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| Liri | |
|---|---|
 Bridge over the Liri | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Italy |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Monti Simbruini |
| • elevation | about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) |
| Mouth | Garigliano |
• coordinates | 41°24′35″N13°51′46″E / 41.4098°N 13.8627°E /41.4098; 13.8627 |
| Length | 120 km (75 mi) |
| Basin size | 4,140 km2 (1,600 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 50 m3/s (1,800 cu ft/s) (atPontecorvo) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Garigliano→Tyrrhenian Sea |
TheLiri (LatinLiris orLyris, previously,Clanis;Greek:Λεῖρις) is one of the principalrivers of centralItaly, flowing into theTyrrhenian Sea a little belowMinturno[1] under the nameGarigliano.
The Liri's source is in theMonte Camiciola, elevation 1,701 metres (5,581 ft), in theMonti Simbruini of centralApennines (Abruzzo,comune ofCappadocia). It flows at first in a southeasterly direction through a long trough-like valley, parallel to the general direction of the Apennines, until it reaches the city ofSora.[1]
In the upper part ofIsola del Liri it receives the waters ofFibreno and then it divides into two branches which then rejoin, surrounding the lower part of the town (Isola del Liri stands forLiri Island). One branch makes a 28-metre (92 ft) high waterfall situated in the centre, a unique case in Europe.
A dam is built on the river after the confluence with theSacco atCeprano. The last important Liri's tributary is theMelfa, with which it joins nearAquino. AfterCassino it receives the waters of theGari, and afterwards it is known asGarigliano.
The Liri-Garigliano system has a total waterdrainage basin of 5,020 square kilometres (1,940 sq mi).
BothStrabo andPliny tell us that it was originally calledClanis, a name which appears to have been common to many Italian rivers (see for ex. Clanio and Lagni[2]); the former writer erroneously assigns its sources to the country of theVestini; an opinion which is adopted also byLucan.[3] The surrounding area was devastated byHannibal duringhis invasion in response to the locals' having burnt the bridges over the river.[4] In 238 BC, the adjacent city ofFregella was the site of a crushed rebellion against Roman rule.[5] The Liris is noticed by several of theRoman poets, as a very gentle and tranquil stream,[6] a character which it well deserves in the lower part of its course, where it was described by a nineteenth century traveller as a wide and noble river, winding under the shadow of poplars through a lovely vale, and then gliding gently towards the sea.[7]
At the mouth of the Liris near Minturnae, was an extensive sacred grove consecrated toMarica, a nymph or local divinity, who was represented by a tradition, adopted byVirgil, as mother ofLatinus, while others identified her withCirce.[8] Her grove and temple[9] were not only objects of great veneration to the people of the neighboring town of Minturnae, but appear to have enjoyed considerable celebrity with the Romans themselves.[10] Immediately adjoining its mouth was an extensive marsh, formed probably by the stagnation of the river itself, and celebrated in history in connection with the adventures ofGaius Marius.
About 70 miles (110 km) upstream from its mouth, the river passes what used to beLake Fucino, separated from the lake basin by the mountain ridge ofMonte Salviano. The Roman emperorClaudius had a tunnel dug through the ridge in an attempt to drain the lake, which had no natural outlet, to the Liri. The later emperorHadrian tried to improve the tunnel but, after the fall of the empire, tunnel maintenance was not maintained and it was blocked by silt and debris, allowing the lake to refill. A new tunnel was completed in the 1860s, and the basin of the former lake still drains to the Liri via that tunnel, through the ridge near the town ofAvezzano. The river, in most tracts, matched the longest lived border in Europe from the 6th century a.d when it separated theByzantine exclave of theduchy of Rome from the Lombardduchy of Benevento until 1860-61: the year of unification of Italy when thePapal states and thekingdom of the two Sicilies were the last sovereign countries to share this border.[11]
During theItalian Campaign of theSecond World War, the German defenses of theGustav Line followed the Liri valley.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Bunbury, Edward Hurbert (1857)."Liri". InSmith, William (ed.).Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Vol. 2. London: John Murray. p. 196.| International | |
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