The Maira is an Italian river, a right tributary of the Po, which runs through the province of Cuneo in eastern Piedmont. Its source is in the Cottian Alps near the Col de Mary (or Col Maurin) on the French border. Its name, in the Occitan and Piedmontese languages, means ‘lean’ or ‘meagre’. The Maira’s regime is typical of an Alpine torrent: full flowing in the spring, and tending to dry up in the summer months. Over a typical year its mean discharge is equal to 13.5 cubic metres per second (480 cu ft/s). During Roman times, the river was known as the Macra.