The Lambro ( lmo, Lamber or ''Lambar'' ) is a river of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, northern Italy, a left tributary of the Po. The Lambro rises from the Monte San Primo, elevation , near the Ghisallo, in the

province of Como The Province of Como ( it, Provincia di Como; german: Provinz Como; Comasco: ) is a province in the north of the Lombardy region of Italy and borders the Swiss cantons of Ticino and Grigioni to the North, the Italian provinces of Sondrio and Le ...

, not far from

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

. After

Magreglio Magreglio ( Valassinese lmo, Magrei ) is a small town in the province of Como, Lombardy, Italy. Twin towns * Friedberg, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the seco ...

it flows through the

Valassina The Valassina or Vallassina is the valley of the upper tract of the river Lambro, situated in the Larian Triangle in the Province of Como, northern Italy. The most important settlement in the area is the town of Asso, from which the valley takes ...

and the ''comuni'' of Asso,

Ponte Lambro Ponte Lambro ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about east of Como. Ponte Lambro borders the following municipalities: Caslino d'Erba, Castelm ...

and Erba, entering Lake Pusiano with the name of ''Lambrone''. The Lambro passes through

Brianza Brianza (, , lmo, label=Brianzöö dialect, Briànsa) is a geographical, historical and cultural area of Italy, at the foot of the Alps, in the northwest of Lombardy, between Milan and Lake Como. Geography Brianza extends from th ...

reaching

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

and crossing its famous park (where king

Umberto I Umberto I ( it, Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900. Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colo ...

was assassinated by

Gaetano Bresci Gaetano Bresci (; November 10, 1869May 22, 1901) was an Italian-American anarchist who assassinated King Umberto I of Italy on July 29, 1900. Bresci was the first European regicide not to be executed, as capital punishment in Italy had been a ...

) in two branches which join again before the river passes through the eastern part of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. At

Melegnano Melegnano (formerly Marignano; lmo, Meregnan ) is a town and ''comune'' in Italy, in the province of Milan, region of Lombardy. The town lies southeast of the city of Milan. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on 2 ...

it receives the waters of the Vettabbia and, at

Sant'Angelo Lodigiano Sant'Angelo Lodigiano (locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about southwest of Lodi. People *Saint Francesca Cabrini (1850–1917), Catholic teache ...

, those of its main tributary, the Lambro meridionale ("Southern Lambro"), almost doubling its discharge. The Lambro flows into the Po near

Orio Litta Orio Litta ( Lodigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about southeast of Lodi. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,982 and an area of .A ...

. At the average discharge of the Lambro is relatively small, but it can be occasionally boosted to 40 m³/s or more by the Milanese water drains and dangerous floods are frequent in the rainy seasons. The name Lambro was used for a popular three-wheeler commercial transport vehicle produced by Milanese automaker

Innocenti Innocenti () was an Italian machinery works, originally established by Ferdinando Innocenti in 1920. Over the years, they produced Lambretta scooters as well as a range of automobiles, mainly of British Leyland origins. The brand was retired in 1 ...

, which also made the

Lambretta Lambretta () is the brand name of mainly motor scooters, initially manufactured in Milan, Italy, by Innocenti. The name is derived from the word Lambrate, the suburb of Milan named after the river Lambro which flows through the area, and whe ...

motor scooters A scooter (motor scooter) is a motorcycle with an underbone or step-through frame, a seat, and a platform for the rider's feet, emphasizing comfort and fuel economy. Elements of scooter design were present in some of the earliest motorcycles ...

Etymology

According to Pokorny's

Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch The ''Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch'' (''IEW''; "Indo-European Etymological Dictionary") was published in 1959 by the Austrian-German comparative linguist and Celtic languages expert Julius Pokorny. It is an updated and slimmed-down ...

(''Indo-European Etymological Dictionary'')
1132 (''legʷh-'')
''Lambrus'' corresponds to Greek ἐλαφρός, meaning 'light (in weight), quick, nimble' ('leicht, flink' in German) and is related to Illyrian ''lembus'' (*''lengʷho-s'') 'light vehicle' ('leichtes Fahrzeug' in German), whence also Greek λέμβος. Pokorny cites Krahe, ''Gymnasium'' 59 (1952), p. 79.

Pollution

Lambro drains a very densely populated and heavily industrialized zone, including a significant portion of the

Milan metropolitan area The Milan metropolitan area, also known as Grande Milano ("Greater Milan"), is the largest metropolitan area in Italy and the 54th largest in the world. It is the largest transnational metropolitan area in the EU. The metropolitan area descri ...

with a population of more than 3,000,000. Before the construction of a treatment plant in 2002, almost all of the sewage from the city of

flowed untreated into the river, as well as industrial sewages.

Saboteur oil spill

Despite the implementation of sewage treatment, overall water quality remained poor, until the major disaster of 23 February 2010, when unknown criminals poured into the river, near

Villasanta Villasanta (''La Santa'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan. Villasanta borders the following municipalities: Arcore, Biassono Biassono ( Brian ...

, the contents of several silos containing oil and other

hydrocarbons In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ex ...

, all belonging to a company named "Lombardia Petroli". This oily mass, estimated at over , followed the entire length of the river, despite both local authorities and

civil defence Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mit ...

's efforts in order to stop the flow, then reached Po river. This disaster caused considerable damage to wildlife and vegetation, both in Lambro and in Po, and its effects will be evident for many years afterwards, making it one of the worst environmental crises in recent history in Italy.NICOLE WINFIELD
"Lambro River Oil Spill May Create 'Ecological Disaster' In Italy"
''Huffington Post'', 2010-02-24

References

{{Reflist Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Province of Como Rivers of the Province of Lecco Rivers of the Province of Monza and Brianza Rivers of the Province of Milan Rivers of the Province of Lodi Rivers of the Province of Pavia