The Coscile is a river in
Calabria,
southern Italy.
In
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
it was known as the Sibarys (
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 ...
: ) 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: ).
Geogr ...
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 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, but changes to an eastern direction after its
confluence 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'' (plural: ) 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 consolidate territ ...
'' in 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
Corigliano Calabro.
The river is crossed in several places by the
A2 motorway from
Salerno to
Reggio Calabria from the pass of Campotenese (at an elevation of 1000 meters), a ''frazione'' of
Morano Calabro, to
Castrovillari. Near
Spezzano Albanese the river is also crossed by the railway line from
Cosenza 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, which originally stood for Ente nazionale per l'energia elettrica (National Electricity Board), was first established as a public body at the ...
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 claimed that Greek colonists named the river Sybaris after a spring of the same name at
Bura in
Achaea.
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']
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 work to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known as ps ...
, '' 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