The Belice, , is a river of western
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
. It is about long. From its main source near
Piana degli Albanesi it runs south and west for as the Belice Destro ("right Belice") until it is joined near
Poggioreale
Poggioreale ( Sicilian: ''Poggiuriali'') is a ghost town and '' comune'' in the province of Trapani, western Sicily, southern Italy, located in the Belice valley. The Economy was mostly based on agriculture and fruit cultivation.
Earthquak ...
by its secondary branch, the Belice Sinistro ("left Belice"), which rises on the slopes of
Rocca Busambra. The Belice proper then flows for another or so before entering the
Strait of Sicily to the east of the
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
archaeological site of
Selinunte
Selinunte (; grc, Σελῑνοῦς, Selīnoûs ; la, Selīnūs , ; scn, Silinunti ) was a rich and extensive ancient Greek city on the south-western coast of Sicily in Italy. It was situated between the valleys of the Cottone and Modion ...
. During Classical times it was known as the ''Hypsas''.
History
The middle section of the Belice valley was hit by the January
1968 Belice earthquake which completely destroyed numerous centres of population, including
Gibellina
Gibellina ( Sicilian: ''Jibbiddina'', Arabic: "little mount" - جبل صغير) is a small city and ''comune'' in the Province of Trapani, the mountains of central Sicily, Italy. It was destroyed by the 1968 Belice earthquake.
The new city, G ...
,
Montevago
Montevago ( Sicilian: ''Muntivau'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about southwest of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento.
Montevago borders the following municipalities: ...
and
Salaparuta
Salaparuta is a town and ''comune'' in South-Western Sicily, Italy, in the valley of the Belice river, administratively part of the province of Trapani
Trapani ( it, Provincia di Trapani, scn, Pruvincia di Tràpani; officially ''Libero consorz ...
. Three hundred and seventy people died, a thousand were injured and some 70,000 people were made homeless.
References
Rivers of Italy
Rivers of Sicily
Rivers of the Province of Palermo
Rivers of the Province of Trapani
European drainage basins of the Mediterranean Sea
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