Italy's western border is the source of many glacier-fed rivers that have carved long and deep valleys through the alps. The River Sesia is one such, rising in the glaciers of the Monte Rossa massif in the Pennine Alps seen in the background. It flows to the plains of Piedmont where it joins the River Po, feeding the plains of Lombardy, on its way to the Adriatic Sea near Venice in the east of Italy. The headwaters and source of the Sesia, seen here in early autumn west of the town of Alagna Valsesia, flow quietly "From the Mountain" through a deep valley of pines. In spring, the Sesia flows strongly and the valley abounds with many varieties of wildflowers, particularly azaleas.