Bolzano

Bolzano, also known as Bozen, is the capital city of South Tyrol, officially the province of Bolzano/Bozen, in northern Italy. The city has a population of. Bolzano is the largest city in South Tyrol and the third-largest in historical Tyrol. The greater metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants and is one of the urban centres within the Alps.
Bolzano is the seat of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, where lectures and seminars are held in Italian, German, and English. The city is also home to the Italian Army's Alpini High Command and some of its combat and support units. In the 2020 version of the annual ranking of quality of life in Italian cities, Bolzano was ranked jointly first for quality of life alongside Bologna.
Along with other Alpine towns in South Tyrol, Bolzano engages in the Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention. The Convention aims to promote and achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc. Consequently, Bolzano was awarded the 2009 Alpine Town of the Year. Bolzano is considered a bridge between Northern Europe and Southern Europe due to the three spoken languages in South Tyrol and the confluence of the Italian and German-Austrian cultures.

Names

The placename's first recorded cognates were Bauzanum and Bauzonum in the 8th century.
The city's Italian name is Bolzano. The German name is Bozen. The city and province are officially bilingual in Italian and German. The two official names may appear together, such as at Bolzano/Bozen railway station, the university and in the province's name. As the city is three-quarters Italian-speaking, it is usually named Bolzano by modern English-language publications. The name Bozen often appears in regional and historical contexts and was the city's main name until South Tyrol's forced Italianization from 1923 ; the province is mainly German-speaking. The city tourist board brands it as Bolzano Bozen.
Ladin is the third-largest and the oldest language spoken in South Tyrol; Bolzano is named Balsan or Bulsan in Ladin.

Geography

Location

The area of the city of Bolzano is, of which is used as a settlement area. The city is located in the basin where the Sarntal, Eisacktal, and the Adige Valley with their rivers, Talfer, Eisack, and Adige, meet. In the Middle Ages, the two main Alpine crossings, the Via Claudia Augusta over Reschenpass and the Brenner route over Brenner Pass, met in Bolzano. Thus, the city was very important for trading. The highest point is above sea level and the lowest point is above sea level. The centre is located at an altitude of above sea level. The nearest big cities are and away.

City districts and neighbouring communities

City districts :

Centro-Piani-Rencio/Zentrum-Bozner Boden-Rentsch
Don Bosco/Don Bosco-Neugries
Europa-Novacella/Europa-Neustift
Gries-San Quirino/Gries-Quirein
Oltrisarco-Aslago/Oberau-Haslach

In 1911 Zwölfmalgreien and in late 1925 the Gries municipality were incorporated in the Bolzano civic district. Neighbouring communities are: Eppan, Karneid, Laives, Deutschnofen, Ritten, Jenesien, Terlan and Vadena.

Climate

Being located at multiple climate borders, Bolzano features a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and very cold winters by Italian standards. According to the Trewartha classification, this climate could not be really considered a subtropical climate because fewer than 8 months are at least, and thus would be considered a semi-continental climate with hot summers. Some of its suburbs are designated an oceanic climate based on cooler summer temperatures, while mountains in the area may feature a continental climate. The climate of Bolzano is influenced by its low altitude in a valley south of the main Alps. This causes very sheltered conditions from cool winds during daytime, ensuring much warmer temperatures year-round than in similar valley cities north of the range.

Demographics

Nationality

Population

AlbaniaROM

Linguistic distribution

According to the Austrian census of 1910, a total of 29,241 inhabitants lived in the then still independent municipalities of Bolzano, Gries, and Zwölfmalgreien combined, of whom only 1,605 declared Italian as their language of daily use, while 26,558 declared German. Through fascism and the Italianization policy under Benito Mussolini in the inter-war period, the Italian language group became the majority in Bolzano. Prior to the annexation of South Tyrol to Italy a small Italophone community of up to 10% of the population already lived in Bolzano. As early as the 1940s, the city had an Italian-speaking majority.
According to the 2024 census, 74.71% of the city's inhabitants spoke Italian, 24.74% German and 0.55% Ladin as their first language. The percentage values are based exclusively on valid declarations of language group affiliation or language group assignment by persons holding Italian citizenship. Owing to its bicultural character, Bolzano is regarded as an important meeting place between the German- and Italian-speaking cultural and economic spheres. An increasing number of residents speak more than just their native language.

History

Prehistory and Roman settlement

The modern-day Bolzano was in ancient times a marshy region inhabited by the Raetian Isarci people, traditionally believed to be descendants of Etruscan refugees fleeing Italy from the invading Gauls. The Romans built a settlement after the area had been conquered in 15 BC by general Nero Claudius Drusus. The military settlement, Pons Drusi, was named after this Roman general. During this time the area became part of the region Venetia et Histria of ancient Italy.
In 1948, excavations of the current Cathedral led to the discovery of an ancient Christian basilica from the fourth century. Also discovered was a Roman cemetery, including the tomb of "Secundus Regontius" with Latin inscriptions dating to the third century, making him the oldest known inhabitant of Bolzano.

Bavarian settlement

During the gradual decline of the Lombard influence in the seventh century, Bavarian immigration took place and the first mention of a Bavarian ruler in Bolzano dates from 679. At that time, the Bavarians named the nearby villages around Bolzano Bauzanum or Bauzana. In 769 Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria issued in Bolzano the foundation charter of the Innichen Abbey. German populations have been present in the region of Tyrol from that period onwards. At around the year 1000, the settlement is called "in Pauzana valle, quae lingua Teutisca Pozana nuncupatur".

Bishopric of Trent

In 1027 the area of Bolzano and the rest of the Diocese was conferred upon the bishops of Trent by the emperor Conrad II from the Salian dynasty. In the late-12th century, the bishop founded a market town, along the Lauben thoroughfare. The town therefore became an important trading post on the Transalpine Augsburg-Venice route over the Brenner Pass, elevation above sea level, within the Holy Roman Empire.

County of Tyrol

In 1277 Bolzano was conquered by Meinhard II, the Count of Tyrol, leading to a struggle between the counts of Tyrol and the bishops of Trent. In 1363, the County of Tyrol passed to the Austrian House of Habsburg. In 1381, Duke Leopold granted the citizens of Bolzano the privilege of a town council. This gradually eliminated the influence and power previously held by the bishops of Trent over the next few decades. In 1462, the bishops eventually resigned all their rights of jurisdiction over the town.
From the 14th and 15th centuries onwards, a large market fair was organised four times per year to greet tradesmen and merchants en-route the Brenner Pass. The Mercantile Magistrate was therefore founded in 1635 by the Austrian duchess Claudia de' Medici. During every market season, two Italian and two Germanic officers, who were appointed among the local tradesmen, worked in this magistrate office. The establishment of an official trade organisation strengthened Bolzano as a cultural crossroad in the Alps.
After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Bolzano became briefly part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy and was incorporated into the Department of Alto Adige. After the Congress of Vienna Bolzano returned to the County of Tyrol, within the Austrian Empire and subsequently the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary in 1867. The County covered both modern-day South Tyrol, Trentino and the state of Tyrol in Austria.
In the late Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bolzano experienced a rapid population growth between 1890 and 1910. The linguistic make-up showed a relevant level of fluctuation based on internal migration, assimilation and a changing political landscape, with the Italian-speaking minority accounting for 15.01% in 1890 and 5.70% in 1910.
In 1915, the Triple Entente powers promised Italy territorial gains if she would enter the First World War on the side of the Entente instead of siding with the German Empire and Austria-Hungary. When Italy abandoned the Triple Alliance, the Entente offered her territorial promises in Tyrol and Istria. This secret arrangement was confirmed in the Treaty of London.
After Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on May 24, 1915, heavy fighting took place all along Tyrol's southern border for the entire duration of the conflict. For the next years Tyrol's southern border became the front line between Austro-Hungarian and Italian troops. Tyrol's south frontier was – and still is – dotted with tens of defensive fortresses that had been built in view of a possible Italian attack. Losses on both sides amount to several thousands. During World War I, tens of thousands of civilians living along Tyrol's southern border were evacuated to either of the two countries, the majority to Bohemian and inner Austrian areas, and some to Italian internment camps, away from the front line.