The Volturno (ancient Latin name Volturnus, from ''volvere'', to roll) is a river in south-central Italy.

Geography

It rises in the Abruzzese central

Apennines 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 ...

Samnium Samnium ( it, Sannio) is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the Th ...

near

Castel San Vincenzo Castel San Vincenzo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Isernia in the Italian region Molise, located about west of Campobasso and about northwest of Isernia. The Abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno is located in its territory. It ...

(

province of Isernia The province of Isernia ( it, provincia di Isernia) is a province in the region of Molise in Italy. The provincial capital is the city Isernia and the president of the province is Alfredo Ricci. The province of Isernia has an area of and a popul ...

, Molise) and flows southeast as far as its junction with the

Calore Irpino The Calore Irpino or Calore Beneventano or Calore river is a river in southwestern Italy. It rises from ''Colle Finestra'' ( above sea level), a mountain saddle between Monte Acellica and the Terminio sub-group in the Monti Picentini, sub-range ...

near

Caiazzo Caiazzo (also Cajazzo) (Campanian: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta (Campania) in Italy. It is located on the right bank of the Volturnus, some northeast of Capua. History The ancient Caiatia was already in the hands of th ...

and runs south as far as Venafro, and then turns southwest, past Capua, to enter the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian p ...

Castel Volturno Castel Volturno () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about west of Caserta on the Volturno river. In 2010 Castel Volturno was inhabited by 25,000 local ...

, northwest of Naples. The river is long. After a course of some it receives, about east of Caiazzo, the Calore River. The united stream now flows west-southwest past Capua, where the

Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, r ...

and Latina joined just to the north of the bridge over it, and so through the Campanian plain, with many windings, into the sea. The direct length of the lower course is about , so that the whole is slightly longer than that of the Liri-Garigliano, and its basin far larger. Its main tributaries are San Bartolomeo, Lete, Torano, Rivo Tella, Titerno,

and

Isclero The Isclero is a stream in Campania, southern Italy. Its sources is formed by confluence of the Varco, Cola and Querci torrents; it then flows in the Valle Caudina, where it receives the waters of the Tesa and Faenza, and then continues running in ...

History

The river has always had a considerable military importance, and the colony of

Volturnum Castel Volturno () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about west of Caserta on the Volturno river. In 2010 Castel Volturno was inhabited by 25,000 local ...

(no doubt preceded by an older, possibly even Etruscan, port of Capua) was founded in 194 BC at its mouth on the south bank by the

Romans 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 let ...

; it is now about one mile inland. A fort had already been placed there during the Roman siege of Capua to serve, with Puteoli, for the provisioning of the army.

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

placed a colony of veterans here. The

Via Domitiana :The ''via Domitiana'' is not to be confused with the similar-sounding ''via Domitia'' in France. Via Domiziana is the modern name for the Via Domitiana in the Campania region of Italy, a major Roman road built in 95 AD under (and named f ...

from

Sinuessa Sinuessa ( el, or ) was a city of Latium, in the more extended sense of the name, situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 10 km north of the mouth of the Volturno River (the ancient ''Vulturnus''). It was on the line of the Via Appia, and was ...

Puteoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα ...

crossed the river at this point, and some remains of the bridge are visible. The river was navigable as far as Capua. In 554, the Byzantine general

Narses , image=Narses.jpg , image_size=250 , caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna , birth_date=478 or 480 , death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95) , allegi ...

defeated a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

c army near this river, during the Gothic War. Following the invasion of southern Italy by revolutionary forces led by Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1860, Francis II of the Two Sicilies fled from Naples and took up a defensive position on the south bank of the Volturno, near S. Maria di Capua Vetere. The Piedmontese troops and those of Garibaldi inflicted on the Neapolitan forces at the

battle of the Volturno The Battle of the Volturno refers to a series of military clashes between Giuseppe Garibaldi's volunteers and the troops of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies occurring around the river Volturno, between the cities of Capua and Caserta in northern Ca ...

, on 1 and 2 October, a defeat which led to the fall of Capua. The Volturno also gave its name to the

Volturno Line The Volturno Line (also known as the Viktor Line; , ) was a German defensive position in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The line ran from Termoli in the east, along the Biferno River through the Apennine Mountains to the ...

, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

defensive position in Italy during World War II.

References

;Attribution *

External links

* {{Authority control Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Province of Caserta Rivers of the Province of Benevento Rivers of the Province of Isernia Rivers of the Apennines Drainage basins of the Tyrrhenian Sea