Toce
Encyclopedia
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, which stretches the length of the Val d'Ossola from the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
border to Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
into which it debouches near Fondotoce in the Commune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
of Verbania
Verbania
Verbania is a city and comune on the shore of Lake Maggiore, Piedmont, in northwest Italy, about north-west of Milan and about from Locarno in Switzerland.-Overview:...
. The river is c. 76 kilometres in length and is formed in the upper Val Formazza by the confluence of a number of torrents in the plain of Riale. The source of one of these, the Gries, is situated on the Italian southern side of the Gries Pass
Gries Pass
Gries Pass is a mountain pass between Valais, Switzerland and Formazza, Italy. There is no motorway over the pass, from Nufenen Pass the paved road ends and a bridle path leads over to the Italian side...
; another forms beneath the Passo di San Giacomo, others flow from little Alpine lakes such as Lago Castel and Lago di Sabbione.
South of La Frua the water of the river plummets 143 meters over the Toce Falls into the Formazza Valley, through which it flows before transversing Valle Antigorio
Valle Antigorio
The Antigorio Valley is one of the Alpine valleys radiating from the Ossola Valley , in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy.-Geography:The River Toce flows across the Antigorio Valley....
after another series of cascades. Near Crevola d'Ossola the river Diveria
Diveria
The Diveria is an Alpine river which flows through Switzerland and Italy . It is a tributary of the Toce and therefore, via Lake Maggiore and the Ticino, of the Po...
flows into the Toce. At this point, the valley gets wider and is known as Val d'Ossola. The Toce flows next to the capital of the valley, Domodossola
Domodossola
Domodossola is a city and comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy...
, and then Villadossola
Villadossola
Villadossola is a town and comune of the Val d’Ossola in Piedmont, northern Italy, some 120 km northeast of Turin...
and Ornavasso
Ornavasso
Ornavasso is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 110 km northeast of Turin and about 11 km northwest of Verbania....
. After a total of 76 kilometers the Toce then flows into Lake Maggiore.
Diveria
The Diveria is an Alpine river which flows through Switzerland and Italy . It is a tributary of the Toce and therefore, via Lake Maggiore and the Ticino, of the Po...
, Bogna
Bogna
Bogna - is a Slavic origin female given name and may be a diminutive form of names: Bogdana, Bogusława, Bogumiła . The name is derived from word "bog" and may mean "divine" but also "luck, fate, rich". The name may refer to:...
, Melezzo Occidentale
Melezzo Occidentale
The Melezzo Occidentale is a 13 km Alpine torrent which runs through the western part of the Val Vigezzo, a side valley of the Ossola in the Province of Verbano Cusio Ossola, northern Italy...
(joining it near Domodossola
Domodossola
Domodossola is a city and comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy...
), Ovesca, Anza
Anza (river)
The Anza is a 35 km Alpine torrent of the Ossola in northern Italy. It flows from the glaciers of Monte Rosa through the Valle Anzasca and into the river Toce, of which it is a right tributary....
(near Piedimulera
Piedimulera
Piedimulera is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 110 km northeast of Turin and about 25 km northwest of Verbania...
), and the Strona
Strona
Strona is a comune in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 70 km northeast of Turin and about 12 km northeast of Biella...
(near Gravellona Toce
Gravellona Toce
Gravellona Toce is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 110 km northeast of Turin and about 8 km west of Verbania.-Main sights:*Gallo-Roman necropolis...
).
In ancient times the Toce river was called Athisone or Atisone, from which the current name is derived. An old alternative spelling is also La Toccia (with feminine gender!).