Ofanto

The Ofanto is a river of the south of the Italy, throwing in the Adriatic Sea. Typically Mediterranean, it is a capricious river, whose banks and, especially the Delta, conceal rich person fauna and flora. Its course saw, during the history, to open out great civilizations, but also to pass from many waves of invasion, like that of the Carthaginois, victorious of Rome to famous the Bataille of Cannes.

Geography

The Ofanto river (of Latin Aufidus ) is the most important river of the Pouilles and, with 170 kilometers, longest of the peninsula in the south of the Reno (on the Adriatique frontage). It takes its source, to 715 m of altitude, on the slopes of the hills of Nusco, in the south of Torella dei Lombardi, in the province of Avellino.

Ofanto is a typical river of the southernmost Apennin; after having followed an impetuous course in its high valley, it assagit and runs slowly drawing broad Méandre S while approaching its mouth.

Hydrography

Its catchment Area covers a zone of 2.780 km ² on which live more than 420.000 inhabitants. The citadel of Canne della Battaglia points out the great victory (Bataille of Cannes) of Hannibal over the Roman Armée with the consuls Varron and Paul Emile, the front on August 2nd, 216 J. - C., which failed to put a term at the existence of the large city of the Latium. The small town of Barletta, with the outlet of the valley, illustrates, through its inheritance, the history animated of the area since the end of the Roman Empire of occident and keeps the memory of the various invaders who occupied it: Byzantine Moors, , Norman, Hohenstaufen Germanic, Angevins, Aragon board, Bourbons of Spain, until its fastening with the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

During the history, Ofanto was quoted many times in literary works, but under different names according to the times. The Latin writers such Horace, Virgile or Tite-Live called it Aufidus flumen, whereas the medieval poets described it of Offidi, Aufidi or as Aufentum.

Fauna and flora

Even if its water knows problems of pollution, Ofanto has a rich person natural heritage; to preserve this last, its mouth was classified like protected natural surface. The wetland near to Margherita shelters many animal species, particularly of many birds among which the elegant Avocette, the Grey wagtail to the gray back and the yellow lower parts, the Chevalier guignette with the brown-greenish back. It is not rare to meet the castagneux Grèbe which dissimulates its nest in the middle of the dense vegetation of the banks, the Gallinule hen of water to the black plumage and the red nozzle, easily identifiable with the long race preceding its take-off. Other species also established there their habitat like the Martin-pêcheur of Europe to beautiful delivered brilliant and coloured, the ashy Héron with the pale gray plumage and whose scale can reach nearly two meters, the héron purple, smaller than the precedent and with the darker plumage, the Aigrette garzette, sometimes called the white héron, Salicorne S and of multiple kinds of Graminées like the reed X

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