The Tidone is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

in the

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Emilia Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

in 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 ...

. It is a right-bank tributary of the

Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. Th ...

. The stream rises in the

Apennine Mountains 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 ...

near Monte Penice and flows in a northerly direction into the Po.

Geography

The Tidone's sources are on the northern slope of Monte Penice at an altitude of over in the

in the municipality of

Menconico Menconico is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 70 km south of Milan and about 45 km south of Pavia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 465 and an area of 28.2& ...

. The river flows down a narrow mountain valley called the ''Val Tidone''. The upper reaches of the stream are located in the

Province of Pavia The province of Pavia ( it, Provincia di Pavia) is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy; its capital is Pavia. , the province has a population of 548,722 inhabitants and an area of ; the town of Pavia has a population of 72,205 ...

while the middle and lower course is in the

Province of Piacenza The province of Piacenza ( it, provincia di Piacenza) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city Piacenza. As of 2016, it has a total population of 286,572 inhabitants over an area of , giving it a popu ...

. The village of

Romagnese Romagnese is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 70 km south of Milan and about 40 km southeast of Pavia. Romagnese borders the following municipalities: Alta Val Tidone, ...

is found in the upper part of the valley. Near the town of

Nibbiano 240px, Lake of Trebecco in the area of the former comune of Nibbiano. Nibbiano is a former ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (m ...

the Tidone flows into the

Lago di Trebecco Lago di Trebecco is a lake in the provinces of Piacenza (Emilia-Romagna and Pavia ( Lombardy), Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the mi ...

which is formed by a dam built in the 1920s. The reservoir is used for irrigation and the dam produces a modest amount of electricity. The Tidone leaves the foothills near

Pianello Val Tidone Pianello Val Tidone ( Piacentino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southwest of Piacenza. Pianello Val Tidone borders the following ...

and enters the flat Po plains. The stream flows into the Po west of

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

between the towns of

Sarmato Sarmato ( Piacentino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about west of Piacenza. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,714 and an a ...

on the west and

Rottofreno Rottofreno ( Piacentino: , , or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about west of Piacenza. Rottofreno borders the following municipalities: ...

on the east. The affluents of the Tidone are mountain streams called the Morcione, Tidoncello, Chiarone and Luretta. The

Trebbia The Trebbia (stressed ''Trèbbia''; la, Trebia) is a river predominantly of Liguria and Emilia Romagna in northern Italy. It is one of the four main right-bank tributaries of the river Po, the other three being the Tanaro, the Secchia and the P ...

River is the next major river to the east.

History

The

Battle of Trebbia The Battle of the Trebia (or Trebbia) was the first major battle of the Second Punic War, fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and a Roman army under Sempronius Longus on 22 or 23 December 218 BC. It took place on the flood ...

was fought near the lower course of the Tidone when

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

defeated a

Roman 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 lett ...

army in 218 BC. The name dates from the battle when a Roman

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 le ...

found the Tidone's waters to be clear and drinkable while the nearby Trebbia supposedly ran red with the blood of the battle's victims. In thanks to the river, the officer said ''O Valle ti dono questo anello; ti dono'' (I give). Also fought in the area was a second

in 1799 which pitted a Republican French army against the allied armies of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

and

Habsburg Austria The term Habsburg Austria may refer to the lands ruled by the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs, or the historical Austria. Depending on the context, it may be defined as: * The Duchy of Austria, after 1453 the Archduchy of Austria * The '' Erblande' ...

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Province of Piacenza Rivers of the Province of Pavia Rivers of the Apennines