The Simeto (; ; ; ) is a long river in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

. At , it is the second longest river on the island after the Salso (also known as Southern Imera), but the most important in terms of watershed ().Bacino Idrografico del Fiume Simeto (094), Relazione bacino
Regione Siciliana, p. 1-2 It flows through the province of Enna and the

province of Catania The province of Catania (; ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Its capital was the city of Catania. It had an area of and a total population of about 1,116,917 as of 31 December 2014. Historically known also as ...

. Its source is located near Bronte, from the union of several streams of the Nebrodi Mountains. After receiving its first affluent, the

Troina Troina ( Sicilian: ''Traina'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Enna, in the Italian region of Sicily. It is located in the Nebrodi Park. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Hi ...

, the river starts running southwards into a spectacular canyon of lava from eruptions of

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( or ; , or ; ; or ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina, Italy, Messina and Catania. It is located above the Conve ...

. Near Adrano, Simeto constitutes the boundary between the province of Catania and that of Enna, and receives the Salso,Not to be confused with the larger Salso River of western Sicily. then flows near Paternò. Simeto's final course is slower and twisting, being all included in the plain of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

; its last confluences are with the Dittaino and the Gornalunga, before flowing into the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

south to the metropolitan area of Catania.

Notes

Rivers of Italy Rivers of Sicily Rivers of the Metropolitan City of Catania Rivers of the Province of Enna Rivers of the Metropolitan City of Messina Drainage basins of the Ionian Sea {{Italy-river-stub