The Maira is an Italian river, a

right tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the Po, which runs through the

province of Cuneo Cuneo (Italian), or Coni (Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Haut ...

in eastern

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. Its source is in the

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; french: Alpes Cottiennes ; it, Alpi Cozie ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Ra ...

near the Col de Mary (or Col Maurin) on the French border. Its name, in the

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

and

Piedmontese Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regard ...

languages, means ‘lean’ or ‘meagre’. Dronero

During its upper course the river descends rapidly through the scenic

Valle Maira Maira Valley (in Italian ''Val Maira'' or ''Valle Macra'') is a valley in south-west of Piedmont in the Province of Cuneo, Italy. Etymology The valley takes its name from the river Maira, a right-hand tributary of the Po which flows through the ...

, passing through the centres of

Acceglio Acceglio (Vivaro-Alpine: ''Acelh'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont. It is located above Prazzo in the upper Valle Maira about southwest of Turin and about west of Cuneo, on the border wi ...

Prazzo Prazzo is ''comune'' of the province of Cuneo, in Piedmont, northern Italy. The main village is split into two parts, Prazzo Superiore (upper) and Prazzo Inferiore (lower), at about from each other on the national route 22. Prazzo is part of loca ...

Stroppo Stroppo is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo. Stroppo borders the following municipalities: Elva, Macra, Marmora, Prazzo and Sampey ...

Macra Macra is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo. Macra borders the following municipalities: Celle di Macra, Marmora, Sampeyre, San Dam ...

San Damiano Macra San Damiano Macra is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo. San Damiano Macra borders the following municipalities: Cartignano, Castelm ...

Cartignano Cartignano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo. Cartignano borders the following municipalities: Dronero, Melle, Roccabruna, and Sa ...

and

Dronero Dronero ( oc, Draonier) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ...

; at Busca it leaves the valley and enters the plains, continuing through

Villafalletto Villafalletto is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about north of Cuneo. Villafalletto borders the following municipalities: Busca, Centallo, Costigliole Saluzz ...

and

Vottignasco Vottignasco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about north of Cuneo. Vottignasco borders two other municipalities: Savigliano and Villafalletto Villafalletto ...

. It passes just to the left of

Savigliano Savigliano (Savijan in Piedmontese) is a ''comune'' of Piedmont, northern Italy, in the Province of Cuneo, about south of Turin by rail. It is home to ironworks, foundries, locomotive works (once owned by Fiat Ferroviaria, now by Alstom) and si ...

, while the Grana-Mellea, its main tributary, passes to the right of the town: they continue in parallel before joining near

Cavallermaggiore Cavallermaggiore is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. Cavallermaggiore borders the following municipalities: Bra, Cavallerleone, Chera ...

. The next town the river meets is Racconigi, where it follows the edge of the park of the

Royal Castle of Racconigi The Royal Castle of Racconigi is a palace and landscape park in Racconigi, province of Cuneo, Italy. It was the official residence of the Carignano line of the House of Savoy, and is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy included by ...

, the celebrated summer residence of the House of Savoy. Finally the river enters briefly into the territory of the Province of Turin before joining the Po from the right within the municipal bounds of the

Comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

of Lombriasco. The Maira’s regime is typical of an Alpine torrent: full flowing in the spring, and tending to dry up in the summer months. Over a typical year its mean discharge is equal to . During Roman times, the river was known as the

References

:''This article, as of 30 March 2008, was a free translation of its counterpart in the Italian Wikipedia: specificall
this version
{{Authority control Rivers of the Province of Cuneo Rivers of the Province of Turin Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Alps