Sgonico

Sgonico is a comune in the Regional decentralization entity of Trieste in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste, on the border with Slovenia., it had a population of 1,956 and an area of. According to the 1971 census, 81.6% of the population are Slovenes.
Sgonico borders these municipalities: Duino-Aurisina, Monrupino, Sežana, and Trieste.

Name

The name of the settlement was first attested in 1309 as Swonich. The name is of Slovene origin, derived from the Slovene common noun zvonik, "belfry",. The phonological change zvonik to zgonik is characteristic of the local Slovene dialect; cf. also dialect zgon, "bell", from zvon.

Geography

Territory

The municipality occupies a central portion of the Trieste Karst, and both its flora and fauna are typically karst. Roughly rectangular in shape, it is bordered to the east by a row of low-lying hills that mark the border with Slovenia. The highest point is Mount Lanaro. The western part of the territory is flat, but dotted with numerous sinkholes, some of which are large. The only surface water bodies are a few small ponds.

Climate

Based on the 30-year reference average from 1961 to 1990, the average temperature of the coldest month, January, is +3.0 °C, while that of the warmest month, July, is +21.4 °C.
Precipitation exceeds 1,200 mm, distributed over an average of 100 days, with peaks in autumn and spring and relative lows in winter and summer.

History

After the First World War the territory passed to Italy and, in 1923, was included in the province of Trieste, that was restored on 2019 in the form of a regional decentralization entity.

Monuments and places of interest

Religious Architecture

Parish Church of San Michele Arcangelo in Sgonico
Church of Sant'Ulderico in Samatorza
Church of San Massimiliano Kolbe in Borgo Grotta Gigante-Girandole
Chapel of San Primo in Gabrovizza
Other places
Grotta Gigante
Giardino Botanico Carsiana
Gabrovizza / Gabrovec
Mount Lanaro Nature Reserve
Riselce Trail
Castelliere di Rupinpiccolo
The Osmize
Demographic evolution

Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray
id:darkgrey value:gray
id:sfondo value:rgb
id:barra value:rgb
ImageSize = width:455 height:303
PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:2500
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
AlignBars = justify
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:200 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
BarData=
bar:1921 text:1921
bar:1931 text:1931
bar:1936 text:1936
bar:1951 text:1951
bar:1961 text:1961
bar:1971 text:1971
bar:1981 text:1981
bar:1991 text:1991
bar:2001 text:2001
bar:2011 text:2011
bar:2021 text:2021
PlotData=
color:barra width:20 align:left
bar:1921 from: 0 till:1522
bar:1931 from: 0 till:1387
bar:1936 from: 0 till:1392
bar:1951 from: 0 till:1316
bar:1961 from: 0 till:1318
bar:1971 from: 0 till:1394
bar:1981 from: 0 till:2085
bar:1991 from: 0 till:2207
bar:2001 from: 0 till:2185
bar:2011 from: 0 till:2077
bar:2021 from: 0 till:1999
PlotData=
bar:1921 at:1522 fontsize:XS text: 1522 shift:
bar:1931 at:1387 fontsize:XS text: 1387 shift:
bar:1936 at:1392 fontsize:XS text: 1392 shift:
bar:1951 at:1316 fontsize:XS text: 1316 shift:
bar:1961 at:1318 fontsize:XS text: 1318 shift:
bar:1971 at:1394 fontsize:XS text: 1394 shift:
bar:1981 at:2085 fontsize:XS text: 2085 shift:
bar:1991 at:2207 fontsize:XS text: 2207 shift:
bar:2001 at:2185 fontsize:XS text: 2185 shift:
bar:2011 at:2077 fontsize:XS text: 2077 shift:
bar:2021 at:1999 fontsize:XS text: 1999 shift:
TextData=
fontsize:S pos:
text:Data from ISTAT

Languages and dialects

The municipal statute guarantees equal status to the Slovenian language and its use alongside Italian in official documents and in relations with municipal institutions. Sgonico is included in the list of municipalities in which measures for the protection of the Slovenian-speaking minority apply, pursuant to Article 4 of Law No. 38 of 23 February 2001, "Regulations for the Protection of the Slovenian Linguistic Minority in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region." In 1971, the population was overwhelmingly Slovenian-speaking:

Linguistic Distribution

18.40% Italian-speaking, 81.60% Slovenian-speaking.
According to a 1983 government estimate, 54% of the population in the municipality of Sgonico was Slovenian-speaking.

Economy

The local economy was based on agriculture, a fact hampered by the harsh environmental conditions of the Karst. During the 19th century, mining activity developed, with the opening of numerous marble quarries.
Two big Hi-Tech Companies have their EMEA global or national headquarters located in Sgonico: Telit and ex U-blox, both of them located near Stazione di Prosecco, the biggest and more important area of manufacturing and services companies in Sgonico.
Other small realities are mainly working in the crafts and freight forwarders area close to Stazione di Prosecco and Industrial Zone.

Tourism

Giant Cave with its amphitheater of stalactites and stalagmites, place of interest in caving and paleontological discovery in 1840.
Botanical Garden "Carsiana": it's a split in different geo-climatic habitat that exemplifies the entire biodiversity of the flora of the Carso, which are about 600 species of cultivated plants.
Natural Reserve of Monte Lanaro and suggestive osmize where you can buy and consume wine and typical products.
Infrastructure and transport

The stretch of highway 13 just before the Sgonico exit, which connects Trieste to the A4 motorway, passes through the municipality. There is an exit near Gabrovizza. The municipality is well connected to the rest of the province by a dense network of secondary roads.
The Trieste Centrale-Villa Opicina railway line passes through the municipality, which once housed the Prosecco station, which was closed in 2012.