Tanaro

The Tanaro (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtaːnaro]), known as Tanarus in ancient times and Tane or Tani in piedmontese language, is a 276-kilometre (171 mi) long river in northwestern Italy.

It begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of drainage basin (partly Alpine, partly Apennine), and discharge. At its confluence with Po, it is longer by about 50 kilometres (31 mi) than the upper Po, a case similar to the famous Missouri tributary being longer than Mississippi in the United States.

Sources

The Tanaro proper begins in Liguria at the confluence of two small streams, the sources of which are in Piedmont: the Tanarello and the Negrone.

The main source of the Tanarello is on the slopes of Monte Saccarello above Monesi, a village belonging to the commune of Triora. This mountain straddles the French département of Alpes-Maritimes, the Piedmontese province of Cuneo and the Ligurian province of Imperia and marks the juncture of the watersheds between three drainage basins: that of the Tanaro itself; that of the Roya (Italian Roia), which rises in France but enters the sea at Ventimiglia; and the Argentina, which flows into the Ligurian Sea at Taggia.

Tanaro (department)

Tanaro was a short-lived department of the French Consulate and of the First French Empire in present-day Italy. It was named after the river Tanaro. It was formed in 1802, when the Subalpine Republic (formerly the mainland portion of the Kingdom of Sardinia) was directly annexed to France. Its capital was Asti.

The department was disbanded in 1805, when the French conquered the Ligurian Republic, and its territory was divided over the departments of Marengo, Montenotte and Stura.

Subdivision

The department was subdivided into the following arrondissements and cantons (situation in 1805):