Secchia

Infobox River | river_name = Secchia


caption =
origin = Tuscan-Emillian Apennines, Alpe di Succiso
elevation =2,017 m
mouth = Po, south of Mantova
basin_countries = Italy
length = 172 km
discharge = 42 m³/s
watershed = 2,292 km²The Secchia (Latin "Secia") is an Italian river. It runs through Emilia-Romagna, and is one of the main tributaries on the right-hand side of the Po River. It is 172 km (107 mi) long, and has a drainage basin with a surface of 2,292 km², alternating between aridity in summer and fullness in spring and autumn. It originates at Alpe di Succiso at an elevation of 2017 m, close to the pass of Cerreto in the Tuscan-Emillian Apennines, then it heads north, touching on the territory of Frigano, passing into the territory of the commune of Pavullo nel Frigano and reaching the Po Valley close to Sassuolo (in the province of Modena). Here it touches on the city of Modena and, with its riverbank protected by embankments, runs into the Po just south of Mantova, close to the mouth of the Mincio.

Curiosities

North of the Via Aemilia, the course of the river suffered many alterations; it is believed that in Roman times it flowed further west of its current location, in the direction of Cavezzo, and shifted suddenly its course eastwards, flowing into the Po at Bondeno. With the works realized from 1288 to 1360 it was deviated to its present course, after an agreement made by the cities of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantova and Ferrara, which baptized, in honour of this alliance, the city located on the shores of the Secchia as Concordia sulla Secchia.

The river was called "Sicla" in Latin, and in Italian it is a masculine noun for the natives of Reggio Emilia ("il Secchia") and a feminine one to the natives of Modena ("la Secchia").