Po Delta

The Po carries the waters of northern Italy eastward to the Adriatic, where its branches spread through a low-lying delta. River-borne sediment has continually reshaped this coast. A change in the river's course in the 12th century shifted its main channel northward, and over the following centuries the growing deposits threatened to silt up the Venetian lagoon. Between 1600 and 1604, Venice cut a new channel at Porto Viro to divert the Po southeast. Sediment carried through the new outlet built up fresh land, beginning the formation of the present delta.