List of rivers of Italy

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

Flamingos in the delta of the Po river

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

Rivers of Italy over 150 km (93 mi) in length
Rank River Length Regions crossed Type
1 Po 652 km (405 mi) Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto Alpine
2 Adige 410 km (250 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto Alpine
3 Tiber 405 km (252 mi) Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio Apennine
4 Adda 313 km (194 mi) Lombardy Alpine
5 Oglio 280 km (170 mi) Lombardy Alpine
6 Tanaro 276 km (171 mi) Piedmont, Liguria Alpine
7 Ticino 248 km (154 mi) Switzerland, Piedmont, Lombardy Alpine
8 Arno 241 km (150 mi) Tuscany Apennine
9 Piave 231 km (144 mi) Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto Alpine
10 Reno 212 km (132 mi) Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna Apennine
11 Sarca-Mincio 203 km (126 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto, Lombardy Alpine
12 Volturno 175 km (109 mi) Molise, Campania Apennine
13 Brenta 174 km (108 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto Alpine
14 Secchia 172 km (107 mi) Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy Apennine
15 Tagliamento 170 km (110 mi) Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto Alpine
16 Dora Baltea 168 km (104 mi) Aosta Valley, Piedmont Alpine
17 Ombrone 160 km (99 mi) Tuscany Apennine
18 Chiese 160 km (99 mi) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Lombardy Alpine
19 Liri-Garigliano 158 km (98 mi) Abruzzo, Lazio, Campania Apennine
20 Bormida 153 km (95 mi) Liguria, Piedmont Alpine
21 Aterno-Pescara 152 km (94 mi) Abruzzo Apennine
22 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
Rank River Flow at the mouth Regions crossed Type
1 Po 1,540 m3/s (54,000 cu ft/s) Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto Alpine
2 Ticino 350 m3/s (12,000 cu ft/s) Switzerland, Piedmont, Lombardy Alpine
3 Tiber 239 m3/s (8,400 cu ft/s) Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio Apennine
4 Adige 235 m3/s (8,300 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto Alpine
5 Adda 187 m3/s (6,600 cu ft/s) Lombardy Alpine
6 Isonzo 170 m3/s (6,000 cu ft/s) Slovenia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia Alpine
7 Nera 160 m3/s (5,700 cu ft/s) Marche, Umbria, Lazio Apennine
8 Oglio 137 m3/s (4,800 cu ft/s) Lombardy Alpine
8 Piave 137 m3/s (4,800 cu ft/s) Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia Alpine
10 Liri-Garigliano 120 m3/s (4,200 cu ft/s) Abruzzo, Lazio Apennine
11 Tanaro 116 m3/s (4,100 cu ft/s) Liguria, Piedmont Alpine
12 Arno 110 m3/s (3,900 cu ft/s) Tuscany Apennine
13 Dora Baltea 96 m3/s (3,400 cu ft/s) Aosta Valley, Piedmont Alpine
14 Reno 95 m3/s (3,400 cu ft/s) Emilia-Romagna Apennine
15 Brenta 93 m3/s (3,300 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Veneto Alpine
16 Livenza 85 m3/s (3,000 cu ft/s) Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto Alpine
17 Volturno 83 m3/s (2,900 cu ft/s) Molise, Campania Apennine
18 Isarco 78 m3/s (2,800 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Alpine
19 Sesia 70 m3/s (2,500 cu ft/s) Piedmont Alpine
20 Tagliamento 70 m3/s (2,500 cu ft/s) Friuli-Venezia Giulia Alpine
21 Toce 70 m3/s (2,500 cu ft/s) Piedmont Alpine
22 Sele 69 m3/s (2,400 cu ft/s) Campania Apennine
23 Mincio 60 m3/s (2,100 cu ft/s) Veneto, Lombardy Alpine
24 Velino 60 m3/s (2,100 cu ft/s) Lazio, Umbria Apennine
25 Rienza 60 m3/s (2,100 cu ft/s) Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Alpine
26 Aterno-Pescara 57 m3/s (2,000 cu ft/s) Abruzzo Apennine
27 Sile 55 m3/s (1,900 cu ft/s) Veneto Alpine

Draining into the North Sea

Draining into the Black Sea

Acqua Granda (or Spöl)

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.
  2. ↑ The regime of use of its waters, once used for the watering of grazing livestock, is regulated by the Italian Civil Code. Currently, a negotiated agreement is in force until the end of 80 years in favour of the mountain family community for the use of its waters for the production of electricity in Switzerland, Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica , Div. X, n. 9033 del 21 dicembre 1955, signed Gronchi, Romita, Andreotti. The 'Soc. Val di Lei' is the body with legal personality under private law that manages and administers the rights, ownership and possession of collective domain of Alps and pastures in Reno di Lei Valley, whose extension measured by British army, consists of 12512 acres (Roman measure). The ' Soc. Val i Lei ' has a border disposition , wich includes the dam, with Italian Republic and Swiss Confederation for the illegal division of collective domain.