View source for Volturno

{{Short description|River in south central Italy}}
{{About|the Italian river|ships of the same name|SS Volturno}}
{{Infobox river
| name              = Volturno
| image             = Volturno 017.jpg
| image_caption     = The river near [[Colli a Volturno]]
| source1_location  = near [[Rocchetta a Volturno]]
| mouth             = [[Tyrrhenian Sea]]
| mouth_location    = [[Castel Volturno]]
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|41.0233|13.9254|region:IT_type:river|display=it}}
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = [[Italy]]
| length            = {{convert|175|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| source1_elevation = about {{convert|500|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_avg    = {{convert|82.1|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| basin_size        = {{convert|5550|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}
| map               = Volturno.png
| map_alt           = 
| map_caption       = 
}}
The '''Volturno''' (ancient [[Latin]] name '''Volturnus''', from ''volvere'', to roll) is a [[river]] in south-central [[Italy]].

==Geography==
It rises in the [[Abruzzi|Abruzzese]] central [[Apennine Mountains|Apennines]] of [[Samnium]] near [[Castel San Vincenzo]] ([[province of Isernia]], [[Molise]]) and flows southeast as far as its junction with the [[Calore Irpino]] near [[Caiazzo]] and runs south as far as [[Venafro]], and then turns southwest, past [[Capua]], to enter the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]] in [[Castel Volturno]], northwest of [[Naples]]. The river is {{convert|175|km|mi}} long.

After a course of some {{convert|120|km|mi}} it receives, about {{convert|8|km|mi|0}} east of Caiazzo, the Calore River. The united stream now flows west-southwest past Capua, where the [[Via Appia]] and Latina joined just to the north of the bridge over it, and so through the Campanian plain, with many windings, into the sea. The direct length of the lower course is about {{convert|50|km|mi}}, so that the whole is slightly longer than that of the [[Liri River|Liri-Garigliano]], and its basin far larger.

Its main tributaries are [[San Bartolomeo (river)|San Bartolomeo]], [[Lete (river)|Lete]], [[Torano (river)|Torano]], [[Rivo Tella]], [[Titerno (river)|Titerno]], [[Calore Irpino]] and [[Isclero]].

==History==
The river has always had a considerable military importance, and the colony of [[Volturnum]] (no doubt preceded by an older, possibly even [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]], port of Capua) was founded in 194 BC at its mouth on the south bank by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]]; it is now about one mile inland. A fort had already been placed there during the Roman siege of Capua to serve, with Puteoli, for the provisioning of the army. [[Augustus]] placed a colony of veterans here. The [[Via Domitiana]] from [[Sinuessa]] to [[Puteoli]] crossed the river at this point, and some remains of the bridge are visible. The river was navigable as far as Capua.

In 554, the Byzantine general [[Narses]] [[battle of the Volturnus (554)|defeated]] a [[Franks|Frankish]]-[[Alamanni]]c army near this river, during the [[Gothic War (535–552)|Gothic War]].

Following the [[Expedition of the Thousand|invasion of southern Italy]] by revolutionary forces led by [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] in 1860, [[Francis II of the Two Sicilies]] fled from Naples and took up a defensive position on the south bank of the Volturno, near [[S. Maria di Capua Vetere]]. The [[Piedmont]]ese troops and those of Garibaldi inflicted on the Neapolitan forces at the [[Battle of the Volturno (1860)|battle of the Volturno]], on 1 and 2 October, a defeat which led to the fall of Capua.

The Volturno also gave its name to the [[Volturno Line]], a [[Germany|German]] defensive position in Italy during [[World War II]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

;Attribution
*{{1911|wstitle=Volturno}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Volturno}}
*{{cite web |url=http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/433211 |title=Places: 433211 (Volturnus fl.) |author=Purcell, N., R. Talbert, T. Elliott, S. Gillies |date=11 August 2023 |access-date=March 8, 2012<!-- 3:49 pm -->|publisher=Pleiades}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rivers of Italy]]
[[Category:Rivers of the Province of Caserta]]
[[Category:Rivers of the Province of Benevento]]
[[Category:Rivers of the Province of Isernia]]
[[Category:Rivers of the Apennines]]
[[Category:Drainage basins of the Tyrrhenian Sea]]