The Dirillo, or Acate, is a river in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

which springs from the

Hyblaean Mountains The Hyblaean Mountains ( scn, Munt'Ibblei; it, Monti Iblei; la, Hyblaei montes) is a mountain range in south-eastern Sicily, Italy. It straddles the provinces of Ragusa, Syracuse and Catania. The highest peak of the range is Monte Lauro, at 98 ...

and flows through the areas of

Vizzini Vizzini is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, on the island of Sicily, southern Italy. It is located from Catania in the Hyblaean Mountains, on the most northwesterly slopes of Monte Lauro. The commune territory is b ...

Licodia Eubea Licodia Eubea ( scn, Licuddìa) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, on the island of Sicily, southern Italy. It is bounded by the comuni of Caltagirone, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Giarratana, Grammichele, Mazzarrone, Mineo, ...

Mazzarrone Mazzarrone ( Sicilian: ''Mazzarruni'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Catania. Mazzarrone borders the following municipa ...

Chiaramonte Gulfi Chiaramonte Gulfi (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Ciaramunti'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. Geography Chiaramonte Gulfi is located on a hill-top north of Ragusa, Italy, Ragusa at an altitude of ...

Acate Acate ( Sicilian: ''Acati'' or ''Vischiri'') is a small town and ''comune'' in the south of Sicily, Italy, part of the province of Ragusa. It is located in the Dirillo River valley, from Ragusa. Until 1938 it was called Biscari, and its hist ...

, Vittoria,

Gela Gela (Sicilian and ; grc, Γέλα) is a city and (municipality) in the Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province of Cal ...

. It enters the

Strait of Sicily The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; it, Canale di Sicilia or the Stretto di Sicilia; scn, Canali di Sicilia or Strittu di Sicilia, ar, مضيق ص ...

south-east of the town of

. As the largest river in the area it is sometimes known as the ''Fiume Grande''. The river was known in antiquity as the Achates ( grc, Ἀχάτης). It was noted by

Silius Italicus Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (, c. 26 – c. 101 AD) was a Roman senator, orator and Epic poetry, epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is the 17-book ''Punica (poem), Punica'', an epic poem about th ...

for the remarkable clearness of its waters.

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...

in his treatise ''

On Stones Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...

'' (ca. 315 B.C.) indicates that the name of the gemstone ''achates'' (

agate Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Ancie ...

) was based on the source of such stones from this river.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

makes the same connection in his ''

Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...

''Pliny the Elder, ''The Natural History'', Book XXXVII Chapter 54
at the

Perseus Project The Perseus Project is a digital library project of Tufts University, which assembles digital collections of humanities resources. Version 4.0 is also known as the "Perseus Hopper", and it is hosted by the Department of Classical Studies. The proj ...

Agate and

chalcedony Chalcedony ( , or ) is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of quartz and moganite. These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic. ...

can still be found here. During the period of Arab rule it became known as ''Wadi‑Ikrilu'': ‘The River of Acrille’, an ancient Greek-Roman colony that stood in the surroundings. In the 1950s the

Azienda Nazionale Idrogenazione Combustibili Azienda Nazionale Idrogenazione Combustibili (ANIC) was an Italian chemical company, established during the Fascist regime with the objective of obtaining synthetic gasoline by hydrogenation of brown coal. It was set up in 1936 by state-owned Agip ...

dammed the river near Licodia Eubea to create

Lago Dirillo Dirillo Lake is an artificial lake to the south of Licodia Eubea in the Province of Catania, Sicily, Italy, which was formed in the 1950s by damming the river Dirillo The Dirillo, or Acate, is a river in Sicily which springs from the Hyblaean ...

, a reservoir for the Polo petrolchimico di Gela petrochemical plants. With good fishing and camping facilities, as well its natural scenic beauty, this area has become a tourist attraction.

Footnotes

References

:''This article includes material from its counterpart in the Italian-language Wikipedia « :it:Dirillo », specifically fro
this version
''

External links

Rivers of Italy Rivers of Sicily Gela Rivers of the Province of Caltanissetta Rivers of the Province of Catania Rivers of the Province of Ragusa European drainage basins of the Mediterranean Sea {{Italy-river-stub