The Lao (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: ;

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: Laus, Laos or Laüs; formerly also Laino) is a river in southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It rises in the Lucanian Apennines in Basilicata (where it is known as the Mercure) and drains into the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

near

Scalea Scalea ( Calabrian: , lit. "stair" or "ladder") is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. The town takes its name from its terraced layout on a hillside at the bottom of the Capo Scalea promonto ...

in Calabria.

Description

The river has a length of 51 km. Its source is near the Serra del Prete mountain in the

Pollino The Pollino (Italian: ''Massiccio del Pollino'') is a massif in the southern Apennines, on the border between Basilicata and Calabria, southern Italy. It became part of the Pollino National Park in 1992. The main peaks include Monte Pollino ...

massif, at an altitude of 2,181 meters. Here it flows to the west through the Valley of the Mercure and passes

Viggianello Viggianello may refer to: * Viggianello, Basilicata, town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata * Viggianello, Corse-du-Sud, commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsi ...

. Later it changes course to southwest and passes

Laino Borgo Laino Borgo ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' of inhabitants in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is located on the border between two regions ( Calabria e Basilicata), and lies at the entrance to the ...

and

Papasidero Papasidero is a village and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region, southern Italy. It is part of Pollino National Park. Geography Papasidero is situated on a rocky spur 210 m above the sea level and is crossed by Lao an ...

. Near

Orsomarso Orsomarso ( Calabrian: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Cosenza The province of Cosenza ( it, provincia di Cosenza) is a province in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza. It contains 150 ''comu ...

it is joined by the Argentino from the left, its main tributary. It empties in the Tyrrhenian Sea near Scalea. It has a drainage basin of .Caratteristiche bacino e sottobacini. Lao
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History

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

and Strabo all describe the river and note that it was the boundary between

Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Bruttiu ...

and

Bruttium 01 or '01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * 01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * ''01'' (Son of Dave album), 2000 * ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''O1'' (Hiroyuki Sawa ...

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

. The archaeological site 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 ...

colony Laüs is located close to the river's mouth in the ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' Marcellina of the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

Santa Maria del Cedro Santa Maria del Cedro is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, Italy. The town's name indicates the cultivation of the special diamante citron, which is used as Etrog by the Jews during their Feast of Tabernacles. Sights in ...

References

{{Authority control Rivers of the Province of Cosenza Rivers of the Province of Potenza Bruttium Lucania Drainage basins of the Tyrrhenian Sea Rivers of Italy