Piave

The Piave () is a river in northern Italy. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for more of  into the Adriatic Sea near the city of Venice. It is the longest river of the Veneto region.

Geography
The Piave river has a length of , and a drainage basin with an area of approximately .  It is the fifth river of Italy for length among those which flow directly into the sea.

Its average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) is  at Nervesa della Battaglia in the Treviso province.

Course
The Piave river starts on the Eastern Alps (the Carnic Alps), on the southern slopes of the Monte Peralba, in the comune of Sappada, province of Belluno, at an elevation of about , near the border with the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.

The river flows only through the Belluno, Treviso and Venice provinces in the Veneto region and flows into the Adriatic Sea to the northwest of Venice, next to the port of Cortellazzo, between the comuni of Eraclea and Jesolo. To the left of the mouth, there is a lagoon called Laguna del Mort formed by an old branch of the river.

After flowing, from northeast to southwest, through the Belluno province, the Piave flows through the following comuni:

Province of Treviso:
 Segusino
 Valdobbiadene
 Vidor
 Nervesa della Battaglia
 Susegana
 Mareno di Piave
 Cimadolmo
 Spresiano
 Maserada sul Piave
 Ponte di Piave

Metropolitan City of Venice:
 Noventa di Piave
 Fossalta di Piave
 San Donà di Piave
 Musile di Piave
 Eraclea
 Jesolo

Main tributaries 
The main tributaries of the Piave river are:

Left tributaries:
 Vajont - 34.6 km
 Soligo - 24.0 km

Right tributaries:
 Ansiei - 37.4 km
 Boite - 45.0 km
 Maè - 33.4 km
 Cordevole - 78.9 km
 Caorame - 20.8 km

 History 
There was an important battle in 1809 along the river during the Napoleonic Wars where the Franco-Italian army fought against Austrian troops.  

In 1918, during World War I, it was the place of the "Battle of the Piave River", the last major Austro-Hungarian attack during the Italian Campaign, which failed. The Battle of the Piave was the decisive battle of World War I on the Italian Front.

Related pages
 List of rivers of Italy

References

Other websites

 Fiumi Italiani: Fiume Piave 

Category:Veneto
Category:Rivers of Italy