The appearance of a river changes by passing from the mountain to the plain in a manner that it can be very difficult to recognize what we had used to see.
Approximately at the height of the city of Modena, the Panaro river stops having a very wide bed and becomes a hanging river, a sort of large channel (some tens of meters) with the waters flowing in a higher position than the field in the nearby.
It is possible to hike, bike, and horse along the carriageway on the embankment, with the river on one side and the countryside, the villages, the roads on the other side at a different and lower topographic level.
Here the river channel is unique and during heavy rain periods, it is full of water and very dangerous because the embankment may fail, collapsing and causing a flood with big damages to cultivated fields, homes, and industrial activities as it happened last December to the town of Nonantola.
The inner flanks of the embankments are subjected to failure and erosion due to the water stream and to woods and debris accumulations.
During low-level periods it is possible to get off and to walk near the ordinary channel, but it better to wear boots as the previous high-level waters have left wet mud on the ground or it is better to visit these places during the dry season.
All images were taken by me with the smartphone camera.
If you are interested in the previous episodes about the River Panaro, here are the links
