6 April, then April to October, Wednesday to Sunday). This is a published schedule, not a photo; a dated Commons photo was taken on 5 February 2022, when the reservoir was emptied. Source Source Reported

More photos

Black-and-white photo of the rocky Verzasca gorge cleared for the dam foundations in 1963, with pipes and a cableway
1963 Gorge cleared for the damPhoto: Jack Metzger / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Aerial colour photo of the unfinished Contra dam wall with uneven concrete blocks in July 1964, with the Verzasca Valley behind
1964 Wall rising, aerial photoPhoto: Swissair Photo AG / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The upstream face of the Verzasca Dam above the emptied Lago di Vogorno, with a stone bridge and the old road uncovered below
2022 Reservoir emptiedPhoto: Freigut / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

💡 4 things to know

  1. Designed by Lombardi
    Wikipedia says the dam was designed and its construction supervised by Lombardi & Gellaro Ltd.; Swissdams lists the 220 m arch dam in Contra among Giovanni Lombardi’s major projects. Source Source Checked
  2. Best stunt ever, 2002
    Bond’s jump won a Sky Movies poll of the best movie stunts in November 2002, ahead of Ben Hur and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Stuntman Wayne Michaels jumped from a platform built out in front of the wall. Source Source Source Checked
  3. You can still jump
    After the film the owners leased the top of the dam to a commercial bungee operator. Trekking Team’s 007 jump runs from Easter to October in 2026. Source Source Source Source Checked
  4. A record jump
    Guinness World Records lists the GoldenEye jump at Verzasca, Switzerland, in 1995 as the highest bungee jump from a structure in a film. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

At the mouth of the Verzasca Valley above Tenero-Contra, near Locarno in Ticino; the dam holds back Lago di Vogorno, and the tourist office gives the address as Diga della Verzasca, 6632 Vogorno. Source Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

Map pin 46.19667, 8.84778, approximate, from this source. The button opens a plain map.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 1963

    Gorge cleared for the dam

  2. 196430 Jul

    Wall rising, aerial photo

  3. 1965

    Construction span ends (per ABB)

  4. 1995

    GoldenEye bungee jump filmed

  5. 200217 Nov

    Voted best movie stunt

  6. 20225 Feb

    Photographed with reservoir empty

  7. 2026

    Bungee season 2026 listed

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

🗞️ In the sources

Irish Examiner17 November 2002

007’s bungee jump tops best movie stunt poll

“Thousands of film fans voted in the Sky Movies poll from a shortlist drawn up by film critic Barry Norman”

Read the source →

ABB5 March 2020

ABB fornisce la protezione dell’energia per la diga svizzera resa famosa da James Bond

“Con i suoi 220 metri, la diga è una delle più alte della Svizzera.”

“At 220 metres, the dam is one of the tallest in Switzerland.”

Read the source →

✅ The facts

Designed
Lombardi engineering firm (Giovanni Lombardi) Source Source Checked
Built
1960–1965 per ABB, CSC and MySwitzerland; Wikipedia says 1961–1965, and a 1968 RSI archive note says work began in 1961 and the dam was inaugurated in 1964. We lean to 1960–1965 as the construction span, because three technical and tourism pages agree; the inauguration year is unresolved Source Source Source Source Source Conflicting
Owner
Verzasca SA (hydroelectric storage plant) Source Source Checked
Size
220 m high, 380 m long arch dam Source Source Source Source Checked
Film
GoldenEye (1995), opening bungee jump by Wayne Michaels Source Source Source Source Checked
Stunt poll
Voted best movie stunt, Sky Movies poll, November 2002 Source Source Source Checked
Bungee
007 jump run by Trekking Team; 2026 season Easter to October Source Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 9 November 2026. How we verify art