The Clanio (also: ''Lagno''; ; ) is a river on the

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

n plain, southern Italy, noted in

antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

. It rises in the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

near

Avella Avella is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. It is renowned for the cultivation of hazelnuts, whose specific name ''(Corylus avellana)'' derives precisely from this territory. Etymology Could be relat ...

, flows past

Acerra Acerra () is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, southern Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, about northeast of the capital in Naples. It is part of the Agro Acerrano plain. History Acerra is one of the most ancient cities of the regi ...

and discharges into the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. Geography The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...

about south of the

Volturno 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 of Samnium near Castel San Vincenzo (province of Isernia, Molise) and flows southe ...

. The Greek origins of its name are linked to the abundance of

violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Vi ...

s on its banks, as cited in Giulianus Maius's treatise ''De priscorum proprietate verborum V. Clanius'': ''Clanius fluvius Campaniae prope Acerras a χλανις idest viola, qua ejus ripae abundant''. The town of Acerrae frequently suffered severely from the ravages of its waters during floods. At other times their stagnation rendered the country unhealthy; hence in the seventeenth century the stream was diverted into a canal or artificial course, called '' il regio Lagno''. This is divided into two streams near its mouth, the one of which flows direct into the sea, and is known as ''Foce dei Lagni'', the other takes a more southerly direction, and joins, or rather forms, a marshy lake called the ''Lago di Patria'' (the ancient Literna Palus), the outlet of which into the sea, about miles south of the former branch, called the ''Foce di Patria''. This is evidently the same which was known in ancient times as the river ''Liternus ternus'', and appears to have been then the principal, if not the only outlet of the Clanius, as

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, who describes the coast of Campania minutely, does not notice the latter river.

References

Drainage basins of the Tyrrhenian Sea Classical geography Geography of Campania Rivers of the Province of Avellino Rivers of the Province of Caserta Rivers of Italy {{Italy-geo-stub