Province of Trento

Trento (Italian: Provincia autonoma di Trento, German: Autonome Provinz Trient) is an autonomous province in the autonomous Trentino-South Tyrol region of Italy. The territory of the province equals to southern part of historic Trentino region. Its capital is the city of Trento.

Geography and administration

Trentino is an almost entirely mountainous province with a main dale crossing it in its center. This valley is called Valle dell'Adige (Adige Valley), named after the river flowing within it, Adige river, called Etsch in German. The principal towns of Trentino lay on the Adige Valley as it is the largest one and has been a historical passage connecting Italy with Northern Europe. Among other important valleys are Val di Non, known for its apple production, Val di Sole, Val Giudicarie, which has been historically contended by Trento and Brescia, Val di Fiemme and many others. The province has an area of 6,207 km², and a total population of 477,017 (2001). There are 223 communes in the province (^*).

Administratively, the province enjoys a large autonomy in the following sectors: health, school, welfare, infrastructures. The provincial council is formed by 35 members, one of which belonging by statute to the Ladin minority. The president of the provincial council alternates to the that of province of Bolzano-Bozen as president of the Trentino-South Tyrol region.

Due the high fractionation of the territory, comprising 223 communes, often of small or even tiny size, in the late 1970s a subdivision in comprensori ("communities") was introduced. The council of each comprensorio is elected by the communes forming it. However, this subdivision has raised criticism, and a reform is under project, aiming to the creation of 16 more omogenous "Valley Communities".

The current comprensori are the following (population data as of December 31, 2004):

Comprensorio	Capital	Area	Population	Location
C1 Valle di Fiemme	Cavalese	415 km²	18.990	Eastern Trentino, Avisio Valley
C2 Primiero	Fiera di Primiero	413 km²	9,959	Eastern Trentino, Cismon and Vanoi Valleys
C3 Bassa Valsugana e Tesino	Borgo Valsugana	578 km²	26,167	Eastern Trentino, Brenta Valley and Tesino
C4 Alta Valsugana	Pergine Valsugana	394 km²	48,342	Eastern Trentino, Brenta and Fersina Valleys
C5 Valle dell'Adige	Trento	656 km²	166,394	Central Trentino
C6 Val di Non	Cles	596 km²	37,832	Western Trentino, Noce Valley
C7 Val di Sole	Malè	609 km²	15,235	Western Trentino, Noce Valley
C8 Valli Giudicarie	Tione	1,176 km²	36,282	Western Trentino, Sarca and Chiese Valleys
C9 Alto Garda e Ledro	Riva del Garda	353 km²	44,288	Southern Trentino
C10 Vallagarina	Rovereto	694 km²	84,781	Southern Trentino meridionale, Adige Valley
C11 Ladino di Fassa	Vigo di Fassa	318 km²	9,276	Eastern Trentino, Avisio valley

As of May 31, 2005, the main communes by population are:

Commune	Population
Trento	110,666
Rovereto	35,231
Pergine Valsugana	18,012
Arco	15,649
Riva del Garda	15,157
Mori	8,833
Lavis	8,157
Ala	8,071
Levico Terme	6,767
Cles	6,714
Borgo Valsugana	6,570
Mezzolombardo	6,339

History

Prehistory

In the mid-Stone Age the valleys of what is now Trentino were already inhabited by man, the main settlements being in the valley of the Adige River, thanks for its milder climate. Scholars have supposed the first settlers (probably hunters) came from the Padana Plain and the Veneetian Prealps, after the first glaciers started to melt at the end of the Pleistocene glaciations.

Findings (in particular, sepultures) from the Mesolithic, have been discovered in several part of the province. These include the communes of Zambana and Mezzocorona. A large area of a hunting-based settlement from the Neolithic has been found out near the lakes of Colbricòn, not far from the Passo Rolle.

Ancient history

Around 500 BCE, the Raetians appeared in the Trentine territory, coming from the Central and Eastern Alps area. They settled in several valleys and improved and introduced new activities along with the traditional hunting: agriculture (wine, vegetables, cereals), breeding (ovines, goats, bovines and horses). From the Roman Age, the entire territory of current Trentino-South Tyrol was known as Raetia.

This region was conquered by the Romans only in the 1st century BCE. The definitive defeat of the Rhaetians, near Bolzano-Bozen, occurred during the military campaigns in the Alps of Drusus and Tiberius (16-17 BCE). Trento became a Roman municipium between in the 40s BEE. During the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54 CE) the Trentino was integrated in the Imperial roadnet with the construction of the Via Claudia Augusta Padana (from Ostiglia to the Resia Pass) and the Via Augusta Altinate (from Treviso to Trento, passing through the Valsugana).

Middle Ages

During the Late Antiquity, in the 5th century CE, the Trentino was invaded several times, from North and East: first by the Ostrogoths, then by the Bavarians and finally by the Lombards. With the latter's domination an idea of territorial identity of the province began to shape (Tridentinum territorium). In the same century the region became largely Christianized. In 774 the Trentino was conquered by the Franks and became part of the Kingdom of Italy, a sometimes vague entity included in what was to become the Holy Roman Empire.

The first territorial unity of Trentino dates back to 1027, when emperor Conrad II officially gave the rule of the area to the Prince-Bishop of Trento. This entity survived for some eight centuries and granted Trentino a certain autonomy, first from the Holy Roman Empire and then from Austria.

Modern age

In the early 19th century the Trentine people participated actively to the resistance against the French invasion led by the Tyrolese Andreas Hofer. After the end of the Napoleonic era (1815), the Bishopric of Trento was dissolved and Trentino became part of the County of Tyrol, in which the majority of the population was German speaking. Though relatively well administered, and despite the presence of Trentine representants in the Diets of Innsbruck and Wien, in the second half of the 19th century a movement (part of the general movement called Italian Irredentism) rose with aims to annex for the Kingdom of Italy: this, however, was largely put forward by intellectuals like Cesare Battisti and Fabio Filzi, and met little support by the predominantly rural population.

The Trentine territory was one of the main fronts of the conflict (1915-1918) between Italy and Austria-Hungary, and suffered heavy destruction. After the call to arms summoned by Emperor Francis Joseph on July 31, 1914, more than 60,000 Trentine fought for Austria, first against Russia and Serbia and, starting from 1915, also against other Italians. More than 10,000 of them died, and many others were wounded or made prisoners. Further, hundreds of thousands of civilians were forced to abandon their native area when they were too near to the front lines. Many of them, captured by the Italian Army, were later transferred to Southern Italy as colonists.

the precedent Liberal governments, while many of the smaller communes were united, reducing their number from the 366 under the Habsburg to 127. An economic crisis also followed, mainly due to the stagnation of agriculture and to the absorption of much of the investments by the "to-be-Italianized" South Tyrol.

After World War II, the treaty signed by the Italian and Austrian Ministers of Foreign affairs, the Trentine Alcide De Gasperi and Karl Gruber, the autonomous Region of Trentino-South Tyrol was constituted (see Gruber-De Gasperi Agreement).

In the following decades the main partite in Trentino was Christian Democracy, while autonomistic instances found their voice in the Partito Popolare Trentino Tirolese (Trentine-Tyrolese Popular Party). In 1957 strife between Trentino and the largely German-speaking South Tyrol led to the diffusion of the slogan Loss von Trient ("Away from Trento"). In 1972, finally, the regional autorities was largely handed over to the two provinces.

In the 1960s and 1970s Trentino witnessed strong economic development, spurred mainly by the tourism sector and by the new autonomy. It is currently one of the richest and best developed Italian provinces.

Economy

Despite the prevalent mountainous nature of the territory, the agricultural sector is relevant. The farms are often united in a wide net of cooperatives. The main productions include: apples (50% of national production, together with South Tyrol) and other fruit, vegetables (mainly in the Val di Gresta) and grape: important especially for its quality, the latter is used for the production of renowned wines and sparkling wines.

The main industries, often small- and medium-sized, are concentrated in Valsugana, Vallagarina and the Adige Valleys. Sectors include textiles, mechanics, wood and paper productions. Also important is the production of hydro-electric energy.

Tourism is the mainstay of the provincial economy. The main resorts include: Madonna di Campiglio, San Martino di Castrozza, Fiera di Primiero, Canazei, Moena, Cavalese, Folgaria, Folgarida-Marilleva, Riva del Garda.

Transportation

The Trentino is crossed by the main transportation connections between Italy and Germany. These include the Brennero A22 highway and roadline, passing through the Adige Valley. A regional project of switching much of the road traffic to railways is current under study, including the construction of a tunnel under the Brennero Pass.

The province has two more railways: the Valsugana Railroad, connecting Trento to Venezia and the Trento-Malè-Marilleva.

Linguistic minorities

The province of Trento is home to three linguistic minorities, protected by the regional and provincial statutes. The most numerous is the Ladin minority in the Val di Fassa-Val de Fascia (communes of Campitello di Fassa-Ciampedel, Canazei-Cianacei, Mazzin-Mazin, Moena, Pozza di Fassa-Poza, Soraga, Vigo di Fassa-Vich).

The German Mocheni language is spoken in the communes of Frassilongo-Garait, Fierozzo-Gamoà Va Vlarotz and Palù del Fersina-Palae en Bersntol, while Cimbrian language is spoken in Luserna-Lusern.

External links

Provinces of Italy

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