The Mincio (;
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 ...
: Mincius,
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 peri ...
: Minchios, ''Μίγχιος'',
Lombard: Mens,
Venetian: Menzo) is a river in the
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 ...
region of northern
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 re ...
.
The river is the main outlet of
Lake Garda
Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy.
It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...
. It is a part of the ''Sarca-Mincio'' river system which also includes the river
Sarca
The Sarca is a river springing from the Adamello-Presanella mountains in the Italian Alps and flowing into Lake Garda at Torbole. As an emissary of the lake it becomes known as the Mincio river, forming a single river system long (''Sarca-Minci ...
and the Lake Garda. The river starts from the south-eastern tip of the lake at the town of
Peschiera del Garda
Peschiera del Garda (; vec, Pischera; la, Ardelica, ''Arilica'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Verona, in Veneto, Italy. When Lombardy-Venetia was under Austrian rule, Peschiera was the northwest anchor of the four fortified tow ...
and then flows from there for about past
Mantua
Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...
and into the river
Po. From Lake Garda until it reaches Pozzolo, it forms the boundary between
Veneto
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
According to the
Greco-Roman mythology
Classical mythology, Greco-Roman mythology, or Greek and Roman mythology is both the body of and the study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans as they are used or transformed by cultural reception. Along with philosophy and poli ...
, the River Mincius was the child of the Lake Benacus.
In the
Etruscan period, the Mincio probably joined with the river
Tartaro and flowed into the sea
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 ...
into the pit
Filistina, in
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
it was made to flow into the Po with three branches from Mantua by Quintus Curius Hostilius, subsequently reunited in a single embanked in
1198 on a project by
Alberto Pitentino and regulated its course with several dams (
Ponte dei Mulini, Mantua The Ponte dei Mulini is the name attached to the mainly man-made separations made across the Mincio River at Mantua, region of Lombardy, Italy. Never truly one "bridge" however the harnessed passage of the water from the upper, Lago Superiore, to t ...
) and the
Governolo
Roncoferraro (Mantovano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about southeast of Mantua.
Roncoferraro borders the following municipalities: Bagnolo Sa ...
) dam to make it navigable, to prevent Mantua from being flooded by the flooding of the Po and to improve air quality.
At Mantua the Mincio was widened in the late 12th century, forming a series of three (originally four) lakes that skirt the edges of the old city. The original settlement here, dating from about 2000 BC, was on an island in the Mincio.
The former lower part of the course of the Mincio flowed 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 ...
near
Adria
Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...
until the
breach at Cucca
The so-called breach at Cucca ( it, rotta della Cucca) traditionally refers to a flood in the Veneto region of Italy that should have happened on October 17, 589 according to the chronicles of Paul the Deacon. The Adige river overflowed after a ...
in 589, roughly following the course of the river that is currently known by the name of
Canal Bianco; it had been a waterway from the sea to the lake until then.
In 452 CE,
Attila
Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
the Hun received an embassy sent by the
Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III
Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...
near this river. The Roman delegation was led by
Pope Leo I
Pope Leo I ( 400 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great, was bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death. Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy "was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history."
Leo was ...
. After this meeting, Attila withdrew from Italy.
The last act of Verdi's opera
Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...
is set just outside Mantua, at an inn on the banks of the Mincio.
References
* Rubis Zemella: ''La mia Polesella perduta'', printed by his own (1992) and reprinted by A.V.I.S. di Polesella (1998).
External links
*
Rivers of Italy
Rivers of the Province of Mantua
Province of Verona
{{Italy-river-stub