Channel Changes on the Po River , Mantova Province, Northern Italy

This research examines channel changes on the Po River in Northern Italy. The study is based on detailed bibliographic research, the examination of historical documents and maps, the interpretation of aerial photographs taken in different years and a morphological survey of the present river channel.From the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages, the Po River flowed within a meander belt about 20 km in breadth which migrated northward, partly influenced by tectonic movements of buried geological structures.Between the 16th and the 18th centuries, the course of the Po River was quite unlike its present course.From the 19th century to the 20th century, there was progressive narrowing of the low-water channel, a reduction of the sinuosity and length of the river.After the 1970s, the construction of bank protection structures markedly increased, obstructing river's natural evolution and causing further narrowing of the low-water river channel.It is concluded that the changes in the Po River channel observed during the 20th century are at least partially a consequence of river engineering.