The Melfa is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy. It rises in the Monti della Meta, flows south-west for about and joins the Liri near

San Giovanni Incarico San Giovanni Incarico is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about southeast of Frosinone. San Giovanni Incarico borders the following municipalities: Arce, ...

.''Carta stradale: Lazio 1:200000''. Istituto Geografico DeAgostini. . The source of the Melfa issues from a high limestone chimney in the Valle di Canneto at an elevation of in the Lazio watershed of the

Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park ( Italian: ''Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise'') is an Italian national park established in 1923. The majority of the park is located in the Abruzzo region, with smaller parts in Lazio and Molise. I ...

beneath the Massiccio del Meta, in the territory of Settefrati. The source has been linked in local legend and popular devotion since Antiquity. In a series of rapids and cascades, it descends the Valle di Comino, passing through

Picinisco Picinisco (locally ''Pecenische'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about east of Rome and about east of Frosinone. It is included in the Valle di Comino and National Park of Abruzz ...

, Atina— where it receives the waters of the little Mollarino—

Casalattico Casalattico (Neapolitan language, Campanian: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italy, Italian region of Lazio. The village is located about southeast of Rome and about east of Frosinone. It is home to a summer ...

and

Casalvieri Casalvieri (Campanian: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about east of Frosinone. Casalvieri borders the following municipalities: Alvito, Arpino, Ati ...

. Below Casalvieri it passes for 15 km through a deep gorge in the foothills of

Monte Cairo Monte Cairo (1,669 m) is a mountain in Lazio (in the province of Frosinone), overshadowing both the Abbey and the town of Monte Cassino, 5 kilometres to the south. Features The ancient 'Mons Clarius' was so called because originally a temp ...

at the end of which it reaches the Liri, near

Roccasecca Roccasecca is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is the birthplace of Thomas Aquinas. History The history of Roccasecca is tightly bound to its strategic position, a "dry '' rocca''" at ...

. The Melfa is noted by Strabo as a "large river" flowing near the city of Aquinum/Aquino. The origin of the name is obscure, perhaps to be associated with the goddess

Mefitis Mefitis was the Samnites, Samnite goddess of the foul-smelling gases of the earth, worshipped in central and southern Italy since before Roman times, with her main shrine at the volcano Ampsanctus in Samnium. There was a temple dedicated to her ...

, worshipped in a sanctuary uncovered in 1958 at the place called Capodaqua, right below the source. Other

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

s from the same root include the locality Melfi a Pontecorvo, also near the Liri, seat of an ancient cult of

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

; the city of

Melfi Melfi ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,768. Geography On ...

and

Molfetta Molfetta (; Molfettese: ) is a town located in the northern side of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. It has a well restored old city, and its own dialect. History The earliest local signs of permanent habitation are a ...

, anciently Melficta; Melpum in the central Paduan plain, perhaps also

Amalfi Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramati ...

; in

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 ...

the

hydronym A hydronym (from el, ὕδρω, , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As ...

Melpes is found.''Dizionario di toponomastica'' (Turin:Utet), (1992) 1997.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melfa Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Province of Frosinone