Misplaced Pages

#847152

88-402: This road was built in the second half of the second century BCE by a magistrate who belonged to the gens Annia , either Titus Annius Luscus, consul in 153 BCE, who led the second column of soldiers to the colony of Aquileia or Titus Annius Rufus, praetor in 131 BCE. Besides the chronologic discrepancy, attributing the construction of the road to one or the other informs what conjecture

176-518: A Plebeian Tribune, the Tribune could interpose the sacrosanctity of his person ( intercessio ) to physically stop that particular action. Any resistance against the tribune was considered to be a capital offense. The most significant constitutional power that a magistrate could hold was that of "Command" ( Imperium ), which was held only by consuls and praetors. This gave a magistrate the constitutional authority to issue commands (military or otherwise). Once

264-549: A delta projecting into the Adriatic Sea near Venice . It is characterized by its large discharge (several rivers over 1,000 km have a discharge inferior or equal to the Po). It is, with the Rhône and Nile , one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest water discharge. As a result of its characteristics, the river is subject to heavy flooding. Consequently, over half its length

352-569: A magistrate's annual term in office expired, he had to wait ten years before serving in that office again. Since this did create problems for some magistrates, these magistrates occasionally had their command powers extended, which, in effect, allowed them to retain the powers of their office as a promagistrate . The consul of the Roman Republic was the highest ranking ordinary magistrate. Two Consuls were elected every year, and they had supreme power in both civil and military matters. Throughout

440-569: A route along the River Brenta. According to some scholars it was along the right bank, while others think that it was along the left bank. This disagreement is due to differences in the distances given between Padua and Altino along the Via Annia. Four milestones have been found in this tract of the road. They were set up by emperors over time, long after the road was built. More have been found in Stanga, in

528-514: A three-arched-Roman bridge can still be seen where the road crossed an ancient branch of the Piave. Two piers and a number of three-arched sandstone bridgeheads that crossed a now extinct tract Canalat or Old Piavon River can be seen south of Ceggia . Further east the road crossed the River Livenza at Santa Anastasia where the ruins of a bridge became visible in the last century. To reach Iulia Concordia,

616-576: Is chosen for its southern end, Bononia (modern Bologna ) for the former or Atria (modern Adria ) for the latter. The second hypothesis maintains that the road was an extension of the Via Popilia (which connected Ariminum (modern Rimini ) to Atria , linking it to Aquileia via Patavium and Altinum. This conjecture is based on archaeological traces and the Agna toponym . However, the Atria -to- Patavium tract

704-465: Is controlled with embankments . The river flows through many important Italian cities, including Turin , Piacenza , Cremona and Ferrara . It is connected to Milan through a net of channels called navigli , which Leonardo da Vinci helped design. Near the end of its course, it creates a wide delta (with hundreds of small channels and five main ones, called Po di Maestra , Po della Pila , Po delle Tolle , Po di Gnocca and Po di Goro ) at

792-466: Is not mentioned in the 3rd and 4th century Roman itineraries , perhaps because its importance was a secondary one. Three itineraries indicate the staging posts ( mansiones , plural of mansio ) between Patavium and Aquileia. After Patavium the road reached the mansio of Ad Duodecimum , which has been identified with Sambruson del Dolo and then followed the mainland coast of the Lagoon of Venice with

880-474: Is now degrading. Venice , which was originally built on islands off the coast, is most at risk due to subsidence, but the effect is realized in the Po delta as well. The causes are first a decrease in the sedimentation rate due to the locking of sediment behind hydroelectric dams and the deliberate excavation of sand from rivers for industrial purposes. Second, agricultural use of the river is heavy; during peak consumption

968-817: Is the product of the islands of the northern ocean ( Baltic Sea )" and attributes its introduction into the Po Valley to the Veneti , the last link in a trade route to the north through Pannonia . Pliny ( Hist. Nat. , iii. 122) also gives the Ligurian name of the Po as Bodincus , which he translates as "bottomless". The root bod- has been generally analyzed as containing the PIE base * bhu(n)d(h) - seen in Sanskrit budhnah and Avestan buna - "bottom", Greek pythmen "foundation", Latin fundus "bottom", Old Irish bond "sole of

SECTION 10

#1732851478848

1056-647: The Busa di Tramontana to the north and the Busa di Scirocco to the south, while the mainstream, the Busa Dritta , enters Punta Maistra and exits finally past Pila lighthouse. Despite the park administration's definition of the active delta as beginning at Porto Viro, there is another active channel upstream from it at Santa Maria in Punta, where the Fiume Po divides into the Po di Goro and

1144-553: The Cottian Alps . The river's length is either 652 km (405 mi) or 682 km (424 mi), if the Maira , a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are formed by a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face of Monviso . The Po then extends along the 45th parallel north before ending at

1232-583: The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive , 2000/60/EC. This takes in water management and flood risk plans antecedent. Between 2009 and 2015 the Po Valley Project (the implementation of the plan) took more than 60 measures, notably to: heighten and strengthen levees , increase flood-meadows , resume natural sediment transport and deposition points, enlarge wetlands, afforest, re-nature, promote biodiversity and recreational use. In Roman times

1320-526: The Last Glacial Maximum around 20,000 years ago, which brought the Adriatic to a high point at about 5,500 years ago. Since then the Po delta had been prograding . The rate of coastal zone progradation between 1000 BC and 1200 AD was 4 m/yr. Human factors, however, brought about a change in the equilibrium in the mid-20th century with the result that the entire coastline of the northern Adriatic

1408-667: The Miocene Epoch, the Messinian (7–5 mya ), the Messinian salinity crisis , a near drying of the Mediterranean, was caused by the sea level dropping below the sill at the Strait of Gibraltar and the equilibrium between evaporation and replenishment shifting in favor of evaporation. At that time the Po Valley and the Adriatic depression were a single canyon system thousands of feet deep. On

1496-549: The Parco Regionale Veneto , one of the tracts under the authority of the Parco Delta del Po , contains the latest branches of the Po. The Po di Gnocca branches to the south followed by the Po di Maestra to the north at Porto Tolle . At Tolle downstream the Po di Venezia divides into the Po delle Tolle to the south and the Po della Pila to the north. The former exits at Bonelli. The latter divides again at Pila into

1584-415: The Po di Venezia . The fossil Po is the region of no longer active channels from the Po to the sea. It begins upstream from Ferrara . The Fiume Po currently flowing to the north of Ferrara is the result of a diversion at Ficarolo in 1152 made in the hope of relieving flooding in the vicinity of Ravenna . The diversion channel was at first called the Po di Ficarolo . The Fiume Po before then followed

1672-489: The Po di Volano , no longer connected to the Po, which ran to the south of Ferrara and exited near Volano . In Roman times it did not exit there but ran to the south as the Padus Vetus ("old Po") exiting near Comacchio , from which split the Po di Primaro exiting close to Ravenna . Before 1152 the seaward extension of today's delta, about 12 km (7.5 mi), did not exist. The entire region from Ravenna to Chioggia

1760-473: The Taglio di Porto Viro , "Porto Viro cut-off". Their intent was to stop the gradual migration of the Po toward the lagoon of Venice, which would have filled up with sediment had contact been made. The subsequent town of Taglio di Po grew around the diversionary works. The lock of Volta Grimana blocked the old channel, now the Po di Levante , which flows to the Adriatic through Porto Levante. Below Taglio di Po

1848-579: The auspices (a ritual search for omens from the Gods), and was vested with legal authority ( imperium ) by the popular assembly. The Roman magistrates were elected officials of the Roman Republic. Each Roman magistrate was vested with a degree of power. Dictators (a temporary position for emergencies) had the highest level of power. After the Dictator was the Consul (the highest position if not an emergency), and then

SECTION 20

#1732851478848

1936-676: The canton of Valais is drained by the Diveria . A minute section of the Po basin belongs to France in the Vallée Étroite  [ it ; fr ] (literally, the Narrow Valley) running from Mont Thabor to the Italian ski resort of Bardonecchia . Although in France, Vallée Étroite is so remote it is essentially administered by Italy (telephone network, rubbish collections, etc. ). Further minuscule parts of

2024-452: The comuni of Alfonsine, Argenta, Cervia, Codigoro, Comacchio, Goro, Mesola, Ostellato and Ravenna. The 53,653 ha (132,580 acres) of the park contain wetlands, forest, dunes and salt pans. It has a high biodiversity , with 1,000–1,100 plant species and 374 vertebrate species, of which 300 are birds. The most recent part of the delta, which projects into the Adriatic between Chioggia and Comacchio , contains channels that connect to

2112-580: The drainage basin – nearly three times higher than estimated. On February 24, 2010, the Po was contaminated by an oil spill coming from a refinery in Villasanta through the Lambro , the Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata news agency has estimated it to be about 600,000 liters. Until 1989 water resources were administered regionally or locally. The major authority on the lower Po

2200-784: The mansiones of Ad Duodecimum , Ad Portum and Ad Nonum . The road then reached the port town of Altinum, where there was a branch of the Via Claudia Augusta , which crossed the Alps and reached the limes on the River Danube in southern Germany . It then continued in parallel with the coastline and passed through Iulia Concordia where it intersected the Via Postumia . The Itinerarium Burdigalense indicated two staging posts after this town, mutatio Apicilia and Ad Undecimu . Some military milestones with inscriptions which referred to

2288-567: The period of the Roman Kingdom , the King of Rome was the principal executive magistrate . His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief priest , lawgiver , judge , and the sole commander of the army . When the king died, his power reverted to the Roman Senate , which then chose an Interrex to facilitate the election of a new king. During the transition from monarchy to republic,

2376-485: The "tribunician powers" and the "proconsular powers". In theory at least, the tribunician powers (which were similar to those of the plebeian tribunes under the old republic) gave the emperor authority over Rome's civil government, while the proconsular powers (similar to those of military governors, or proconsuls , under the old republic) gave him authority over the Roman army. While these distinctions were clearly defined during

2464-399: The Adriatic and therefore is called the active delta by the park authorities, whereas the fossil delta contains channels that no longer connect the Po to the Adriatic (but once did). The active delta was created in 1604 when the city of Venice diverted the main stream, the Po grande or Po di Venezia , from its channel north of Porto Viro to the south of Porto Viro in a channel then called

2552-520: The Apennines filled the valley and the central Adriatic generally to a depth of 1,000 m (3,300 ft) to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) but from 2,000 m (6,600 ft) to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) off the current mouth of the Po, with pockets as deep as 6,000 m (20,000 ft). At the start of the Pleistocene the valley was full. Cycles of transgression and regression are detectable in

2640-607: The Elder has the most to say about the Padus of his times. Herodotus had expressed doubt concerning the existence of a river in Europe, Eridanos , which flowed into the northern sea, he said, from which amber came. He believed it was a Greek name (there are other Eridanos rivers in Greece), "invented by some poet," but makes no conjectures as to where it might be. Pliny points out that in his own time

2728-474: The Eridanos had become wrongly identified with the Padus . He does not know when or how, but like Herodotus, he blames the poets. Amber is supposed to have come from there. Phaëthon , son of the sun, struck by lightning changed into poplars and exuded tears every year, which is the source of amber (a myth of Pausanias ). Expressing surprise at the ignorance of the poets, Pliny says "There can be no doubt that amber

Via Annia - Misplaced Pages Continue

2816-457: The Gods or leaders of other communities, and could unilaterally decree any new law. Sometimes he submitted his decrees to either the popular assembly or to the senate for a ceremonial ratification, but a rejection did not prevent the enactment of a decree. The king chose several officers to assist him, and unilaterally granted them their powers. When the king left the city, an Urban Prefect presided over

2904-811: The Ministry of Public Works, headed by a chairman appointed by the Head of State and the Council of Ministers. Its headquarters are in Venice. Its domain is the management and protection of the water system in Veneto , Mantua , Trento , Bolzano and Friuli-Venezia Giulia . In 1989 in response to the major geologic problems that were developing along the river Law no. 183/89 was passed authorizing The Po Basin Water Board (Autorità di bacino del fiume Po), which would direct operations concerning all

2992-473: The Po basin as coolant. Drainage from the north is mediated through several large, scenic lakes, commonly referred to as the Italian Lakes , and shared with Switzerland. The streams are now controlled by so many dams as to slow the river's sedimentation rate, causing geologic problems. The expansive, moist and fertile flood plain is reserved mainly for agriculture and is subject to flash floods , even though

3080-472: The Po's basin (measurable in the hundreds of metres of linear distance) within France are found in the form of small streamheads forced into France by the 1947 Peace Treaty of Paris as a punitive measure against Italy. These can be found on the Mont Cenis and Mongenevre passes. The former contains a reservoir dammed at the Po end and so technically constitutes part of its basin, although it contributes little to

3168-546: The Po, for which the European Environment Agency cited the city. Since 2005, all sewage from Milan is treated in plants at Nosedo, San Rocco and Peschiera Borromeo. These treat the sewage from over 2.5 million inhabitants. In 2005, water from the Po was found to contain much benzoylecgonine , passed by cocaine users in urine . Based on these figures, cocaine consumption was estimated to be about 4 kg daily, or 27 doses per day per thousand young adults in

3256-455: The Po. Nine gates are 6.5 m (21 ft) high and two are 8 m (26 ft) high for sediment-scouring purposes. A spillway to the right passes through a hydroelectric station of 4 generators of 76 MW each operated by a 3.5–11 m (11–36 ft) head of water. The spillway connects to a diversionary canal subtending a 12 km (7.5 mi) loop of the Po. A ship lock 85 m (279 ft) long and 12 m (39 ft) wide next to

3344-498: The Praetor, and then the Censor, and then the curule aedile , and finally the quaestor . Each magistrate could only veto an action that was taken by a magistrate with an equal or lower degree of power. Since plebeian tribunes (as well as plebeian aediles ) were technically not magistrates, they relied on the sacrosanctity of their person to obstruct. If one did not comply with the orders of

3432-482: The Roman Empire were elected individuals of the ancient Roman Empire . The powers of an emperor (his imperium ) existed, in theory at least, by virtue of his legal standing. The two most significant components to an emperor's imperium were the "tribunician powers" ( potestas tribunicia ) and the "proconsular powers" ( imperium proconsulare ). In theory at least, the tribunician powers (which were similar to those of

3520-426: The Via Annia have been found along this tract. The Road ended at Aquileia, which originated as a fortress town to defend northern Italy from invasions from the northeast and the east. and developed into a trading town with an important fluvial port and which connected eastern Venetia with Istria , Iulia Emona (modern Ljubljana ) and Noricum . The mansiones between Patavium and Altinum could be reached through

3608-450: The area, at the time nearly one-third of the population of Italy. The two main economic uses of the valley are for industry and for agriculture. The industrial centres, such as Turin and Milan, are located on higher terrain, away from the river. They rely for power on the numerous hydroelectric stations in or on the flanks of the Alps, and on the coal/oil power stations which use the water of

Via Annia - Misplaced Pages Continue

3696-401: The census, the emperor had the power to assign individuals to a new social class, including the senatorial class, which gave the emperor unchallenged control over senate membership. The emperor also had the power to interpret laws and to set precedents. In addition, the emperor controlled the religious institutions , since, as emperor, he was always Pontifex Maximus , and a member of each of

3784-473: The city in place of the absent king. The king also had two Quaestors as general assistants, while several other officers assisted the king during treason cases. In war, the king occasionally commanded only the infantry, and delegated command over the cavalry to the commander of his personal bodyguards, the Tribune of the Celeres. The king sometimes deferred to precedent, often simply out of practical necessity. While

3872-462: The civil liberties of all Roman citizens. In times of military emergency, a Roman Dictator was appointed for a term of six months. Constitutional government dissolved, and the Dictator became the absolute master of the state. The Dictator then appointed a Master of the Horse to serve as his most senior lieutenant. Often the Dictator resigned his office as soon as the matter that caused his appointment

3960-663: The constitutional balance of power shifted from the executive (the Roman king ) to the Roman Senate. When the Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC, the powers that had been held by the king were transferred to the Roman consuls , of which two were to be elected each year. Magistrates of the republic were elected by the people of Rome , and were each vested with a degree of power called "major powers" ( maior potestas ). Dictators had more "major powers" than any other magistrate , and after

4048-524: The development of aerial photography . One such stretch of the Via Annia is that passing through San Donà di Piave . The road was abandoned because of the accumulation of alluvial deposits and the expansion of marshes covered the road in various tracts and because of a population decrease in the area due to the Barbarian invasions. Roman magistrate The Roman magistrates ( Latin : magistratus ) were elected officials in ancient Rome . During

4136-498: The dictator was the censor , and then the consul , and then the praetor , and then the curule aedile , and then the quaestor . Any magistrate could obstruct (" veto ") an action that was being taken by a magistrate with an equal or lower degree of magisterial powers. By definition, plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles were technically not magistrates since they were elected only by the plebeians , and as such, they were independent of all other powerful magistrates . During

4224-416: The early empire, eventually they were lost, and the emperor's powers became less constitutional and more monarchical. The traditional magistracies that survived the fall of the republic were the consulship, praetorship , plebeian tribunate , aedileship , quaestorship , and military tribunate . Mark Antony abolished the offices of dictator and Master of the Horse during his consulship in 44 BC, while

4312-411: The emperor held the same grade of military command authority as did the chief magistrates (the Roman consuls and proconsuls) under the republic. However, the emperor was not subject to the constitutional restrictions that the old consuls and proconsuls had been subject to. Eventually, he was given powers that, under the republic, had been reserved for the Roman Senate and the Roman assemblies including

4400-451: The emperor. Imperial Consuls could preside over the senate, could act as judges in certain criminal trials, and had control over public games and shows. The Praetors also lost a great deal of power, and ultimately had little authority outside of the city. The chief Praetor in Rome, the urban praetor, outranked all other Praetors, and for a brief time, they were given power over the treasury. Under

4488-453: The empire, the plebeian tribunes remained sacrosanct, and, in theory at least, retained the power to summon, or to veto, the senate and the assemblies. Augustus divided the college of Quaestors into two divisions, and assigned one division the task of serving in the senatorial provinces, and the other the task of managing civil administration in Rome. Under Augustus, the Aediles lost control over

SECTION 50

#1732851478848

4576-528: The flow in places nearly dries up, causing local contention. As a result of decreased flow, salt water is intruding into the aquifers and coastal ground water. Eutrophication in standing waters and streams of low flow is on the increase. The valley is subsiding due to the extraction of ground water. Always prone to fog, the valley is subject to heavy smog due to industrial atmospheric emissions, especially from Turin . The city of Milan had no sewage treatment plants. Sewage went through channels directly into

4664-461: The foot". The word Bodincus appears in the place name Bodincomagus , a Ligurian town on the right bank of the Po downstream from today's Turin. The Po, along with other rivers in northern Italy , was the scene of numerous military episodes throughout the Middle Ages and all the major cities and coastal lordships were equipped with real river fleets. Particularly violent were the clashes between

4752-512: The four major priesthoods. Under the empire, the citizens were divided into three classes, and for members of each class, a distinct career path was available (known as the cursus honorum ). The traditional magistracies were only available to citizens of the senatorial class. The magistracies that survived the fall of the republic were (by their order of rank per the cursus honorum ) the consulship, praetorship, plebeian tribunate, aedileship, quaestorship, and military tribunate. If an individual

4840-447: The grain supply to a board of commissioners. It was not until after they lost the power to maintain order in the city, however, that they truly became powerless, and the office disappeared entirely during the 3rd century. Po River The Po ( / p oʊ / POH , Italian: [ˈpɔ] ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from

4928-682: The institution of two regional parks in the regions in which it is situated: Veneto and Emilia-Romagna . The Po Delta Regional Park in Emilia-Romagna, the largest, consists of four parcels of land on the right bank of the Po and to the south. Created by law in 1988, it was managed by a consortium, the Consorzio per la gestione del Parco , to which Ferrara and Ravenna provinces belong as well as nine comuni : Comacchio , Argenta , Ostellato , Goro , Mesola , Codigoro , Ravenna , Alfonsine , and Cervia . Executive authority resided in an assembly of

5016-468: The king could unilaterally declare war, for example, he typically wanted to have such declarations ratified by the popular assembly. The period between the death of a king, and the election of a new king, was known as the interregnum . During the interregnum , the senate elected a senator to the office of Interrex to facilitate the election of a new king. Once the Interrex found a suitable nominee for

5104-538: The kingship, he presented this nominee to the senate for an initial approval. If the senate voted in favor of the nominee, that person stood for formal election before the People of Rome in the Curiate Assembly (the popular assembly). After the nominee was elected by the popular assembly, the senate ratified the election by passing a decree. The Interrex then formally declared the nominee to be king. The new king then took

5192-453: The late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire , long after the valley had been occupied successively by prehistoric and historic peoples: Ligures , Etruscans , Celts , Veneti , Umbri , and Romans. At that late date, the ancient authors were attempting to explain the provenance of the name. Perhaps the earliest of these, Polybius (2nd century BC), uses Pados (in Greek) and says that it

5280-463: The left, looking downstream ): The Reno (R) was a tributary of the Po until the middle of the eighteenth century when the course was diverted to lessen the risk of devastating floods. The Tanaro is about 50 km (31 mi) longer than the upper Po at their confluence near Alessandria . The longest tributaries of the Po are Adda (313 km), Oglio (280 km), Tanaro (276 km) and Ticino (248 km). The Po Delta wetlands have been protected by

5368-518: The markets, and over public games and shows. Quaestors usually assisted the consuls in Rome, and the governors in the provinces with financial tasks. Though they technically were not magistrates, the Plebeian Tribunes and the Plebeian Aediles were considered to be the representatives of the people. Thus, they acted as a popular check over the senate (through their veto powers), and safeguarded

SECTION 60

#1732851478848

5456-601: The offices of Interrex and Roman censor were abolished shortly thereafter. The executive magistrates of the Roman Kingdom were elected officials of the ancient Roman Kingdom . During the period of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman King was the principal executive magistrate. He was the chief executive, chief priest, chief lawgiver , chief judge, and the sole commander-in-chief of the army. His powers rested on law and legal precedent, and he could only receive these powers through

5544-430: The outskirts of Padua, Sambruson, just before the Lagoon of Venice, Campalto, by the lagoon, and near Altinum. Many emperors and their armies travelled along this road in the 6th century CE to defend the eastern boundary of the Empire. Their names were recorded on five milestones found along the Musile di Piave – Ceggia tract, to the east of Altinum, which crossed an ancient branch of the River Piave . The foundations of

5632-411: The overall quantity of water is lower than in the past and lower than demand. The main products of the farms around the river are cereals including – unusually for Europe – rice , which requires heavy irrigation . The latter method is the chief consumer of surface water, while industrial and human consumption use underground water. The Po has 141 tributaries . They include (R on the right bank, L on

5720-463: The plebeian tribunes under the old republic) gave the emperor authority over Rome's civil government, while the proconsular powers (similar to those of military governors, or Proconsuls, under the old republic) gave him authority over the Roman army. While these distinctions were clearly defined during the early empire, eventually they were lost, and the emperor's powers became less constitutional and more monarchical. By virtue of his proconsular powers,

5808-404: The political process of an election. In practice, he had no real restrictions on his power. When war broke out, he had the sole power to organize and levy troops, to select leaders for the army, and to conduct the campaign as he saw fit. He controlled all property held by the state, had the sole power to divide land and war spoils, was the chief representative of the city during dealings with either

5896-431: The presidents of the provinces, the mayors of the comuni and the board of directors. They employed a Technical-Scientific Committee and a Park Council to carry out directives. In 1999 the park was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and was added to "Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta." From 2012 the park is managed by the Ente di Gestione per i Parchi e la Biodiversità - Delta del Po , composed by

5984-413: The right to declare war, to ratify treaties, and to negotiate with foreign leaders. The emperor's degree of Proconsular power gave him authority over all of Rome's military governors, and thus, over most of the Roman army. The emperor's tribunician powers gave him power over Rome's civil apparatus, as well as the power to preside over, and thus to dominate, the assemblies and the senate. When an emperor

6072-402: The river. However, transit is severely hampered during summer months by low water levels. At the village of Isola Serafini in the comune of Monticelli d'Ongina , Piacenza Province , 40 km (25 mi) downstream from Piacenza, a 362 m (1,188 ft) long, 20 m (66 ft) high gate dam featuring eleven 30 m (98 ft) openings gated by vertical lift gates, crosses

6160-400: The road had to cross a marsh as the town at the time was an island in this marsh at the northern extremity o the Lagoon of Caorle. The road needed frequent maintenance because of flooding, the marshy environments and the ever–changing coastal hydrography . The stretch from Porto Menai, Altinum and to south of Musile di Piave was on raised land because the area was prone to floods. The road

6248-413: The severity, resulting in a "decrease in precipitation during critical crop growing seasons". In July 2022, the Italian government declared a state of emergency in the regions Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Water levels decreased and revealed large riverbed areas and lost objects. The Po is first certainly identified in the Graeco-Roman historians and geographers of

6336-434: The southern part of which is Comacchio , an area famous for eels . The Po Valley was the territory of Roman Cisalpine Gaul , divided into Cispadane Gaul (south of the Po) and Transpadane Gaul (north of the Po). The Po has a drainage area of 74,000 km in all, 70,000 of those being in Italy, of which 41,000 is in montane environments and 29,000 on the plain. The slope of the Po's river valley decreases from 0.35% in

6424-644: The southwest the Apennine Mountains bordered a land mass termed Tyrrhenis geologically. Their orogeny was just being completed in the Miocene. On the north the Alpine Orogeny had already created the Alps . At the end of the Messinian the ocean broke through the sill and the Mediterranean refilled. The Adriatic transgressed into all of northern Italy. In the subsequent Pliocene sedimentary outwash primarily from

6512-497: The station passes some traffic through the canal, but above the dam traffic is mainly barges. The average flow at the dam is 854 m /s, with a 12,800 m /s maximum. The historic average flow for June is 1,805 cubic metres per second. In late June 2022, the flow measured in Ferrara fell below an average of 145 cubic metres per second. Climate change has caused several droughts across Northern Italy, with predictions for their frequency and

6600-555: The transition from republic to the Roman empire, the constitutional balance of power shifted from the Roman Senate back to the executive (the Roman Emperor ). Theoretically, the senate elected each new emperor; in practice each emperor chose his own successor, though the choice was often overruled by the army or civil war. The powers of an emperor (his imperium ) existed, in theory at least, by virtue of his legal standing. The two most significant components to an emperor's imperium were

6688-583: The valley and the Adriatic as far as its centre and in the southern Adriatic. From the Pleistocene alternation of maritime and alluvial sediments occur as far west as Piacenza . The exact sequences at various locations have been studied extensively. Apparently the sea advanced and receded over the valley in conformance to an equilibrium between sedimentation and glacial advance or recession at 100,000-year intervals and 100 m (330 ft) to 120 m (390 ft) fluctuation of sea level. An advance began after

6776-512: The water flow as the water is, by definition, retained by the dam. The Po is the longest river in Italy; at its widest point it is 503 m (1,650 ft) across. The vast valley around the Po is called the Po Basin or Po Valley (Italian Pianura Padana or Val Padana ); the main industrial area and the largest agricultural area in the country - accounting for 35% of Italian agricultural production . In 2002, more than 16 million people lived in

6864-544: The water resources in the Po basin (see under Po Valley ). Its headquarters have been in Parma since its inception in 1990. It considers itself a synergy among all the institutions concerned with the preservation and development of the Po basin. It is administered by officials chosen from the administrations of the constituent regions and provinces. In 2009 the water board began its Integrated River Basin Management Plan to meet

6952-490: The waterway was navigable as far upstream as Turin . Today the waterway is navigable for substantial craft (up to 1350 tonnes —the European Class IV waterway standard ) from Cremona to the river delta on the Adriatic . Passage by smaller vessels is available for some distance above Cremona. In the lower reaches the surrounding basin is generally flat and it is served by a complicated network of small canals linked to

7040-582: The west to 0.14% in the east, a low gradient. Along its path lie 450 standing lakes. Almost all of the rest of the non-Italy basin is in Switzerland , primarily in the canton of Ticino , which is essentially drained by the river Ticino rising in the Gotthard Area , and includes Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano . A small part of the canton of Grisons drains to the Po, partly via the Ticino. The Simplon Valley in

7128-433: The year, one Consul was superior in rank to the other Consul, and this ranking flipped every month, between the two Consuls. Praetors administered civil law, presided over the courts, and commanded provincial armies. Another magistrate, the Censor, conducted a census , during which time they could appoint people to the senate. Aediles were officers elected to conduct domestic affairs in Rome, and were vested with powers over

7216-619: Was dense swamps, explaining why the Via Aemilia was constructed between Rimini and Piacenza and did not begin further north. The Mediterranean Basin is a depression in the Earth 's crust caused by the African Plate slipping under the Eurasian Plate . Typically in geologic history the depression is filled with sea water under various geologic names such as Tethys Sea . In the last period of

7304-403: Was not of the senatorial class, he could run for one of these offices if he was allowed to run by the emperor, or otherwise, he could be appointed to one of these offices by the emperor. During the transition from republic to empire, no office lost more power or prestige than the consulship, which was due, in part, to the fact that the substantive powers of republican Consuls were all transferred to

7392-524: Was on causeways raised above the level of the marshes through stretches of marshland in the lower valley of the Po . The abutments of several stone bridges have been found. One passed over the Grassaga canal and was discovered in 1922. Another passed over the former riverbed of the Bidoggia. Some sections of the road never fell out of use. Others became so thoroughly lost they have only been precisely identified with

7480-423: Was resolved. When the Dictator's term ended, constitutional government was restored. The last ordinary Dictator was appointed in 202 BC. After 202 BC, extreme emergencies were addressed through the passage of the decree senatus consultum ultimum ("ultimate decree of the senate"). This suspended civil government, declared martial law , and vested the consuls with Dictatorial powers. The executive magistrates of

7568-522: Was the Magistrato alle Acque di Venezia , first formed in the 16th-century Republic of Venice . It made all the decisions concerning the diversion of the lower river. Most part of the delta is still in Veneto . In 1907 under the Kingdom of Italy the agency became the Magistrato alle Acque and took responsibility for all the water resources in northeastern Italy. Currently it is a decentralized institution of

7656-479: Was to be identified with the Eridanos of the poets. Moreover, the country people call it Bodencus . This implies that a "country" population either remained from prehistoric times or adopted the name in use by that substrate. The name has been segmented as Bod-encus or Bod-incus , the suffix being characteristic of the ancient Ligurian language of northern Italy, southern France, Corsica and elsewhere. Pliny

7744-410: Was vested with the tribunician powers, his office and his person became sacrosanct, and thus it became a capital offense to harm or to obstruct the emperor. The emperor also had the authority to carry out a range of duties that, under the republic, had been performed by the Roman censors. Such duties included the authority to regulate public morality ( Censorship ) and to conduct a census . As part of

#847152