The Margorabbia is the river (

intermittent stream Intermittent, temporary or seasonal rivers or streams cease to flow every year or at least twice every five years. Such rivers drain large arid and semi-arid areas, covering approximately a third of the Earth's surface. The extent of temporary ...

) of Valtravaglia, a valley in the

province of Varese The province of Varese () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese (population of 80,857 inhabitants), but its largest city is Busto Arsizio. The headquarters of AgustaWestland, the compa ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is a tributary of the

Tresa The river Tresa leaves Lake Lugano at a point between Lavena Ponte Tresa in Italy and Ponte Tresa in Switzerland and flows into Lake Maggiore near Luino, a few hundred metres after joining the Margorabbia. At the outflow from Lake Lugano the riv ...

which it joins a few hundred metres upstream of

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; ; ; ; literally 'greater lake') or Verbano (; ) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest lake in Italy and the largest in southern Switzerland. The lake and its shoreline are divided be ...

. The source is near

Valganna Valganna is a ''comune'' (municipality) within the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km northwest of Milan and about 13 km north of Varese. The name Valganna is a compound of valley and Ganna, which is th ...

. After forming a number of small lakes, including

Lago di Ganna Lago di Ganna is a lake at Valganna in the Province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 0,07 km² and a maximum depth of 3 m. It is part of a natural reserve. Geography It is located in the comune of Valganna. The lake has as an ...

and

Lago di Ghirla Lago di Ghirla is a lake at Valganna in the Province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. Geography Ghirla Lake is at 442 metres above sea level. Its affluent is river Margorabbia which is a subterranean river coming from Lake Ganna. Its maximal dep ...

, its course continues through the

Prealps The Alpine foothills, or Prealps (; ; ; ), may refer generally to any foothills at the base of the Alps in Europe. They are the transition zone between the High Alps and the Swiss Plateau and the Bavarian Alpine Foreland in the north, as well ...

of Varese until near

Cunardo Cunardo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about north of Varese. Cunardo borders the following municipalities: Bedero Valcuvia, Cugliate-Fabiasco, Ferr ...

it is swallowed up by a system of caves: ''Pont Niv'', ''Antro dei Morti'', ''Grotte di Villa Radaelli'' and ''Grotte del Traforo''. It emerges from underground near Ferrera di Varese and runs through the crossing the valley’s

communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of Grantola,

Mesenzana Mesenzana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about northwest of Varese. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,318 and an area of .All demographi ...

and

Germignaga Germignaga is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 70 km northwest of Milan and about 20 km northwest of Varese. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,721 and an ar ...

. A cycle path has recently been constructed along this part of the river. The torrent has many

affluent Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...

s. The most important left side tributaries are the Rancina, the Boesio and the Gesone; from the right it receives the waters of the Boggione, the Lisascora and the Grantorella. Thanks to the wet and

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

ic areas it traverses, the Margorabbia has a generally high discharge and dries up far less frequently than many torrents. These feature made it a useful source of power for the

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

s and factories which grew up along its banks. The

power hammer Power hammers are mechanical forging hammers that use an electrical power source or steam to raise the hammer preparatory to striking, and accelerate it onto the work being hammered. They are also called open die power forging hammers. They ha ...

s of Ghirla in the commune of Valganna are particularly well known. The river is subject to sudden and dramatic increases in its flow, becoming truly ‘torrential’. Very often bridges have been destroyed, or it has broken its banks and caused severe flooding in the Valtraviglia. Today many artificial

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railway ...

s have been constructed along the Margorabbia for the purposes of flood protection.

The Margorabbia in literature

The river was mentioned by the writer

Piero Chiara Piero Chiara (23 March 1913 – 31 December 1986) was an Italian writer. He was born in Luino, Italy. His father Eugenio was from Resuttano, Sicily, and his mother Virginia Maffei was from Comnago, a Piedmontese village in the municipality of ...

, who was born in

Luino Luino (Western Lombard: ''Lüin'') is a small town and ''comune'' near the border with Switzerland on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore, in the province of Varese, in the Italian region of Lombardy. Luino received the honorary title of city wi ...

on Lake Maggiore, in his story ''Quando cominciò il mercato di Luino''. {{Lago Maggiore Rivers of the Province of Varese Rivers of Italy