The Alcantara ( scn, Alcàntara) is a river in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, southern

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 ...

. It has its source on the south side of Monti Nebrodi and its mouth in the Ionian Sea at Capo Schiso in Giardini-Naxos. The river is long. The name ''Alcantara'' is of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

origin ( ar, القنطرة, translit=al-Qanṭarah, lit=the Arch, label=none) and refers to a bridge from

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

times found by the

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

called it ''Akesines Potamos'' ( grc, Ἀκεσίνης - ''Akesínes'') while its Latin names were ''Assinus'', ''Assinos'', ''Asines'', ''Asinius'', ''Onobala'', ''Onobalas'', and ''Acesines''. ''Cantera'' was another

hydronym A hydronym (from el, ὕδρω, , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As ...

for it, adopted by

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

. The river is mentioned by

on occasion of the attack made on

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

by the Messenians in 425 BCE.

Course

The Alcantara has its source at an elevation of in the municipality of Floresta. On its way to the sea, past the north of Mount Etna, it flows through the municipalities of

Randazzo Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta. Randazzo ( scn, Rannazzu) is a town and '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It is situated at the northern foot of Mount Etna, c. northwest of Catania. It is the nearest ...

, Mojo Alcantara, Francavilla di Sicilia, Motta Camastra,

Castiglione di Sicilia Castiglione di Sicilia ( Sicilian: ''Castigghiuni di Sicilia'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in Sicily, southern Italy. Castiglione di Sicilia lies about east of Palermo and about north of Catania. It ...

, Graniti, Gaggi,

Calatabiano Calatabiano ( scn, Cattabbianu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in Sicily, southern Italy. Geography Calatabiano is located about 60 metres above the sea level. It is located about 42 kilometres northeast of C ...

Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...

and Giardini-Naxos. Several thousand years ago, the river bed was blocked by a lava flow from Mount Etna. As the

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

was cooled much more quickly by the water than it would have done otherwise, it crystallised in the form of columns. Over the next millennia, the river naturally eroded a channel through these columns, resulting an impressive gorges and ravines, such as the Alcantara Gorges ('' Gole dell'Alcantara'') next to Francavilla di Sicilia, where the

Peloritani The Peloritani ( Sicilian: , it, Monti Peloritani) are a mountain range of north-eastern Sicily, in southern Italy, extending for some from Capo Peloro to the Nebrodi Mountains. On the north and east they are bordered by the Tyrrhenian ...

mountains end.

Park

The Alcantara River Park ('' Parco fluviale dell'Alcantara'') was established in 2001 for the protection of the river, and to encourage its use as a relaxation area and tourist destination. The columns and surroundings can be seen in the segment " The Enchanted Doe" of the 2015 film '' Tale of Tales''.

Tributaries

*Flascio *San Paolo *Favoscuro *Fondachello *Roccella *Petrolo

References

External links

Alcantara River Park
{{Authority control Rivers of Italy Rivers of Sicily Columnar basalts Rivers of the Province of Catania Rivers of the Metropolitan City of Messina Drainage basins of the Ionian Sea