The Sele 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 ...

in southwestern

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 ...

. Originating from the

Monti Picentini 300px, Rocky limestone landscape in the monti Picentini. The Monti Picentini is a mountain range and national park in southern Italy, part of the Apennines, traditionally part in the Campanian Apennines. They are included between the Monti Latta ...

in Caposele,Meaning "top of the Sele" it flows through the region of

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

, in the provinces of Salerno and Avellino. Its mouth is in the

Gulf of Salerno The Gulf of Salerno (Italian: ''Golfo di Salerno'') is a gulf of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the coast of the province of Salerno in south-western Italy. The northern part of this coast is the Costiera Amalfitana, which ends at Punta di Campanella an ...

, on 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 ...

, at the borders between the municipalities of

Eboli Eboli ( Ebolitano: ) is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, southern Italy, in the province of Salerno. An agricultural centre, Eboli is known mainly for olive oil and for its dairy products, among which the famous buffalo mozzarella from the ...

and Capaccio (not too far from

Paestum Paestum ( , , ) was a major ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Magna Graecia (southern Italy). The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order, dating from about 550 to 450 BC, whi ...

), in the beginning point of

Cilentan Coast The Cilento Coast ( Italian: ''Costiera Cilentana'') is an Italian stretch of coastline in Cilento, on the southern side of the Province of Salerno. It is situated between the gulfs of Salerno and Policastro, extending from the municipalities ...

History

The important Greek site of

Foce del Sele The Heraion at Foce del Sele (English "Heraion at the mouth of the River Sele") is an archaeological site consisting of an Ancient Greek sanctuary complex dedicated to the goddess Hera in Magna Grecia (southern Italy). It was originally locat ...

, a sanctuary complex dedicated to the goddess Hera, is at the ancient mouth of the river, though little remains on the site; the

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

s and other finds are now in the museum at Paestum. At this period the Sele represented the border of the Greek and Etruscan zones of influence along the coast.

Hydrography

In terms of average water discharge of southern Italian rivers, it is second only to the

Volturno The Volturno (ancient Latin name Volturnus, from ''volvere'', to roll) is a river in south-central Italy. Geography It rises in the Abruzzese central Apennines of Samnium near Castel San Vincenzo (province of Isernia, Molise) and flows southe ...

. Its main tributaries are the

Tanagro The Tanagro (''Tanàgro'') or Negro is a river of the Province of Salerno, southwestern Italy. It rises in the Vallo di Diano and is a tributary of the Sele River. In ancient times it was known as ''Tanager''. Overview From the origin to the mou ...

, the

Calore Lucano The Calore Lucano (or ''Calore Salernitano'') is a river in Campania, southern Italy, whose course is entirely included in the province of Salerno, within Cilento, for a total of about . It is an important left tributary of the Sele. In ancient ...

and the

Tenza Tenza () is a town and municipality in the subregion of the Eastern Boyacá Province of the Colombian department Boyacá. Tenza borders La Capilla and Pachavita in the north, in the east the department of Cundinamarca, in the south with Sutat ...

. In ancient times it was known as Silarus. This river is the location of the

battle of the Silarus The Battle of the Silarus was fought in 212 BC between Hannibal's army and a Roman force led by centurion Marcus Centenius Penula. The Carthaginians were victorious, destroying the entire Roman army and killing 15,000 Roman soldiers in the proces ...

in which Hannibal won a major victory over the Romans, and it is also the place of the battle in which

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...

and his rebellion was defeated by Marcus Licinius Crassus and his legions.

Geography

The municipalities crossed by the river, from the mouth to the origin, are

, Capaccio,

Albanella Albanella is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is located 51 kilometers from the city of Salerno. The town slogan is , which translates to "the land of the olive trees" in English. ...

, Serre,

Campagna Campagna (Italian: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Its population is 17,148. Its old Latin name was Civitas Campaniae (City of Campagna). Campagna is located in one of the ...

, Contursi Terme, Oliveto Citra,

Colliano Colliano (Campanian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. The name is likely related to the Italian word, ''collinare'', which means hill top. History Geography The municipality ...

, Senerchia, Valva, Calabritto and Caposele. Despite of its name, '' demonym'' of the river, the municipality of

Altavilla Silentina Altavilla Silentina is a town and ''comune'' located in the province of Salerno, Campania, some 100 km south of Naples, Italy. Geography Altavilla Silentina is spread on two ridges of a hill. It is shielded on the northeastern side by the ...

is not crossed by Sele.

References

External links

{{Authority control Rivers of the Province of Avellino Rivers of the Province of Salerno Cilento Rivers of Italy Drainage basins of the Tyrrhenian Sea