The Sangro 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 wate ...

in eastern central

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 re ...

, known in ancient times as Sagrus from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

''Sagros'' or ''Isagros'', ''Ισαγρος''. It rises in the middle of Abruzzo National Park near

Pescasseroli Pescasseroli (, Marsicano: '', '') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of L'Aquila, in Southern Abruzzo, central Italy. A summer and winter resort, it is also the location of the Abruzzo National Park, nestled in the heart of the Monti Ma ...

in the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

. It flows southeast past Pescasseroli, Opi and Villetta Barrea and flows into the artificial lake Lago di Barrea. It then flows northeast through

Alfedena Alfedena ( la, Aufidena or Aufidenia, Neapolitan language, Abruzzese: ') is a ''comune'' in the province of L'Aquila of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is located in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park in the upper Sangro valley, ...

Castel di Sangro Castel di Sangro (locally ''Caštiéllë'') is a city and '' comune'' of 6,461 people (as of 2013) in the Province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo, Central Italy. It is the main city of the Alto Sangro e Altopiano delle Cinque Miglia area. Geography Ca ...

Ateleta Ateleta is a ''comune'' and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of central-southern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located ...

Quadri Quadri is a ''comune'' and town in the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of 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 t ...

, and

Villa Santa Maria Villa Santa Maria (locally ''La Vìlle'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Chieti, in the region of Abruzzo of southern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Sou ...

, before flowing into the Lago di Bomba. From there it flows northeast , it is joined by the

Aventino The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the sou ...

, and thence it flows into the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

south of

Punta Cavalluccio Punta is an Afro-indigenous dance and cultural music originating in the Caribbean Island of Saint Vincent And The Grenadines by the Garifuna people before being exiled from the island. Which is also known as Yurumei. It has African and Arawa ...

German prisoners being escorted by Indian troops after the Battle of the Sangro 1943

During World War II, the mouth of the Sangro was part of the series of German military fortifications known as the

Gustav Line The Winter Line was a series of German and Italian military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt and commanded by Albert Kesselring. The series of three lines was designed to defend a western section of ...

. The Eighth Army crossed the Sangro on 23 November 1943. This crossing was the beginning of the Allied offensive on the Winter Line defenses east of the Apennines, which petered out in mid-December having failed to secure vital cities such as Orsogna.

See also