The Candiano Canal, also known as the ''Canal Corsini'', is a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

connecting the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

city of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

to the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

. The canal was built as part of a construction program begun by

Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII ( la, Clemens XII; it, Clemente XII; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the ...

in the early 18th century. The artificial waterway connects the Monote and Ronco rivers to the Adriatic Sea. At 11 km long, the canal is the largest artificial canal in Italy.

History

Background

Historically, the city of Ravenna suffered episodes of destructive

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

. To combat this issue, the city of Ravenna built over the centuries a series of canals and waterways to prevent the Montone, Ronco, and Candiano Rivers from flooding. A lack of drinking water was also a chronic problem for the city, as the three aforementioned rivers are shallow, muddy, and as such provided poor drinking water. In the 7th century the

Po river The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ligurian language (ancient), Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira (river), Mair ...

was diverted, leading to more

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

being swept downriver to Ravenna. Over the centuries this sediment clogged the smaller canals in the city and caused the coastline to expand outwards, disrupting the

Port of Ravenna The Port of Ravenna ( it, Porto di Ravenna) is an Italian seaport on the North Adriatic Sea in Ravenna, Italy. It is one of the top twenty Italian ports and top forty European ports. Overview The port of Ravenna is the main port of Emilia-Romagn ...

. In 1636 both the Montone and Ronco rivers flooded, destroying 140 buildings in the city.

Construction

To better facilitate the flow of water and increase access to the Port of Ravenna, a plan for a new canal was formulated in the early 18th century. The canal was constructed to tie existing canals and the three rivers of Ravenna together. When completed, the canal was planned to stretch 11

kilometers The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ex ...

to the Adriatic. Construction was completed in 1738. The canal was named for Pope Clement XII, as at the time the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

controlled Ravenna. A second canal, the Panfilio Canal (known as the Canal Magne) was also constructed during this time. In the 18th century the Candiano Canal was deepened and slightly shortened as part of a infrastructure expansion project launched by Agostino Rivarola. The economic importance of the Candiano Canal declined after railroads became widespread in the 19th century. However, the canal continued to service the city and the Port of Ravenna. The importance of the canal increased after the Port of Ravenna (which contained petroleum processing facilities) underwent an economic revival during the

1973 oil crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...

. The canal was dredged in 2000 and in 2008, deepening it to a depth of 11.5 meters.

References

{{coord missing, Italy Canals in Italy