The Vara is a river of the

Province of La Spezia The province of La Spezia (; Ligurian language, Ligurian: ''provinsa dea Spèza'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of La Spezia. Overview It has an area of and, , a total population o ...

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

, north-west

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 runs through

Varese Ligure Varese Ligure ( ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region Liguria, located about east of Genoa and about northwest of La Spezia. Varese Ligure borders the following municipalities: Albareto, Borzonasca ...

Brugnato Brugnato () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa and about 15 km northwest of La Spezia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,205 and an area ...

Borghetto di Vara Borghetto di Vara (, locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa and about northwest of La Spezia. Borghetto di Vara borders the following municipalities: ...

and Castiglione di Vara. At it is the longest river in Liguria. The main source of the river is on

Monte Zatta Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Monte ...

; for much of its course it flows in a southeasterly direction, parallel to the

Riviera di levante () is an Italian word which means , ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria (the Genoa region in northwestern Italy) in the form , then shortened in English. Riviera may ...

, in the valley which takes its name: the Val di Vara. The river flows into the

Magra __NOTOC__ The Magra is a long river of Northern Italy, which runs through Pontremoli, Filattiera, Villafranca in Lunigiana and Aulla in the province of Massa-Carrara (Tuscany); Santo Stefano di Magra, Vezzano Ligure, Arcola, Sarzana and ...

, as a right tributary, at Fornola within the commune of

Santo Stefano di Magra Santo Stefano di Magra (, Lunigiana, Lunigiano ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of La Spezia in the Italy, Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa and about northeast of La Spezia. It is located near the confluenc ...

History

The ''Département du Vara'' or ''Dipartimento del Vara'' of

Ligurian Republic The Ligurian Republic (, , ) or Republic of Liguria was a French client republic formed by Napoleon on 14 June 1797. It consisted of the old Republic of Genoa, which covered most of the Ligurian region of Northwest Italy, and the small Imper ...

took its name at the end of the 18th century from the river.

References

Rivers of Italy Rivers of Liguria Rivers of the Province of La Spezia Tributaries of the Magra Rivers of the Apennines Braided rivers in Italy {{Italy-river-stub