# Liri > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Liri > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Liri.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liri > Source revision: 1315424070 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{other uses}} {{one source|date=May 2013}} {{Infobox river | name = Liri | image =Liri.jpg | image_caption =Bridge over the Liri | length_km = 120 | discharge1_avg = {{convert|50|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} (at [Pontecorvo](/source/Pontecorvo)) | basin_size_km2 = 4140 | source1_elevation = about {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}} | source1_location =[Monti Simbruini](/source/Monti_Simbruini) | mouth = [Garigliano](/source/Garigliano) | mouth_location = | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|41.4098|13.8627|region:IT_type:river|display=it}} | progression = {{RGarigliano}} | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 =[Italy](/source/Italy) }} The '''Liri''' ([Latin](/source/Latin) '''Liris''' or '''Lyris''', previously, '''Clanis'''; [Greek](/source/Greek_language): {{lang|grc|Λεῖρις}}) is one of the principal [river](/source/river)s of [central Italy](/source/central_Italy), flowing into the [Tyrrhenian Sea](/source/Tyrrhenian_Sea) a little below [Minturno](/source/Minturno){{sfn|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} under the name [Garigliano](/source/Garigliano). == Source and route == The Liri's source is in the [Monte Camiciola](/source/Monte_Camiciola), elevation {{convert|1,701|m|ft}}, in the [Monti Simbruini](/source/Monti_Simbruini) of central [Apennines](/source/Apennine_Mountains) ([Abruzzo](/source/Abruzzo), ''[comune](/source/comune)'' of [Cappadocia](/source/Cappadocia_(Italy))). It flows at first in a southeasterly direction through a long trough-like valley, parallel to the general direction of the Apennines, until it reaches the city of [Sora](/source/Sora%2C_Italy).{{sfn|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} [[Image:Isola del Liri - Castello ducale e cascata - dicembre 2010.JPG|240px|right|thumb|Liri falls in [Isola del Liri](/source/Isola_del_Liri)]] In the upper part of [Isola del Liri](/source/Isola_del_Liri) it receives the waters of [Fibreno](/source/Fibreno) and then it divides into two branches which then rejoin, surrounding the lower part of the town (''Isola del Liri'' stands for ''Liri Island''). One branch makes a {{convert|28|m|ft|adj=on}} high waterfall situated in the centre, a unique case in Europe. A dam is built on the river after the confluence with the [Sacco](/source/Sacco_(river)) at [Ceprano](/source/Ceprano). The last important Liri's tributary is the [Melfa](/source/Melfa), with which it joins near [Aquino](/source/Aquino%2C_Italy). After [Cassino](/source/Cassino) it receives the waters of the [Gari](/source/Gari_(river)), and afterwards it is known as [Garigliano](/source/Garigliano). The Liri-Garigliano system has a total water [drainage basin](/source/drainage_basin) of {{convert|5020|km2|mi2}}. ==History== Both [Strabo](/source/Strabo) and [Pliny](/source/Pliny_the_Elder) tell us that it was originally called '''Clanis''', a name which appears to have been common to many Italian rivers (see for ex. Clanio and Lagni{{sfn|Manco|2009}}); the former writer erroneously assigns its sources to the country of the [Vestini](/source/Vestini); an opinion which is adopted also by [Lucan](/source/Marcus_Annaeus_Lucanus).{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites Strab. v. p. 233; Lucan ii.425. The surrounding area was devastated by [Hannibal](/source/Hannibal) during [his invasion](/source/Second_Punic_War) in response to the locals' having burnt the bridges over the river.{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites [Livy](/source/Livy). ''[History of Rome](/source/History_of_Rome)'', Vol. 3, [http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1756&chapter=92686&layout=html&Itemid=27 Book XXVI, §IX & XXIII]. Accessed 24 Jan 2013. In 238 BC, the adjacent city of [Fregella](/source/Fregellae) was the site of a crushed rebellion against Roman rule.Duncan, Wm. ''Cicero''. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=EscNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA98 Oration XI. {{ndash}} Against L.C. Piso.]" J. & J. Harper, 1833. Accessed 24 Jan 2013. The Liris is noticed by several of the [Roman](/source/Ancient_Rome) poets, as a very gentle and tranquil stream,{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites [Horace](/source/Horace) ''Carm.'' i. 31. 8; [Silius Italicus](/source/Silius_Italicus) iv. 348. a character which it well deserves in the lower part of its course, where it was described by a nineteenth century traveller as a wide and noble river, winding under the shadow of poplars through a lovely vale, and then gliding gently towards the sea.{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites [John Chetwode Eustace](/source/John_Chetwode_Eustace)'s ''Classical Tour'', vol. ii. p. 320. At the mouth of the Liris near Minturnae, was an extensive sacred grove consecrated to [Marica](/source/Marica_(mythology)), a nymph or local divinity, who was represented by a tradition, adopted by [Virgil](/source/Virgil), as mother of [Latinus](/source/Latinus), while others identified her with [Circe](/source/Circe).{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites Virgil ''Aeneid'' vii. 47; [Lactantius](/source/Lactantius) ''Institionum Divinarum'' i. 21. Her grove and temple {{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites [Lucus Maricae](/source/Lucus_Maricae); Greek: {{lang|grc|Μαρίκας ἄλσος}}, [Plutarch](/source/Plutarch) ''Mar.'' 39. were not only objects of great veneration to the people of the neighboring town of Minturnae, but appear to have enjoyed considerable celebrity with the Romans themselves.{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites Strabo v. p. 233; Livy xxvii. 37; [Servius](/source/Maurus_Servius_Honoratus) ''ad Aeneidos'' vii. 47. Immediately adjoining its mouth was an extensive marsh, formed probably by the stagnation of the river itself, and celebrated in history in connection with the adventures of [Gaius Marius](/source/Gaius_Marius). About {{convert|70|mi}} upstream from its mouth, the river passes what used to be [Lake Fucino](/source/Lake_Fucino), separated from the lake basin by the mountain ridge of ''Monte Salviano''. The Roman emperor [Claudius](/source/Claudius) had a tunnel dug through the ridge in an attempt to drain the lake, which had no natural outlet, to the Liri. The later emperor [Hadrian](/source/Hadrian) tried to improve the tunnel but, after the fall of the empire, tunnel maintenance was not maintained and it was blocked by silt and debris, allowing the lake to refill. A new tunnel was completed in the 1860s, and the basin of the former lake still drains to the Liri via that tunnel, through the ridge near the town of [Avezzano](/source/Avezzano). The river, in most tracts, matched the longest lived border in Europe from the 6th century a.d when it separated the [Byzantine](/source/Byzantine) exclave of the [duchy of Rome](/source/duchy_of_Rome) from the Lombard [duchy of Benevento](/source/duchy_of_Benevento) until 1860-61: the year of unification of Italy when the [Papal states](/source/Papal_states) and the [kingdom of the two Sicilies](/source/kingdom_of_the_two_Sicilies) were the last sovereign countries to share this border.{{Cite web|url=https://www.liritv.it/i-cippi-confinari-tra-il-regno-delle-due-sicilie-e-lo-stato-pontificio-foto/|title = I cippi confinari tra il Regno delle Due Sicilie e lo Stato Pontificio FOTO|date = 24 October 2019}} During the [Italian Campaign](/source/Italian_Campaign_(World_War_II)) of the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War), the German defenses of the [Gustav Line](/source/Gustav_Line) followed the Liri valley. == References == {{Reflist}} === Bibliography === *{{Citation|first=Alberto |last=Manco |title=The Italian hydronym: lagno |url=http://openarchive.unior.it/156/1/The_Italian_hydronym_lagno.pdf |publisher=Università di Napoli L'Orientale |year=2009 |page={{page needed|date=March 2013}} }} {{subscription required}} ;Attribution *{{DGRG |last=Bunbury |first=Edward Hurbert |title=Liri|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyhOAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA196#v=onepage&q&f=false|volume=2|page=196}} ==External links== *{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Liri|short=x}} {{Authority control}} Category:Rivers of Italy Category:Rivers of Lazio Category:Rivers of the Province of Frosinone Category:Rivers of the Province of L'Aquila --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Liri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liri) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liri?action=history)). 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