The Irminio ( scn, Iriminiu; it, Irminio; la, Hirminius) is a long river located in south-eastern

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 re ...

. It is the most important of the rivers of the

province of Ragusa The Province of Ragusa ( it, Provincia di Ragusa; Sicilian: ''Pruvincia 'i Rausa'') was a province in the autonomous region of Sicily in southern Italy, located in the south-east of the island. Following the abolition of the Sicilian provinces, ...

. The river springs from

Monte Lauro Mount Lauro is a mountain reaching 986 metres located in south-eastern Sicily belonging to the chain of Hyblaean Mountains, stretching between the three provinces of Catania, Ragusa and Siracusa. Monte Lauro is part of a complex of extinct volca ...

, the main peak of the

Hyblaean Mountains The Hyblaean Mountains ( scn, Munt'Ibblei; it, Monti Iblei; la, Hyblaei montes) is a mountain range in south-eastern Sicily, Italy. It straddles the provinces of Ragusa, Syracuse and Catania. The highest peak of the range is Monte Lauro, at 98 ...

, which form the main part of the mountainous southeast of Sicily and runs across the province from north-east to south-west before flowing into the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

east of

Marina di Ragusa Marina di Ragusa, also known as ''Mazzarelli'', is a southern Italian village and hamlet (''frazione'') of Ragusa, a municipality seat of the homonym province, Sicily. In 2011 it had a population of 3,468, which during the summer rises to more t ...

. Its main affluences are the streams ''Cava Volpe'', ''Ciaramite'', ''Mastratto'', and near Ragusa Ibla the streams ''San Leonardo'' and ''Santa Domenica''.

Natural reserves

Halfway through its course the river is housing a small area classified as ''Oasi Irminio'' for the

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

and at its mouth the ''Natural reserve Macchia Foresta del fiume Irminio'' of .

Dam

The 10 November 1976 works started to build a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

along the river in the area between

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

and

Giarratana Giarratana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. Its name is likely derived from Arabic. History An elaborate late-imperial Roman villa with floor mosaics was found in 1989 near Giarratana in the Orto Mosaic ...

. The structure, tall, was completed in 1983 to create the ''

Lago di Santa Rosalia Lago di Santa Rosalia is an artificial lake in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. Dam The lake was created following the completion of building works of a dam 57,10m tall along the higher part of the course of the river Irminio, between the to ...

'', a reservoir for agricultural use but also used for

recreational fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...

References

European drainage basins of the Mediterranean Sea Rivers of Italy Rivers of Sicily Rivers of the Province of Ragusa {{Italy-river-stub