Alento | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Italy |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Le Corne mountain, Gorga |
• coordinates | 40°19′10″N15°13′58″E / 40.31944°N 15.23278°E |
• elevation | 894 m (2,933 ft) |
Mouth | |
• location | Tyrrhenian Sea, between Marina di Casalvelino and Velia |
• coordinates | 40°9′49″N15°8′36″E / 40.16361°N 15.14333°E |
Length | 36 km (22 mi) |
Basin size | 415 km2 (160 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
• average | 4.67 m3/s (165 cu ft/s) |
The Alento is a river in southwestern Italy. Originating from Le Corne mountain, nearby the village of Gorga, it flows in the Campanian territory of Cilento, in the Province of Salerno. Its mouth is on the Tyrrhenian Sea, close to the Ancient Greek town of Velia, at the borders between the municipalities of Casal Velino and Ascea.
Originally named Alentum, the Latin word Cis Alentum (i.e.: "On this side of the Alento") is the origin of the toponym "Cilento". [1] The river was mentioned by Strabo, into the Geographica , [2] and by Cicero, who defined it noble. [3]
After its origin in Gorga (a frazione of Stio), the river flows in a large valley crossing the municipal territories of Magliano Vetere and Monteforte Cilento. After it, between the territories of Cicerale, Prignano Cilento and Perito (at Ostigliano) the river forms a reservoir serving a dam. [4] After the dam and a nature park it crosses the municipalities of Rutino, Lustra, Omignano (at Omignano Scalo), Salento, Castelnuovo Cilento (through the villages of Vallo Scalo and Velina), Casal Velino and Ascea. The mouth is located between Marina di Casalvelino and Velia.
The Alento has 3 tributaries: Palistro river and Badolato creek originate from the Mount Gelbison, Fiumicello creek originates from the Mount Stella.
The river, partly included in the territory of the Cilento National Park, counts a nature park named Oasi Fiume Alento ("Alento River Oasis") nearby the dam. [5] Due to the integrity of its natural environment, the river is home to some rare species of animals, as the European otter (Lutra lutra, rare in Italy) and the Italian bleak (Alburnus albidus). [6]
Segesta was one of the major cities of the Elymians, one of the three indigenous peoples of Sicily. The other major cities of the Elymians were Eryx and Entella. It is located in the northwestern part of Sicily in Italy, near the modern commune of Calatafimi-Segesta in the province of Trapani. The hellenization of Segesta happened very early and had a profound effect on its people.
Strabo was a Greek geographer, philosopher, and historian who lived in Asia Minor during the transitional period of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is best known for his work Geographica ("Geography"), which presented a descriptive history of people and places from different regions of the world known during his lifetime. Additionally, Strabo authored historical works, but only fragments and quotations of these survive in the writings of other authors.
Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy, corresponding to the modern-day region of Basilicata. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Bruttium in the south-west, and was at the tip of the peninsula which is now called Calabria. It comprised almost all the modern region of Basilicata, the southern part of the Province of Salerno and a northern portion of the Province of Cosenza.
Campora is a town and comune in the province of Salerno, Campania. It is located in the territory of Cilento and as of 2009 its population was 810.
Casal Velino, also spelled Casalvelino, is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.
Casaletto Spartano is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.
Castelnuovo Cilento is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.
Sybaris on the Traeis was an ancient city situated on the Traeis river, now known as the Trionto. It shares its name with the original city of Sybaris which was destroyed in 510 BC. Its former inhabitants built a new city, Thurii, not far from the site of Sybaris. This new colony was founded together with other Greek settlers in 446/445 BC. Soon a conflict arose between the two groups and most of the Sybarites were killed by the other Greek colonists of Thurii. The Sybarites who managed to flee then founded Sybaris on the Traeis a short time after 444 BC. The city was destroyed by the Bruttii not long after their emergence as an ethnic group in 356/355 BC.
Cilento is an Italian geographical region of Campania in the central and southern part of the province of Salerno and an important tourist area of southern Italy.
Pruno is a forest in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is the largest woodlands of central Cilento region. The hamlets (frazioni) with this name are situated in the municipalities of Laurino, Valle dell'Angelo and Piaggine, and are considered a singular village.
The Dragonja is a 30-kilometre (19 mi) long river in the northern part of the Istrian peninsula. It is a meandering river with a very branched basin and a small quantity of water. It has a pluvial regime and often dries up in summer. It features very diverse living environments and is home to a number of animal and plant species. The Dragonja has been a matter of a territorial dispute between Croatia and Slovenia, with its lowest portion de facto the border of the two countries.
Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park is an Italian national park in the Province of Salerno, in Campania in southern Italy. It includes much of the Cilento, the Vallo di Diano and the Monti Alburni. It was founded in 1991, and was formerly known as the Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano.
The Zarqa River is the second largest tributary of the lower Jordan River, after the Yarmouk River. It is the third largest river in the region by annual discharge and its watershed encompasses the most densely populated areas east of the Jordan River. The Zarqa rises in springs near Amman, and flows through a deep and broad valley into the Jordan, at an elevation 1,090 metres (3,580 ft) lower.
The Cilento Coast is an Italian stretch of coastline in Cilento, on the southern side of the Province of Salerno. It is situated between the gulfs of Salerno and Policastro, extending from the municipalities of Capaccio-Paestum in the north-west, to Sapri in the south-east.
Marina di Casalvelino, also spelled Casalvelino Marina, is a southern Italian village and hamlet (frazione) of Casal Velino, a municipality in the province of Salerno, Campania. With a population of 1,263 (2009), it is the most populated hamlet of its municipality.
Cardile is a southern Italian village and the only hamlet (frazione) of Gioi, a municipality in the province of Salerno, Campania. As of 2009 its population was of 614.
Piano Vetrale, also shortened as Vetrale or Piano, is a southern Italian village and hamlet (frazione) of Orria, a municipality in the province of Salerno, Campania. As of 2011, its population was of 475.
The Bussento is a river in southwestern Italy. Originating from Cervati mountain, it flows in the Campanian territory of Cilento, in the Province of Salerno. Its mouth is by the Tyrrhenian Sea, nearby Policastro Bussentino.
Gorga, also known as Gorga Cilento, is a southern Italian village and the only hamlet (frazione) of Stio, a municipality in the province of Salerno, Campania. As of 2016, its population was 160.
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