The Mincio (;

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

: Mincius,

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

: Minchios, ''Μίγχιος'', Lombard: Mens,

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

: Menzo) is a river in the

Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...

region of northern

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 ...

The river is the main outlet of

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label= Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

. It is a part of the ''Sarca-Mincio'' river system which also includes the river Sarca and the Lake Garda. The river starts from the south-eastern tip of the lake at the town of

Peschiera del Garda Peschiera del Garda (; vec, Pischera; la, Ardelica, ''Arilica'') is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Verona, in Veneto, Italy. When Lombardy-Venetia was under Austrian rule, Peschiera was the northwest anchor of the four fortified ...

and then flows from there for about past

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

and into the river Po. From Lake Garda until it reaches Pozzolo, it forms the boundary between

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

and

. According to the Greco-Roman mythology, the River Mincius was the child of the Lake Benacus. In the Etruscan period, the Mincio probably joined with the river Tartaro and flowed into the sea

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 th ...

into the pit Filistina, in

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

it was made to flow into the Po with three branches from Mantua by Quintus Curius Hostilius, subsequently reunited in a single embanked in

1198 Year 1198 ( MCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * March 8 – Philip of Swabia, son of the late Emperor Frederick I, is elected "Ki ...

on a project by

Alberto Pitentino Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic ''Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Alberti ...

and regulated its course with several dams ( Ponte dei Mulini, Mantua) and the Governolo) dam to make it navigable, to prevent Mantua from being flooded by the flooding of the Po and to improve air quality. At Mantua the Mincio was widened in the late 12th century, forming a series of three (originally four) lakes that skirt the edges of the old city. The original settlement here, dating from about 2000 BC, was on an island in the Mincio. The former lower part of the course of the Mincio flowed into the

near

Adria Adria is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po. The remains of the Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below the modern cit ...

until the

breach at Cucca The so-called breach at Cucca ( it, rotta della Cucca) traditionally refers to a flood in the Veneto region of Italy that should have happened on October 17, 589 according to the chronicles of Paul the Deacon. The Adige river overflowed after ...

in 589, roughly following the course of the river that is currently known by the name of Canal Bianco; it had been a waterway from the sea to the lake until then. In 452 CE,

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and E ...

the Hun received an embassy sent by the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III near this river. The Roman delegation was led by

Pope Leo I Pope Leo I ( 400 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great, was bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death. Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy "was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history." Leo was ...

. After this meeting, Attila withdrew from Italy. The last act of Verdi's opera Rigoletto is set just outside Mantua, at an inn on the banks of the Mincio.

References

* Rubis Zemella: ''La mia Polesella perduta'', printed by his own (1992) and reprinted by A.V.I.S. di Polesella (1998).

External links

* Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Province of Mantua Province of Verona {{Italy-river-stub