The Coscile is a river in

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

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 ...

. In

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

it was known as the Sybaris (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: ) and gave its name to the Ancient Greek city. It is the third-largest river in the region in terms of water discharge and extent of its basin after the

Crati The Crati is a river in Calabria, southern Italy. It is the largest river of Calabria and the third largest river of southern Italy after the Volturno and the Sele. In classical antiquity it was known as the Crathis or Crater (Greek: ). Geograph ...

and Neto. It is the main left tributary of the Crati.

Geography

The river is about 50 kilometers long and has a large basin of approximately 950 km. It collects the waters of many springs at the foot of the

Pollino The Pollino (Italian: ''Massiccio del Pollino'') is a massif in the southern Apennines, on the border between Basilicata and Calabria, southern Italy, being the highest point of both regions. It became part of the Pollino National Park in 1992. ...

massif and the Serra Dolcedorme through the tributaries Esaro, Tiro and Garga. Initially its course is towards the south-east through the plain of

Sibari Sibari is an Italian ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Cassano allo Ionio. It lies in the province of Cosenza which is part of the region Calabria. Geography It is located close to the Gulf of Taranto and the archaeological s ...

, but changes to an eastern direction after its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the Esaro river. The Esaro is its main tributary which almost triples its discharge. The river then feeds into the Crati just east of Apollinara, a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'' in the ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' of Corigliano Calabro. The river is crossed in several places by the A2 motorway from

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

from the pass of Campotenese (at an elevation of 1000 meters), a ''frazione'' of

Morano Calabro Morano Calabro (Northern Calabrian, Moranese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). It was the birthplac ...

, to

Castrovillari Castrovillari ( Calabrian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Geography Castrovillari lies in the north of Calabria, close to the border with Basilicata and within the Pollino Nationa ...

. Near

Spezzano Albanese Spezzano Albanese (Arbëreshë: ''Spixan'') is a municipality in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, southern Italy. It is located on a 320 m high hill commanding the plain of Sibari and the Esaro river valley. It originated from Albanian em ...

the river is also crossed by the railway line from

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

to Sibari.

Hydrology

Due to its various sources and especially the rich supply of the Esaro, the river is the third river of Calabria in terms of discharge with 14 m/s average annual flow. The importance of its basin area is demonstrated by the presence of three

Enel Enel S.p.A. is an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. Enel was first established as a public body at the end of 1962, and then transformed into a limited company in 1992. In 1999, following the liberali ...

power plants. It is a seasonal river with strong winter runoff and a lower discharge in summer, pouring 5 m/s in the Crati during August.

History

The Greek geographer

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

claimed that Greek colonists named the river Sybaris after a spring of the same name at Bura in

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

. He also alleges that its water made the horses who drank it shy, which is why all herds were kept away from it. In the time of Sybaris the Coscile was not a tributary of the Crati but pursued a direct course to the Gulf of Taranto. It probably followed a course at a short distance to the north of Sybaris.

References

{{Reflist, refs= Strabo, ''

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (, ''Geōgraphiká''; or , "Strabo's 17 Books on Geographical Topics") or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek in the late 1st century BC, or early 1st cen ...

'
8.7.5
/ref> Strabo, ''Geographica'
6.1.13

Pseudo-Aristotle Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their works to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known a ...

, '' De mirabilibus auscultationibus'
169
/ref> {{cite journal, last1=Stanley, first1=Jean-Daniel, last2=Bernasconi, first2=Maria Pia, title=Sybaris-Thuri-Copia trilogy: three delta coastal sites become land-locked, journal=Méditerranée, year=2009, issue=112, url=http://mediterranee.revues.org/pdf/3190, access-date=2013-01-12, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813025319/http://mediterranee.revues.org/pdf/3190, archive-date=2014-08-13, url-status=dead Rivers of the Province of Cosenza Rivers of Italy