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 Italian river is the Po, which flows for 652 km (405 mi) along the Po Valley.

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.

Characteristics of Italian rivers

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, 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
1º Po 652 km (405 mi) Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto Alpine
2º Adige 410 km (250 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto Alpine
3º Tiber 405 km (252 mi) Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio Apennine
4º Adda 313 km (194 mi) Lombardy Alpine
5º Oglio 280 km (170 mi) Lombardy Alpine
6º Tanaro 276 km (171 mi) Piedmont, Liguria Alpine
7º Ticino 248 km (154 mi) Switzerland, Piedmont, Lombardy Alpine
8º Arno 241 km (150 mi) Tuscany Apennine
9º Piave 231 km (144 mi) Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto Alpine
10º Reno 212 km (132 mi) Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna Apennine
11º Sarca-Mincio 203 km (126 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto, Lombardy Alpine
12º Volturno 175 km (109 mi) Molise, Campania Apennine
13º Brenta 174 km (108 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto Alpine
14º Secchia 172 km (107 mi) Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy Apennine
15º Tagliamento 170 km (110 mi) Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto Alpine
16º Dora Baltea 168 km (104 mi) Aosta Valley, Piedmont Alpine
17º Ombrone 160 km (99 mi) Tuscany Apennine
18º Chiese 160 km (99 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Lombardy Alpine
19º Liri-Garigliano 158 km (98 mi) Abruzzo, Lazio, Campania Apennine
20º Bormida 153 km (95 mi) Liguria, Piedmont Alpine
21º Aterno-Pescara 152 km (94 mi) Abruzzo Apennine
22º Tirso 152 km (94 mi) Sardinia Sardinian

List of Italian rivers above 50 m3/s (1,800 cu ft/s)

Rivers of Italy above 50 m3/s (1,800 cu ft/s) of average flow at the mouth
№ River Flow at the mouth Regions crossed Type
1º Po 1,540 m3/s (54,000 cu ft/s) Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto Alpine
2º Ticino 350 m3/s (12,000 cu ft/s) Switzerland, Piedmont, Lombardy Alpine
3º Tiber 324 m3/s (11,400 cu ft/s) Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio Apennine
4º Adige 235 m3/s (8,300 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto Alpine
5º Adda 187 m3/s (6,600 cu ft/s) Lombardy Alpine
6º Isonzo 170 m3/s (6,000 cu ft/s) Slovenia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia Alpine
7º Nera 160 m3/s (5,700 cu ft/s) Marche, Umbria, Lazio Apennine
8º Oglio 137 m3/s (4,800 cu ft/s) Lombardy Alpine
8º Piave 137 m3/s (4,800 cu ft/s) Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia Alpine
10º Liri-Garigliano 120 m3/s (4,200 cu ft/s) Abruzzo, Lazio Apennine
11º Tanaro 116 m3/s (4,100 cu ft/s) Liguria, Piedmont Alpine
12º Arno 110 m3/s (3,900 cu ft/s) Tuscany Apennine
13º Dora Baltea 96 m3/s (3,400 cu ft/s) Aosta Valley, Piedmont Alpine
14º Reno 95 m3/s (3,400 cu ft/s) Emilia-Romagna Apennine
15º Brenta 93 m3/s (3,300 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto Alpine
16º Livenza 85 m3/s (3,000 cu ft/s) Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto Alpine
17º Volturno 83 m3/s (2,900 cu ft/s) Molise, Campania Apennine
18º Isarco 78 m3/s (2,800 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Alpine
19º Sesia 70 m3/s (2,500 cu ft/s) Piedmont Alpine
20º Tagliamento 70 m3/s (2,500 cu ft/s) Friuli-Venezia Giulia Alpine
21º Toce 70 m3/s (2,500 cu ft/s) Piedmont Alpine
22º Sele 69 m3/s (2,400 cu ft/s) Campania Apennine
23º Mincio 60 m3/s (2,100 cu ft/s) Veneto, Lombardy Alpine
24º Velino 60 m3/s (2,100 cu ft/s) Lazio, Umbria Apennine
25º Rienza 60 m3/s (2,100 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Alpine
26º Aterno-Pescara 57 m3/s (2,000 cu ft/s) Abruzzo Apennine
27º Sile 55 m3/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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