The Cismon is a mountain stream (or torrent) in northern Italy, the main tributary of the

Brenta River The Brenta is an Italian river that runs from Trentino to the Adriatic Sea just south of the Venetian lagoon in the Veneto region, in the north-east of Italy. During the Roman era, it was called Medoacus (Ancient Greek: ''Mediochos'', ''Μηδ� ...

. The torrent flows from the Dolomites mountains in the

Trentino Alto-Adige Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

region through the plains of Venetian territory to the bigger Brenta River, which in turn flows into 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 ...

in the Gulf of Venice. The torrent drains a large basin of about 640 km². Around 70% of it is in the

Autonomous Province of Trento Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

(about 440 km²) and 30% (about 200 km²) in the

Province of Belluno The Province of Belluno ( it, Provincia di Belluno; de-AT, Provinz Belluno; lld, Provinzia de Belum) is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno. It has an area of and a total population of about 205,000. ...

in the

Veneto region Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

. The total length of Cismon is 53,2 km, about half of which is in the Trentino and Veneto.

The Direction of the Cismon

The Cismon originates near Rolle Pass (1,984 m s.l.m / 6,509 ft), just below the Cimon della Pala mountain peak (3,184 m / 10,446 ft). Here is the highest elevation of the basin. Then, Cismon flows along the commune of Primiero and the valley of the same name and enters the

Feltrino Feltre ( vec, Fèltre) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about from its junction with the Piave, and southwes ...

valley. Along the way, the Cismon receives the waters of several other streams: * Before entering the Venetian territory it receives torrent Canali from the

Pale di San Martino The Pala group (also known as Pale di San Martino) is the largest massif of the Dolomites, with about 240 km² of surface, located between eastern Trentino and Veneto (province of Belluno), in the area between Primiero (valleys of Cismon, Canali, Tr ...

mountains, torrent Noana from the Vette Feltrine mountains (a part of the National Park of Belluno Dolomites), and torrent Vanoi from Lagorai and Cima d’Asta mountains. * In the Venetian territory, among the significant tributaries, there are torrent Ausor on the left upstream of the barrier of the Ponte Serra location and the Senaiga torrent, whose basin falls almost completely in the

Province of Trento Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

. Continuing downstream, at the height of the village of Rocca d'Arsiè (hamlet of Arsiè), where the valley narrows again, a colossal dam erected in the late '50s by Enel for electro-irrigation purposes, bars the course of the Cismon retaining all the flow in conditions of low flow of the river. The dam gives rise to the artificial Corlo Lake, whose waters continue moving through the narrow Incino Valley. The waters of the Cismon and its tributaries are exploited to power several other hydroelectric plants. Finally, once passed the narrow gorge, the torrent flows with a tortuous path until the confluence with the Brenta River, just upstream of the town of

Cismon del Grappa Cismon del Grappa is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is east of SS47 state road. Twin towns Cismon del Grappa is twinned with: * Giarre Giarre ( scn, Giarri) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropoli ...

. The flow rate of the Cismon is not much less than that of the Brenta, of which it can be considered the upper branch.

The history of the Cismon basin

In 589 A.D., following a devastating flood, the Cismon changed its basin, passing from the Piave basin, the river into which it flowed between Artèn (hamlet of Fonzaso) and Caupo (hamlet of Seren del Grappa) through the present Stizzon stream, to that of the Brenta.

Interesting facts about Cismon

The upper course of the Cismon is the only stream in Trentino that has waters in the first quality class according to the extended biotic index (IBE). It is excellent for the practice of sport fishing.

Image Gallery

Torrent Cismon. View from Lamon.jpg,

References

Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Province of Belluno Rivers of Trentino Rivers of the Province of Vicenza {{Italy-river-stub