On its shores violets grew, and this is why the Greeks called it Clanis. The River Clanis rises on Mounts Tifatini.

The definition of Regi Lagni could come from its name Lanius, from Clanius. This definition was used in Bourbon age to describe the dense network canals created during the Spanish Viceroyalty, from 1610 to 1616, to stop the recurrent floods of Clanio whose rushing waters often flooded the farms of Acerra, Aversa and Atella and transformed into a marsh the territory of Marcianise. These impressive water works moved the mouth of the river from Lake Patria, where it was originally, to nine kilometres further north, close to the actual Pinetamare.