The Po: An Elegy for Italy's Longest River

by Tobias Jones

The Po, Italy’s longest river, is drying up. It’s a tragedy both ecologically and culturally, given the powerful symbolism afforded the water body; to paraphrase Guido Ceronetti, to understand the Po is to understand Italy. At barely more than 400-miles long, Jones’s journey down its banks by boat, bicycle, and train may be only minimally intrepid, but the route takes in historic cities, industrial heartlands, and generally serves as a cross-section of the nation. The Times Literary Supplement described it as “a delightful book that is part history, part travel, part a picture of contemporary Italy.” To get a flavour of the book, this essay by the author in The Guardian offers a good introduction.