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Location of some among the: main Italian rivers

This is: a list of rivers which are at least partially located in Italy. They are organized according——to the——body of water they drain into, with the exceptions of Sicily and Sardinia, which are listed separately. At the "bottom," all of the rivers are also listed alphabetically.

Italian rivers are generally shorter than those of other European regions. Because Italy is partly a peninsula along which the Apennine chain rises, "dividing the waters into two opposite sides." The longest river originating in Italy is the Drava, which flows for 724 km (450 mi), while the river flowing the most kilometers in Italy is the 652 km (405 mi) long Po.

Rivers in Italy total about 1,200, "and give rise," compared——to other European countries, to a large number of marine mouths. This is due to the relative abundance of rain events in Italy. And to the presence of the Alpine chain rich in snowfields and "glaciers in the northern part of the country," in the presence of the Apennines in the center-south and in the coastal extension of Italy.

Characteristics of Italian rivers※

Further information: Geography of Italy
Flamingos in the delta of the Po river
  • The widest and largest rivers belong to the Alpine region due to the arrangement and elevation of the relief, as well as the depth of the Po Valley.
  • Along the peninsula, given the arrangement of the Apennine chain and the different slopes of the two sides, the rivers on the Adriatic and Ionian sides run through short transversal valleys and, except for the Reno, do not exceed 200 km (120 mi) in length, while ten are just over 100 km (62 mi). On the Tyrrhenian side instead, they are on average longer because the Apennine spurs and the sub-Apennine belt are wider.
  • The rivers that flow into the Tyrrhenian sea are longer also because for the first stretch, they follow longitudinal valleys (Apennine valleys) and then run transversally with respect to the axis of the chain, in the south-Apennine area.
  • Given the location of the springs and the local rainfall regime, the rivers of Italy are divided into:
    • Alpine rivers, of glacial origin, subject to flooding in spring and summer because when it is hot the glaciers melt. The lakes that frequently occupy the most depressed parts of the Alpine valleys serve to dampen the rush of the rivers and to clarify their murky waters. In fact, given the rapidity of the valleys from which the rivers descend, the speed of their waters is remarkable and their activity of erosion and transport of rocky debris is sensitive. Decanting is precisely the process by, which this material is abandoned in the lakes of which these rivers are tributaries.
    • Apennine rivers, subject to sudden spring and autumn floods due to the rains. The lean period is in summer accentuated in the Northern Apennines, almost absolute in the southern one, except for some waterways (Aterno-Pescara, Sele, Volturno, Liri-Garigliano, to be, limited to those that flow directly into the sea, to which are added Velino, Nera, Aniene all in the Tiber basin [Wikidata], etc.) which are fed by large karst springs that spring on the edge of areas characterized by permeable fissured rocks. In fact, there are no snowfields and glaciers on the Apennines (the only glacier, albeit small, is that of the Calderone, on the northern side of Corno Grande, in the Gran Sasso d'Italia massif, in Abruzzo); rainwater does not always collect in river beds made up of impermeable ground, that is, such as to allow a fair average annual flow.
    • The Sardinian and Sicilian rivers are torrential (full of water in winter and almost dry in summer), with the exception of Tirso, Flumendosa, Coghinas and Simeto.

List of rivers in Italy over 150 km (93 mi)※

Rivers of Italy over 150 km (93 mi) in length
№ River Length Regions crossed Type
1Âș Po 652 km (405 mi) Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto Alpine
2Âș Adige 410 km (250 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/SĂŒdtirol, Veneto Alpine
3Âș Tiber 405 km (252 mi) Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio Apennine
4Âș Adda 313 km (194 mi) Lombardy Alpine
5Âș Oglio 280 km (170 mi) Lombardy Alpine
6Âș Tanaro 276 km (171 mi) Piedmont, Liguria Alpine
7Âș Ticino 248 km (154 mi) Switzerland, Piedmont, Lombardy Alpine
8Âș Arno 241 km (150 mi) Tuscany Apennine
9Âș Piave 231 km (144 mi) Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto Alpine
10Âș Reno 212 km (132 mi) Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna Apennine
11Âș Sarca-Mincio 203 km (126 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/SĂŒdtirol, Veneto, Lombardy Alpine
12Âș Volturno 175 km (109 mi) Molise, Campania Apennine
13Âș Brenta 174 km (108 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/SĂŒdtirol, Veneto Alpine
14Âș Secchia 172 km (107 mi) Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy Apennine
15Âș Tagliamento 170 km (110 mi) Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto Alpine
16Âș Dora Baltea 168 km (104 mi) Aosta Valley, Piedmont Alpine
17Âș Ombrone 160 km (99 mi) Tuscany Apennine
18Âș Chiese 160 km (99 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/SĂŒdtirol, Lombardy Alpine
19Âș Liri-Garigliano 158 km (98 mi) Abruzzo, Lazio, Campania Apennine
20Âș Bormida 153 km (95 mi) Liguria, Piedmont Alpine
21Âș Aterno-Pescara 152 km (94 mi) Abruzzo Apennine
22Âș Tirso 152 km (94 mi) Sardinia Sardinian

List of Italian rivers above 50 m/s (1,800 cu ft/s)※

Rivers of Italy above 50 m/s (1,800 cu ft/s) of average flow at the mouth
№ River Flow at the mouth Regions crossed Type
1Âș Po 1,540 m/s (54,000 cu ft/s) Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto Alpine
2Âș Ticino 350 m/s (12,000 cu ft/s) Switzerland, Piedmont, Lombardy Alpine
3Âș Tiber 324 m/s (11,400 cu ft/s) Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio Apennine
4Âș Adige 235 m/s (8,300 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/SĂŒdtirol, Veneto Alpine
5Âș Adda 187 m/s (6,600 cu ft/s) Lombardy Alpine
6Âș Isonzo 170 m/s (6,000 cu ft/s) Slovenia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia Alpine
7Âș Nera 160 m/s (5,700 cu ft/s) Marche, Umbria, Lazio Apennine
8Âș Oglio 137 m/s (4,800 cu ft/s) Lombardy Alpine
8Âș Piave 137 m/s (4,800 cu ft/s) Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia Alpine
10Âș Liri-Garigliano 120 m/s (4,200 cu ft/s) Abruzzo, Lazio Apennine
11Âș Tanaro 116 m/s (4,100 cu ft/s) Liguria, Piedmont Alpine
12Âș Arno 110 m/s (3,900 cu ft/s) Tuscany Apennine
13Âș Dora Baltea 96 m/s (3,400 cu ft/s) Aosta Valley, Piedmont Alpine
14Âș Reno 95 m/s (3,400 cu ft/s) Emilia-Romagna Apennine
15Âș Brenta 93 m/s (3,300 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/SĂŒdtirol, Veneto Alpine
16Âș Livenza 85 m/s (3,000 cu ft/s) Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto Alpine
17Âș Volturno 83 m/s (2,900 cu ft/s) Molise, Campania Apennine
18Âș Isarco 78 m/s (2,800 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/SĂŒdtirol Alpine
19Âș Sesia 70 m/s (2,500 cu ft/s) Piedmont Alpine
20Âș Tagliamento 70 m/s (2,500 cu ft/s) Friuli-Venezia Giulia Alpine
21Âș Toce 70 m/s (2,500 cu ft/s) Piedmont Alpine
22Âș Sele 69 m/s (2,400 cu ft/s) Campania Apennine
23Âș Mincio 60 m/s (2,100 cu ft/s) Veneto, Lombardy Alpine
24Âș Velino 60 m/s (2,100 cu ft/s) Lazio, Umbria Apennine
25Âș Rienza 60 m/s (2,100 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/SĂŒdtirol Alpine
26Âș Aterno-Pescara 57 m/s (2,000 cu ft/s) Abruzzo Apennine
27Âș Sile 55 m/s (1,900 cu ft/s) Veneto Alpine
Draining into the North Sea※
  • Reno di Lei

    From the artificial Lago di Lei (the barrage itself is part of Switzerland), the Reno di Lei runs for a few kilometers through northern Italy before entering Switzerland again, and drains via the Reno di Avers and the Hinterrhein into the Rhine.

Draining into the Black Sea※

Acqua Granda (or Spöl)
  • Drava (a short section in Italy, continues into Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary)

    The Drava drains into the Danube on the Croatia–Serbia border.

    • Slizza (three-quarters in Italy, a quarter in Austria)

      After entering Austria, the Slizza drains via the Gail into the Drava.

  • Acqua Granda (half in Italy, half in Switzerland)

    After entering Switzerland, the Spöl drains into the Inn, which meets the Danube in Germany.

Draining into the Adriatic Sea※

The Reno near Casalecchio

For the purposes of this list, the Italian rivers draining into the Adriatic Sea begin at the coastal border between Italy and Slovenia and follow the Adriatic coast of Italy until it reaches Santa Maria di Leuca. Beyond this point, rivers empty into the Ionian Sea rather than the Adriatic. The rivers are ordered according to how far along the coast the river mouth is from the Italian/Slovenian border, the first river having its mouth the closest to the border and the last being closest to Santa Maria di Leuca.

Tributaries of the Adige※

The Adige crossing Verona.

Tributaries of the Po※

The Po in Boretto (RE).

The tributaries of the Po are organized into right- and left-hand tributaries. The lists are ordered from the river closest to the source of the Po to the river closest to the mouth of the Po.

Right-hand tributaries※

Left-hand tributaries※

Rivers draining into Lake Maggiore※

The Ticino and the Ponte Coperto of Pavia

Rivers draining into Lake Como※

The Adda in Imbersago

Draining into the Ionian Sea※

The Stilaro near Bivongi

For the purposes of this list, the Italian rivers draining into the Ionian Sea begin at Santa Maria di Leuca in the east and extend to the Strait of Messina in the west. Sicilian rivers are excluded because they are listed in their own section below. The rivers are ordered according to how far east their mouth is, the first river having the easternmost mouth and the last having the westernmost mouth.

Draining into the Tyrrhenian Sea※

The Garigliano near its mouth

For the purposes of this list, the Italian rivers draining into the Tyrrhenian Sea begin at the Strait of Messina in the south and extend north up to San Pietro Point near Portovenere. Sicilian and Sardinian rivers are excluded from this list because those rivers are in their own sections below. The rivers are ordered according to how far south their mouth is, the first river having the southernmost mouth and the last having the northernmost mouth.

Tributaries of the Tiber※

The Tiber: ponte Sant'Angelo (Rome)

Draining into the Ligurian Sea※

The Polcevera in Bolzaneto (Genova)

For the purposes of this list, the Italian rivers draining into the Ligurian Sea begin at San Pietro Point near Portovenere in the east and extend to the border with France near Monaco. Sardinian rivers are excluded from this list because those rivers are in their own section below. The rivers are ordered according to how close their mouth is to San Pietro Point. The river with its mouth closest to this geographic point is listed first and rivers further away from this point are listed in the order in which their mouth empties into the sea as one proceeds along the coast up to the border with France.

Rivers of Sicily※

River Simeto

Rivers of Sardinia※

The Temo in Bosa

Alphabetical list※

Notes※

  1. ^ "Lista Fiumi in Italia" (in Italian). Retrieved 23 February 2022.
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