In the framework of a river regulation design of the Po River Delta ~Northern Italy!, a study on a large physical model of the bifurcation Po di Goro-Po di Venezia was conducted with the main objective of determining the discharge subdivision rate at the river node, in order to assess the inflow conditions in the Po di Goro River for flood risk analysis. In this context, a two-dimensional depth averaged numerical model was tested against measured values, with reference to the prototype. In this paper a comprehensive analysis and discussion of the results is reported in order to highlight the applicability of numerical models in comparison with physical ones in river engineering applications.