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 724km (450mi), while the river flowing the most kilometers in Italy is the 652km (405mi) long Po.
Rivers in Italy total about 1,200,[1] 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.
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 200km (120mi) in length, while ten are just over 100km (62mi). 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The geography of Italy includes the description of all the physical geographical elements of Italy. Italy, whose territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region, is located in southern Europe and comprises the long, boot-shaped Italian Peninsula crossed by the Apennines, the southern side of Alps, the large plain of the Po Valley and some islands including Sicily and Sardinia. Italy is part of the Northern Hemisphere. Two of the Pelagie Islands are located on the African continent.
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains are a mountain range consisting of parallel smaller chains extending c. 1,200 km (750 mi) the length of peninsular Italy. In the northwest they join the Ligurian Alps at Altare. In the southwest they end at Reggio di Calabria, the coastal city at the tip of the peninsula. Since 2000 the Environment Ministry of Italy, following the recommendations of the Apennines Park of Europe Project, has defined the Apennines System to include the mountains of north Sicily, a total distance of 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The system forms an arc enclosing the east of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas.
Montferrat is a historical region of Piedmont, in northern Italy. It comprises roughly the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Montferrat is one of the most important wine districts of Italy. It also has a strong literary tradition, including the 18th century Asti-born poet and dramatist Vittorio Alfieri and the Alessandrian Umberto Eco.
Pisogne is a comune of 8156 inhabitants in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy. It is located about 30 kilometers (19 mi) northwest of Brescia, 51 kilometers northeast of Bergamo, and 97 kilometers northeast of Milan.
Lake Iseo or Iseo lake, also known as Sebino, is the fourth largest lake in Lombardy, Italy, fed by the Oglio River.
Costa Volpino is a comune in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, Italy. Situated at the end of Valle Camonica, where the Oglio river enters the Lake Iseo, it is bounded by other communes of Lovere and Rogno.
The Tanaro is a 276-kilometre (171 mi) long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of drainage basin, and discharge.
Val Camonica or Valcamonica, also Valle Camonica and anglicized as Camonica Valley, is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about 90 kilometres (56 mi) from the Tonale Pass to Corna Trentapassi, in the commune of Pisogne near Lake Iseo. It has an area of about 1,335 km2 (515 sq mi) and 118,323 inhabitants. The River Oglio runs through its full length, rising at Ponte di Legno and flowing into Lake Iseo between Pisogne and Costa Volpino.
The Alps form a large mountain range dominating Central Europe, including parts of Italy, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia, Germany and Hungary.
The Oglio is a left-side tributary of the river Po in Lombardy, Italy. It is 280 kilometres (170 mi) long. In the hierarchy of the Po's tributaries, with its 280 kilometres (170 mi) of length, it occupies the 2nd place per length, while it is the 4th per basin surface, and the 3rd per average discharge at the mouth.
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately 650 km (400 mi) in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km2 including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the Adriatic Sea. The flatlands of Veneto and Friuli are often considered apart since they do not drain into the Po, but they effectively combine into an unbroken plain, making it the largest in Southern Europe. It has a population of 17 million, or a third of Italy's total population.
The Orba is a torrent of northern Italy.
The Geography of Piedmont is that of a territory predominantly mountainous, 43.3%, but with extensive areas of hills which represent 30.3% of the territory, and of plains (26.4%).
The Reno is a river of Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, northern Italy. At 211 km (131 mi), it is the tenth longest river in Italy and the most important of the region apart from the Po.
The Brescia and Garda Prealps are a mountain range in the southern part of the Alps. They are located mainly in Lombardy but also in Trentino Alto Adige and in Veneto, in the northern part of Italy.
The Bergamasque Alps and Prealps are a mountain range in the southern part of the Alps. They are located in Lombardy, in the northern part of Italy.
The Bergamasque Prealps are a mountain range within the Alps. The range is located in Lombardy, in the north of Italy.
The Po is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either 652 km (405 mi) or 682 km (424 mi), if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are formed by a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face of Monviso. The Po then extends along the 45th parallel north before ending at a delta projecting into the Adriatic Sea near Venice.
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