Reno River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Reno | |
|---|---|
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| Origin | Tuscan Apennines, Italy |
| Mouth | Adriatic Sea |
| Basin countries | Italy |
| Length | 211.8 km |
| Avg. discharge | 95 m³/s |
| Basin area | 5,040 km² |
The Reno is a river of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is the tenth longest river in Italy (the sixth longest of those which flow directly into the sea) and the most important of the region apart from the Po. The name of the river has the same etymology as the German Rhein (Rhine River)[1], as both derive from a Celtic word meaning "flowing (of water)"
It has a drainage basin of c. 5,000 km²[2]. The annual average discharge at the mouth is c. 95 m³/s; at the point the river start to flow in the Pianura Padana (Po River Plain), it amounts to c. 25 m³/s. The highest values registered at the mouth have approached 2,300 m³/s, but the typical value when the river is in flood is around 1,000 m³/s. The minimal discharge reported is 0.6 m³/s.
The river rises in the Le Lari massif of the province of Pistoia (Tuscany) at c. 745 m over the sea level, from two streams which join near Le Piastre, in the comune of Pistoia. Its upper course marks the border between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna and flows in a wooded area crossed by the Bologna-Porretta-Pistoia railway line (inaugurated in 1864 and one of the most outstanding for the time as for engineering effort). The upper course is characterized by several artificial reservoirs whose dams are used for hydro-electric energy production. The power produced in the basin of the Reno basin is second, for Apennine rivers, only to that of the Nera-Velino in Umbria.
In its lower course the Reno receives the water of numerous streams, some of which are seasonal. The most important include the Limentra, Silla, Setta, Idice, Sillaro, Santerno and Senio. The river’s mouth is on the Adriatic Sea, near Casalecchio di Reno, south-east of the Valli di Comacchio.
[edit] Other
- The river is mentioned by Dante Alighieri in Canto XVIII of his Inferno where he defines the Bolognesi as those "living between the Savena and the Reno".
- In 43 BC the pact establishing the Second triumvirate was signed on an islet of the river near the then Roman city of Bononia.
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
- Historical and geographical info (Italian)
