The Timavo River, known in Slovene as the or ', is a two-kilometre stream in the Province of Trieste. It has four sources near San Giovanni () near

Duino Duino (, ) is today a seaside resort on the northern Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast. It is a ''hamlet (place), hamlet'' of Duino-Aurisina, a municipality (''comune'') of the Friuli–Venezia Giulia region of northeastern Italy. The settlement, pict ...

() and outflows in the Gulf of Panzano (part of the

Gulf of Trieste The Gulf of Trieste(, , , ) is a shallow bay of the Adriatic Sea, in the extreme northern part of the Adriatic Sea. It is part of the Gulf of Venice and is shared by Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. It is closed to the south by the peninsula of Ist ...

) southeast of

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Venetian language#Regional variants, Bisiacco: ; ; ; archaic ) is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Gorizia, Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Tr ...

(),

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 ...

Geography

The river has a karst character. It receives much of its water through subterranean flow from the Reka River (

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

), but tracer studies have shown that other sinking rivers, Vipava,

Soča Soča (, in Slovene) or Isonzo (, in Italian; other names: ; ; or ') is a long river that flows through western Slovenia () and northeastern Italy (). An Alpine river in character, its source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps ...

, and Raša also contribute. From modelling results, the Timavo is believed to receive one third of its flow from the Reka and two-thirds of its flow from infiltration of precipitation into the Karst Plateau, and to a lesser extent from the other sinking river sources.

History

The Roman authors

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

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 ...

, and

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

mention the river. Virgil wrote that nine streams emerge from a mountain to form the river. A Roman settlement near the sources was called Fons Timavi. An Italian passenger liner called the ''Timavo'' ran aground during the Second World War on the east coast of South Africa near Cape Vidal. The engine of the wreck is still visible from the beach, now situated within the Isimangaliso Wetland Park.

Literature

In his 2019 work ''Underland'', British author Robert Macfarlane tracks the source of the Timavo and discusses the history of its exploration.

References

*''Timava: skrivnostna reka'', Massimo Gasparini; občina Devin Nabrežina, 2005 *''Timavo: esplorazioni e studi'', Trieste, Societa alpina delle Giulie, 1999 *''Reka - Timav. Podobe, zgodovina in ekologija kraške reke'', Ljubljana, Mladinska knjiga, 1990

External links

Izviri Timave, spletna stran občine Devin-Nabrežina
{{coord, 45.794, N, 13.58, E, source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Rivers of Friuli-Venezia Giulia Karst springs Province of Trieste Rivers of Italy Rivers of the Province of Gorizia Adriatic Italian coast basins