Alcantara (river)

Alcantara
Alcantara
	The Alcantara during a 2003 flood
	Location of the Alcantara in Sicily
Location
Country	Italy
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Monti Nebrodi (Commune of Floresta, Province of Messina)
• elevation	1,500 m (4,900 ft)
Mouth	Ionian Sea
• location	Capo Schiso (Commune of Giardini-Naxos, Province of Messina)
• coordinates	37°48′27″N 15°15′27″E / 37.8076°N 15.2575°E
Length	52 km (32 mi)
Basin size	573 km2 (221 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	2.41 m3/s (85 cu ft/s)

The Alcantara (Sicilian: Arcàntara or Càntara) is a river in Sicily, southern Italy. It has its source on the south side of Monti Nebrodi and its mouth in the Ionian Sea at Capo Schiso in Giardini-Naxos. The river is 52 kilometres (32 mi) long.

The name Alcantara is of Arabic origin (القنطرة, al-Qanṭarah, 'the Arch') and refers to a bridge from Roman times found by the Arabs. Thucydides called it Akesines Potamos (Ancient Greek: Ἀκεσίνης - Akesínes) while its Latin names were Assinus, Assinos, Asines,^[1] Asinius,^[2] Onobala, Onobalas,^[3] and Acesines.^[4] Cantera was another hydronym for it, adopted by Normans. The river is mentioned by Thucydides on occasion of the attack made on Naxos by the Messenians in 425 BCE.^[5]

^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia. Vol. 3.8.
^ Vibius Sequester. De fluminibus, fontibus, lacubus, nemoribus, gentibus, quorum apud poëtas mentio fit. Vol. p.4.
^ Appian. The Civil Wars (B.C.). Vol. 5.109.
^ Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Acesines". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
^ Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Vol. 4.25.

[1] Pliny. Naturalis Historia. Vol. 3.8.

[2] Vibius Sequester. De fluminibus, fontibus, lacubus, nemoribus, gentibus, quorum apud poëtas mentio fit. Vol. p.4.

[3] Appian. The Civil Wars (B.C.). Vol. 5.109.

[4] Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Acesines". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.

[5] Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Vol. 4.25.

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