The Tagliamento () is a
braided river
A braided river, or braided channel, consists of a network of river channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called braid bars or, in English usage, ''aits'' or ''eyots''.
Braided streams tend to occur in rivers with high sediment l ...
in north-east Italy, flowing from the
Alps to the
Adriatic Sea at a point between
Trieste and
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
.
The Tagliamento river is considered as the last morphologically intact river in the Alps. (Its course has not been altered by human intervention).
For this reason, it has been the subject of many scientific investigations into its peculiar characteristics: these include its 150 km long corridor which connects the
Alps and the
Adriatic Sea, its unconstrained floodplain, which hosts several aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and its over 600 islands.
The source is in the
Mauria Pass, on the border between the regions of
Veneto and
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
(man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman)
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. In the upper section, it flows through the historic
Carnia
Carnia ( fur, Cjargne or ''Cjargna''/''Cjargno'' in local variants, vec, Ciargna, german: Karnien, sl, Karnija) is a historical-geographic region in the northeastern Italian area of Friuli. Its 27 municipalities all belong to the Province of Ud ...
region, in the northern part of the
province of Udine
The province of Udine ( it, provincia di Udine, fur, provincie di Udin, sl, videmska pokrajina, Resian dialect, Resian: , german: Provinz Weiden) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia of Italy, borderi ...
. In the middle and lower sections, it first sets the boundary between the provinces of
Udine and
Pordenone
Pordenone (; Venetian and fur, Pordenon) is the main ''comune'' of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.
The name comes from Latin ''Portus Naonis'', meaning 'port on the Noncello (Latin ''Naon'') River'.
...
and later between the former and the
Province of Venice. Finally, it flows into the
Gulf of Venice
The Gulf of Venice ( it, Golfo di Venezia, sl, Beneški zaliv, hr, Venecijanski zaljev) is an informally recognized gulf of the Adriatic Sea. It lies at the extreme north end of the Adriatic, limited on the southwest by the easternmost point of ...
between
Lignano Sabbiadoro and
Bibione.
The watershed covers an area of with a population of approximately 165,000. The watershed lies almost entirely in
Carnia
Carnia ( fur, Cjargne or ''Cjargna''/''Cjargno'' in local variants, vec, Ciargna, german: Karnien, sl, Karnija) is a historical-geographic region in the northeastern Italian area of Friuli. Its 27 municipalities all belong to the Province of Ud ...
and the other mountain valleys of Friuli. 86.5% of the watershed is in the
Province of Udine
The province of Udine ( it, provincia di Udine, fur, provincie di Udin, sl, videmska pokrajina, Resian dialect, Resian: , german: Provinz Weiden) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia of Italy, borderi ...
.
The main towns along its banks are
Latisana
Latisana ( fur, Tisane, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Udine, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy, on the Tagliamento river.
History
The city was probably a Roman post station (''Mansio Apicilia'') o ...
and
San Michele al Tagliamento
San Michele al Tagliamento is an Italian Municipality with 11,930 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, Italy.
SS14, one of the main State Highways (Italy), passes through the commune, whose ''frazione'' of Bibione is a popula ...
. In the vicinity of the river are the following towns:
Tolmezzo,
Gemona del Friuli,
San Daniele del Friuli
San Daniele del Friuli ( fur, Sant Denêl) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Udine.
San Daniele del Friuli borders thes ...
,
Spilimbergo,
Casarsa della Delizia
Casarsa della Delizia, simply known as Casarsa (Standard Friulian: ; Western Friulian: ), is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pordenone in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about east ...
,
Codroipo,
San Vito al Tagliamento,
Pinzano al Tagliamento.
Course
The source is at an elevation of in the
Veneto region (Lorenzago di Cadore) in the
Province of Belluno
The Province of Belluno ( it, Provincia di Belluno; de-AT, Provinz Belluno; lld, Provinzia de Belum) is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno.
It has an area of and a total population of about 205,000.
...
near the border with the
Province of Udine
The province of Udine ( it, provincia di Udine, fur, provincie di Udin, sl, videmska pokrajina, Resian dialect, Resian: , german: Provinz Weiden) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia of Italy, borderi ...
, north-west of
Forni di Sopra
Forni di Sopra ( fur, For Disore, Carnian dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Udine, in the Dolomite Alps mountain range in northeastern Italy. It is located at the top of the Tagliamento river valley. Languages spoken include ...
close to the Mauria Pass.
Initially, the river's course is in a west to east direction, parallel to the
Carnic Alps range.
The first tributary of note is the
Lumiei, which enters the Tagliamento from the left at a distance of from the source.
The river passes through
Pinzano
Pinzano al Tagliamento ( fur, Pinçan) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pordenone in the Italy, Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northeast of Pordenone.
Pinzano al Tagliamento bo ...
and courses in a southward direction, while spreading across the plain reaching a width of near
Spilimbergo and splitting into a number of branches. Its gravelly bed is very permeable, and it absorbs almost all its waters, but the river recovers most of the flow downstream of
Codroipo and
Casarsa
Casarsa della Delizia, simply known as Casarsa (Standard Friulian: ; Western Friulian: ), is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pordenone in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about east ...
, thanks to abundant flows from underground rivers.
From here onwards, the river bed distinctly narrows to and starts to meander because of the reduced slope.
Before ending its course, the river receives the waters of a small underground river, the
Varmo
Varmo ( fur, Vildivar) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about southwest of Udine.
Varmo borders the following municipalities: Bertiolo, ...
. Finally, the river flows into the
Adriatic Sea between
Lignano and
Bibione.
Names
In addition to the
Italian name ''Tagliamento'', the river is known by different names in other languages of the region. The
Friulan official name for the river is ''Tiliment''; other local variants include ''Taiament'', ''Tilimint'', ''Tiument'', ''Timent'', and ''Tuement''. In
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
, the river is known as ''Tajamento'', in
Slovene, ''Tilment'', and in
Latin, ''Tiliaventum''
or ''Taliamentum''. It was known as ''Dülmende'' in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
during the Middle Ages.
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of the Province of Udine
Rivers of the Province of Belluno
Rivers of the Province of Pordenone
Rivers of the Metropolitan City of Venice
Rivers of Italy
Braided rivers in Italy
Adriatic Italian coast basins