Adige River Learn More in these related Britannica articles: ADDITIONAL MEDIA More About Adige River Article History Article Contributors Keep Exploring Britannica
ItalyPo RiverResia PassMeranoBolzanoVeronaAdriatic Seadeltariver’shydroelectric power
var IzWidget = IzWidget || ;
(function (d)
var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node);
)(document);
Adige River
Alternative Titles:
Athesis, Etsch River, Fiume Adige
Adige River, Italian Fiume Adige, Latin Athesis, German Etsch, longest stream of Italy after the Po River. The Adige rises in the north from two Alpine mountain lakes below Resia Pass and flows rapidly through the Venosta Valley south and east past Merano and Bolzano. Having received the waters of the Isarco River at Bolzano, the Adige turns south to flow through the Trentino-Alto Adige region in its middle course, known as the Lagarina Valley. Entering the Po lowland near Verona, it veers southeast and, after several long meanders, enters the Adriatic Sea just south of Chioggia and north of the Po River delta after a course of 255 miles (410 km). It drains a basin of 4,710 square miles (12,200 square km).
In early Christian times the river’s course was probably several miles farther north until, about ad 589, the river broke through its banks and built its present course. The dikes constructed during the past several centuries have had to be raised several times; the last 50 miles (80 km) or so of the river’s course are entirely man-made. The Adige supplies hydroelectric power in its upper Alpine section and irrigation for the Veneto in its lower course. Floods, such as occurred in 1951 and 1966, do great damage and require constant control of the riverbank.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
Italy: Rivers
One of these is the Adige, the second longest river in Italy, which flows 254 miles (409 km), passing through Verona and debouching near Adria, south of Venice. The rivers in the south have imposing floods during winter storms, and those that run through zones of impermeable rock may become…
Resia Pass
Resia Pass, pass south of the Austrian-Italian border and just east of the Swiss frontier. It is 4,934 feet (1,504 m) high and about 1 mile (1.6 km) long and separates the Unterengadin section of the Inn River valley, Austria, from the…
Italy
Italy, country of south-central Europe, occupying a peninsula that juts deep into the Mediterranean Sea. Italy comprises some of the most varied and scenic landscapes on Earth and is often described as a country shaped like a boot. At its broad top stand the Alps, which are among the world’s most…
Ateste
Ateste, an ancient town of northern Italy, and the predecessor of the modern-day town of Este. In antiquity Ateste occupied a commanding position beside the Adige River (which later changed course) and was for a time the capital of the Veneti people. After a period of complete abandonment, it was…
Merano
Merano, city, Trentino–Alto Adige regione, northern Italy. It lies at the foot of the central chain of the Alps, at the confluence of the Passirio and Adige rivers, northwest of the city of Bolzano. Merano, first mentioned in 857, is that part of the Tirol transferred from Austria to Italy in 1918.…
History at your fingertips
ADDITIONAL MEDIA
More About Adige River
1 reference found in Britannica articles
Assorted References
Italy- In Italy: Rivers
- In Italy: Rivers
We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind.
- Encyclopædia Britannica articles are written in a neutral objective tone for a general audience.
- You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered.
- Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources.
- At the bottom of the article, feel free to list any sources that support your changes, so that we can fully understand their context. (Internet URLs are the best.)
Your contribution may be further edited by our staff, and its publication is subject to our final approval. Unfortunately, our editorial approach may not be able to accommodate all contributions.
Our editors will review what you've submitted, and if it meets our criteria, we'll add it to the article.
Please note that our editors may make some formatting changes or correct spelling or grammatical errors, and may also contact you if any clarifications are needed.
There was a problem with your submission. Please try again later.
Article History
Article Contributors
Keep Exploring Britannica
Read this Article
Read this Article
Read this Article
.marketing-slider .close-btn
color: white;
.marketing-slider .preview
background-color: #662C8F;
color: white;
.marketing-slider .preview .orange-circle
background-color: #662C8F;
border-radius: 100%;
height: 250px;
position: absolute;
right: 180px;
top: -80px;
width: 250px;
.marketing-slider .preview .orange-circle img
opacity: 0.7;
width: 130px;
.marketing-slider .offer .md-button-gradient
font-size: 12px;
background:#F87307;
Britannica Celebrates 100 Women Trailblazers
window.jQuery || document.write('');
var _vwo_clicks = 30;
var _vwo_code=(function()
var account_id=331471,
settings_tolerance=2000,
library_tolerance=2500,
use_existing_jquery=false,
f=false,d=document;returnuse_existing_jquery:function()return use_existing_jquery;,library_tolerance:function()return library_tolerance;,finish:function()if(!f)f=true;var a=d.getElementById('_vis_opt_path_hides');if(a)a.parentNode.removeChild(a);,finished:function()return f;,load:function(a)var b=d.createElement('script');b.src=a;b.type='text/javascript';b.innerText;b.onerror=function()_vwo_code.finish();;d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(b);,init:function()settings_timer=setTimeout('_vwo_code.finish()',settings_tolerance);var a=d.createElement('style'),b='bodyopacity:0 !important;filter:alpha(opacity=0) !important;background:none !important;',h=d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0];a.setAttribute('id','_vis_opt_path_hides');a.setAttribute('type','text/css');if(a.styleSheet)a.styleSheet.cssText=b;else a.appendChild(d.createTextNode(b));h.appendChild(a);this.load('//dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/j.php?a='+account_id+'&u='+encodeURIComponent(d.URL)+'&r='+Math.random());return settings_timer;;());_vwo_settings_timer=_vwo_code.init();
(function()
$.ajax(
dataType: 'script',
cache: true,
url: '/resources/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.16.55'
);
)();
var documentLocation = document.querySelector('html').getAttribute('data-ytrk-page');
if ( documentLocation )
documentLocation = documentLocation.replace(/ /g, '/');
(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m)function(),i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
)(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');
ga('create', 'UA-6636134-11', 'auto');
ga('require', 'linkid');
ga('set', 'dimension1', 'ANONYMOUS');
ga('set', 'dimension2', 'D');
ga('send', 'pageview', documentLocation + location.pathname + decodeURI(location.search));
EBStat=accountId:-1,host:'www.britannica.com',domain:'www.britannica.com';
( function()
$.ajax( dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' )
.done( function()
try writeStat(null,accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'www.britannica.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:'');
catch(err)
);
)();
