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{{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]])
| basin_size_km2 = 4140
| source1_elevation = about {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| source1_location  =[[Monti Simbruini]]
| mouth             = [[Garigliano]]
| mouth_location    = 
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|41.4098|13.8627|region:IT_type:river|display=it}}
| progression       = {{RGarigliano}}
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 =[[Italy]]
}}

The '''Liri''' ([[Latin]] '''Liris''' or '''Lyris''', previously, '''Clanis'''; [[Greek language|Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Λεῖρις}}) is one of the principal [[river]]s of [[central Italy]], flowing into the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]] a little below [[Minturno]]{{sfn|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} under the name [[Garigliano]].

== Source and route ==
The Liri's source is in the [[Monte Camiciola]], elevation {{convert|1,701|m|ft}}, in the [[Monti Simbruini]] of central [[Apennine Mountains|Apennines]] ([[Abruzzo]], ''[[comune]]'' of [[Cappadocia (Italy)|Cappadocia]]). 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, Italy|Sora]].{{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]]]]
In the upper part of [[Isola del Liri]] it receives the waters of [[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 (river)|Sacco]] at [[Ceprano]]. The last important Liri's tributary is the [[Melfa]], with which it joins near [[Aquino, Italy|Aquino]]. After [[Cassino]] it receives the waters of the [[Gari (river)|Gari]], and afterwards it is known as [[Garigliano]].

The Liri-Garigliano system has a total water [[drainage basin]] of {{convert|5020|km2|mi2}}.

==History==
Both [[Strabo]] and [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] 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]]; an opinion which is adopted also by [[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucan]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites Strab. v. p. 233; Lucan ii.425.</ref> The surrounding area was devastated by [[Hannibal]] during [[Second Punic War|his invasion]] in response to the locals' having burnt the bridges over the river.<ref name=livy>{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites [[Livy]]. ''[[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.</ref> In 238 BC, the adjacent city of [[Fregellae|Fregella]] was the site of a crushed rebellion against Roman rule.<ref>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.</ref> The Liris is noticed by several of the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] poets, as a very gentle and tranquil stream,<ref>{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites [[Horace]] ''Carm.'' i. 31. 8; [[Silius Italicus]] iv. 348.</ref> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites [[John Chetwode Eustace]]'s ''Classical Tour'', vol. ii. p. 320.</ref>

At the mouth of the Liris near Minturnae, was an extensive sacred grove consecrated to [[Marica (mythology)|Marica]], a nymph or local divinity, who was represented by a tradition, adopted by [[Virgil]], as mother of [[Latinus]], while others identified her with [[Circe]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites Virgil ''Aeneid'' vii. 47; [[Lactantius]] ''Institionum Divinarum'' i. 21.</ref> Her grove and temple <ref>{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites [[Lucus Maricae]]; Greek: {{lang|grc|Μαρίκας ἄλσος}}, [[Plutarch]] ''Mar.'' 39.</ref> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Bunbury|1857|p=196}} cites Strabo v. p. 233; Livy xxvii. 37; [[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]] ''ad Aeneidos'' vii. 47.</ref> 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]].

About {{convert|70|mi}} upstream from its mouth, the river passes what used to be [[Lake Fucino]], separated from the lake basin by the mountain ridge of ''Monte Salviano''. The Roman emperor [[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]] 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]].  The river, in most tracts, matched the longest lived border in Europe from the 6th century a.d when it separated the [[Byzantine]] exclave of the [[duchy of Rome]] from the Lombard [[duchy of Benevento]] until 1860-61: the year of unification of Italy when the [[Papal states]] and the [[kingdom of the two Sicilies]] were the last sovereign countries to share this border.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

During the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]] of the [[Second World War]], the German defenses of the [[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}} <!--accessdate=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]]