The Stream d'Agrò

Versione Italiana

The d'Agrò Stream originates in the "Montagna Grande" which, massive and arid, dominate the whole valley to the sea. For around 18km, after an initial stretch, in which the cousrse of the stream resembles that of a mountain torrent, straight and inaccessible, it arrives at the Ranciara Gorges, the d'Agrò River spreads out in all its wild beauty.  These gorges, situated between the communities of Limina and Casalvecchio Siculo take on the above-mentioned appeal with the orange trees, so-called ranciara in the dialect of the valley.

The d'Agrò has been a most tumultuous river, causing danger to farming, the inhabitants and the people of the valley.  Up stream of the gorges, the river is situated between high, rocky and silvery banks, in which the noisy characteristics of the water are magnified, as it jumps from one stone to another, bringing an unimmaginable sensation of times past.  From the valley of the gorges, it widens itself even further, and even when seeming to be lazily resting on the river bed, it manages to reawaken the fear in the people of the area, reminding them of the power of its waters.

In various times, l'Agrò has been used for irrigation and the extraction of construction materials.

Translation by  Christine Ware