The Ciane is a short river in southern Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, 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...

. It flows into the river in correspondence of Syracuse

Syracuse, Italy

Syracuse is a historic city in Sicily, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the preeminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in...

's port, after a run of 8 km and having received the waters of the Anapo.

The name, deriving from the Greek cyanos ("azure"), is connected to the myth of Anapos

Anapos

Anapos was a water god of eastern Sicily in Greek mythology. When he opposed the kidnapping of Persephone along with the nymph Cyane, Hades turned them into a river and a fountain, respectively....

 and the nymph Cyane

Cyane

In Greek mythology, Cyane or Kyane was a nymph who tried to prevent Hades from abducting Persephone, her playmate. Upon failure, she dissolved away in tears and melted into her pool. In a slightly different version, Cyane was the Naiad of a spring in the Sicilian town of Syracuse...

. On its banks are present spontaneous grows of papyrus

Papyrus

Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....

 (Cyperus papyrus), probably sent to Hiero II of Syracuse

Hiero II of Syracuse

Hieron II , king of Syracuse from 270 to 215 BC, was the illegitimate son of a Syracusan noble, Hierocles, who claimed descent from Gelon. He was a former general of Pyrrhus of Epirus and an important figure of the First Punic War....

 by the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy II Philadelphus

Ptolemy II Philadelphus

Ptolemy II Philadelphus was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 283 BCE to 246 BCE. He was the son of the founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice, and was educated by Philitas of Cos...

. The area is now protected as part of the Natural Preserve of Fiume Ciane and Saline di Siracusa, created in 1984.