Trentino-Alto Adige is a diverse region in Northeast Italy.The northern predominantly German-speaking part has significant Italian and Ladin minorities, while the southern Italian-speaking part has a small German minority.
Regions
[edit]
The region is divided in two provinces:
| South Tyrol (Italian: Alto Adidge. German: Südtirol) It has large cities and small picturesque storybook villages, and huge areas of wild nature, including the most important Italian national park, and many more regional parks, lakes, valleys and mountains. |
| Trentino Its history, and the isolated geographic position of some valleys led to an extraordinary richness in culture. |
Cities
[edit]- 1 Bolzano – awesome blend of Italy and Tyrol.
- 2 Brixen – especially known for its skiing and its Christmas market.
- 3 Meran – known for its spa resorts.
- 4 Rovereto – a significant museum of modern art.
- 5 Trent – its illustrious history is shown in its spectacular architecture.
Other destinations
[edit]- 1 Seiser Alm — A very diverse holiday area known for the largest high mountain pasture in Europe and the countless hiking and biking-possibilities in summer, and alpine and cross country-ski-area in winter.
- Val Gardena — A popular region for hiking in summer and skiing in winter. The local language is Ladin, spoken by approximately 90% of the population. There are three main travel destinations: 2 Sankt Ulrich, Santa Christina and Selva Gardena (Wolkenstein). Selva (1563 m) is the most popular of these villages and is at the base of the Sassolungo, a climbing and hiking haven in summer. In winter, there are extensivive ski lifts and runs and these are linked into the famous Sella Ronda ski circuit.
Understand
[edit]During the Middle Ages, this region was divided between the Prince-Bishop of Trento and the Prince-Bishop of Brixen. Both principalities were under the sphere of influence of the Counts of Tyrol (and later, the Austrian Empire). To the south, they bordered with the Venetian Republic, which had influence on the southernmost valleys.
After the collapse of the Venetian Republic, and the Napoleonic Wars, most of northern Italy fell under Austrian Empire rule. This region became part of Tirol. Italian independence wars in the last half of the 19th century claimed back from Austria the former Venetian Republic. Among the Italian-speaking people dwelling in the southernmost valleys of Tirol grew a movement to throw off Austrian rule, and join the new Italian state. The need to "liberate" these Italian lands was used by Italy to enter World War I against Austria.
After the war was lost by Austria, the portion of Tirol south of the Brenner Pass was annexed by Italy and renamed Trentino-Alto Adige, Trentino being the part with Italian-speaking population. The German-speaking population of Alto-Adige were not given a recognized minority status. Indeed, as Italy fell under nationalistic fascist rule, the government started an effort to "italianize" Alto-Adige. Use of German in schools and in official documents was forbidden, the official names of places was changed to be Italian-sounding, and Italians were moved from other parts of Italy to "colonize" the region.
As a result of the pact between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, the Germans in the regions were given the option to relocate to Germany. Only a few accepted, and most of them returned to their homeland after the war. During the end of the war, the region was briefly annexed to the Third Reich.
After World War II, the region remained part of Italy; the two provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol were granted large administrative and legislative autonomy.
In Alto Adige, German is an official language besides Italian. All official acts, place names and signs are in both languages. There are both Italian- and German-language schools. A third language, Ladin, spoken in the eastern valleys, is also a recognized linguistic minority, and is taught in schools where it is native. Jobs in the public sector are awarded proportionally to people with the three mother tongues, and applicants must prove fluency in both Italian and German.
Despite some fringe groups that persist in asking for reunification with Austria, the current system has proved very popular, and is often proposed as an example of peaceful coexistence of populations of different ethnicity.
Talk
[edit]- Italian
- German (in South Tyrol)
- Ladin (in Fassa valley, Gherdeina (Gardena) valley, Badia valley and Fodom)
Get in
[edit]The nearest airports are Bolzano, Innsbruck, Verona, Munich, and Milan.
Get around
[edit]See
[edit]- Überetsch: there you can find large producing areas for wine and apples
- Seiser Alm: the largest high mountain pasture in Europe
- Merano: health resort with great tradition, i.e. empress Sissi of Austria stayed there
- Museo Ladin de Fascia
- Trentino-Alto Adige has many small and picturesque villages, 16 of them have been selected by I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"), a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,
Do
[edit]- Skiing: because Südtirol is in the middle of the Alps, the maximum distance to a skiing region from every town is one hour car driving. Skiing season runs roughly December through mid-April.
- Hiking season runs June through mid-September
Events
[edit]- Inside – bilingual (German, Italian) pocket calendar with all events in South Tyrol. The index is written in English. You can find it everywhere. Free.
Buy
[edit]Christmas markets have become popular since the 1990s, including those in Bolzano, Merano, Brixen, Sterzing and Bruneck. The Trento Christmas market is renowned in Trentino.
Eat
[edit]Drink
[edit]Because of its unique history and location within the southern Alps and Dolomites, in this region grows a wide range of grape varieties that are not usually seen in other parts of Italy. These include Müller-Thurgau, Vernatsch, Lagrein, Sylvaner, Riesling (known in Italian as Riesling Renano), Gewürztraminer (known in Italian as Traminer Aromatico) and Blatterle. Winemaking in Tyrol has a long tradition: the first evidence dates back to the period before the Romans. The South Tyrolean winegrowing area is highly influenced by the Mediterranean climate, which in the Adige Valley (Überetsch-Unterland, Überetsch, Bozen, Terlan, Burggrafenamt) arrives up to Meran. This allows a very versatile winemaking, which includes almost all the red grape varieties and a lot of white grape wines. The Vinschgau and the Eisacktal have a harsher climate and thus they're specialized in white wines. In South Tyrol there are three indigenous varieties: Schiava, Gewürztraminer and Lagrein. A similar winegrowing region is Trentino wine in the south.
Sleep
[edit]Stay safe
[edit]Trentino-Alto Adige is one of the safest regions in Europe; it's not uncommon to see locals leave their doors unlocked.
When it comes to natural hazards, winters can be cold and avalanches do occur.
Go next
[edit]