The Nigoglia is a short
Italian river whose source is at the northern end of
Lago d’Orta, of which it is the sole outflow. Its course of less than 2 kilometres passes in a northerly direction through the town of
Omegna and into the
Strona.
As a rule, the outflows of Italy's major
subalpine lakes run in a southerly direction, down to the plains of the
Po valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...
. The Nigoglia is the exception, seeming to run ‘upwards’ towards the high Alps. This peculiarity gave rise to the motto in the local dialect which is posted on the Omegna town hall, and which is quoted at the end of
Gianni Rodari’s children's story ''
C'era due volte il barone Lamberto'':
: ''La Nigoeuja la va in su; e la legg la fèm nϋ!''
(‘The Nigoglia runs upwards, and we make our own laws!’)
Sources
:''This original version of this article included text translated from
its counterpart in the
Italian Wikipedia.''
Rivers of Italy
Rivers of the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Rivers of the Alps
Lake Orta
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