| Reno | |
|---|---|
The Reno river |
|
| 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 [ˈrɛːno] is a river of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is the tenth longest river in Italy (the sixth longest of those that 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)" - itself a cognate of Greek ροήα "rhoia" which means "to flow".
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 that 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 Casalborsetti, south-east of the Valli di Comacchio.
The Reno was a tributary of the Po until the middle of the eighteenth century when the course was diverted to lessen the risk of devastating floods.