Alcantara,_Sicily
Alcantara (river)
River in Italy
The Alcantara (Sicilian: Arcàntara or Càntara) is a river in Sicily, southern Italy. It has its source on the south side of Monti Nebrodi and its mouth in the Ionian Sea at Capo Schiso in Giardini-Naxos. The river is 52 kilometres (32 mi) long.
The name Alcantara is of Arabic origin (القنطرة, al-Qanṭarah, 'the Arch') and refers to a bridge from Roman times found by the Arabs. Thucydides called it Akesines Potamos (Ancient Greek: Ἀκεσίνης - Akesínes) while its Latin names were Assinus, Assinos, Asines,[1] Asinius,[2] Onobala, Onobalas,[3] and Acesines.[4] Cantera was another hydronym for it, adopted by Normans. The river is mentioned by Thucydides on occasion of the attack made on Naxos by the Messenians in 425 BCE.[5]