Description

The unusual feature of this river lies in its course, much of which is underground. It springs from the Snežnik (Snowy) mountain, below a peak called Turkove škulje in Croatia a few kilometres from Slovenia, and is here called Reka for its 37-km-long course above ground. About fifteen kilometres from the Italian border and twenty-five kilometres from Trieste, it plunges underground in the Škocjanske caves and continues deep below the rock for another 40 kilometres before returning to daylight at S. Giovanni di Duino in the form of bountiful springs whose waters give rise to a river that is just two kilometres long and emerges into the Gulf of Trieste. It is the shortest river in Europe to reach the sea but has a considerable flow. Strabo, the Greek geographer of the first century b.c., mentioned the seven mouths of the Timavo, while today three are known, plus a fourth discovered recently thanks to underwater explorations. From the first of these, under a rocky bluff, water emerges from cavities that stretch down approximately seventy metres. At the third mouth of the Timavo, some archaeological finds have been made attesting to the presence of a port that was in use from the fifth century b.c. down to the eighteenth century. During the First World War, the river Timavo was part of the defensive system of Monte Ermada, and was held with great valour by the Austrians to close the road to Trieste; the area underwent heavy bombardment during the course of the various offensives. It was in this area that Major Giovanni Randaccio was killed by Austrian soldiers on 28 May 1917; his name was given to the aqueduct supplying Trieste that was built here in 1929.