Taro River
Encyclopedia
The Taro is a 126 km
Kilometre
The kilometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second...

-long river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, tributary to the Po River
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from 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...

. It flows almost entirely in the province of Parma
Province of Parma
The Province of Parma is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Parma.It has an area of 3,449 km², and a total population of 413,198...

, west of the city Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....

. The Taro flows into the Po River north of Parma.

The Taro drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 occupies an area of 2026 km² (782 sq mi); the most important of its affluents are the Ceno
Ceno
The Ceno is a 63 km-long tributary of the Taro River, flowing entirely the Province of Parma, northern Italy. It joins the Taro on its left side at Fornovo....

, Recchio and Stirone
Stirone
The Stirone is a small river of Emilia-Romagna in north Italy, a left tributary of the Taro, which it joins shortly before the latter enters the Po....

 stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

s. Both the Taro and Ceno spring from Monte Penna
Monte Penna
Monte Penna is a mountain on the border between Liguria and Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, part of the Ligurian Appennines. It is included in the Natural Regional Park of the Aveto, and overlooks the Val di Taro; the sources of both the Taro and Ceno Rivers are located in Monte Penna's slope.The...

 (1,735 m), located in the Apennine Mountains
Apennine mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains or Greek oros but just as often used alone as a noun. The ancient Greeks and Romans typically but not always used "mountain" in the singular to mean one or a range; thus, "the Apennine mountain" refers to the entire chain and is translated "the Apennine...

 across the provinces of Genoa
Province of Genoa
The Province of Genoa is a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Genoa.It has an area of 1,838 km², and a total population of about 900,000...

 and Parma.

The river shows strong seasonal variabilities. In summer it can easily dry, while in rainy periods it can reach a discharge
Discharge (hydrology)
In hydrology, discharge is the volume rate of water flow, including any suspended solids , dissolved chemical species and/or biologic material , which is transported through a given cross-sectional area...

 of 1000 m³/s: this value can even double in occasions (called Piene centennali, "Centennial floods"), like that of November 9, 1982.

The Taro Valley had a relevant strategical importance during the Middle Ages, being crossed by the Via Francigena
Via Francigena
The Via Francigena is an ancient road between Rome and Canterbury, passing through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. In mediaeval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route...

, the main connection between Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in that era.

20 km of the river course between Fornovo di Taro
Fornovo di Taro
Fornovo di Taro is a comune in the province of Parma, in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 100 km west of Bologna and about 25 km southwest of Parma....

 and Ponte Taro constites the protected area of the Taro Regional Natural Park, characterized by numerous islets of sand and gravel, as well as by a large variety of vegetation and fauna.

During the French conquest of Italy in the course of Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

, the river gave its name to a Départment
Department
A department is a part of a larger organization with a specific responsibility. For the division of organizations into departments, see departmentalization.In particular:...

 (see Taro (département)
Taro (département)
Taro is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy. It was named after the Taro river. It was formed in 1808, when the states of Parma and Piacenza were annexed by France. Its capital was Parma. It was divided into the following arrondissements:* Parma.* Borgo San Donnino...

).

Other tributaries

Other tributaries that flow into the Taro include the torrenti (stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

s):
  • Gotra
  • Tarodine

External links

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