Tramontane
Tramontane is a classical name for a northern wind. The exact form of the name and precise direction varies from country to country. The word came to English from Italian tramontana, which developed from Latin trānsmontānus, "beyond/across the mountains", referring to the Alps in the North of Italy. The word has other non-wind-related senses: it can refer to anything that comes from, or anyone who lives on, the other side of mountains, or even more generally, anything seen as foreign, strange, or even barbarous.
Traditions in various countries and regions
Spain
In Spain the wind is called the tramuntana or in Catalan and tramontana in Spanish, Galician and Basque. The wind also lends its name to the Serra de Tramuntana in Mallorca. The wind is prevalent in the northern Mediterranean coast and can be so strong as to be disturbing; there is a saying in Catalan culture that refers to a person as «touched by tramuntana» when they behave oddly or seemly lost their marbles. Salvador Dalí was often referred to as someone tocat per la tramuntana in his native Empordà.Croatia
On the Croatian Adriatic coast it is called tramontana, with a number of local variations. Like levant, it is considered a transitional wind, associated with the change of weather, which frequently transforms into bora. Like bora, it is a strong wind capable of generating large waves, but is less gusty.France
Image:Port Leucate, Clouds.jpg|thumb|350px|Tramontane clouds, Port-Leucate, south-central FranceThe tramontane in France is a strong, dry cold wind from the north or from the northwest. It is similar to the mistral in its causes and effects, but it follows a different corridor; the tramontane accelerates as it passes between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central, while the mistral flows down the Rhone Valley between the Alps and the Massif Central.
The tramontane is created by the difference of pressure between the cold air of a high pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean or northwest Europe and a low pressure system over the Gulf of Lion in the Mediterranean. The high-pressure air flows south, gathering speed as it moves downhill and is funnelled between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central.
According to French sources, the name was used in its present form at the end of the 13th century by Marco Polo, in 1298. It was borrowed from the Latin transmontanus and the Italian tramontana, meaning not just "across the mountains" but also "the North Star", since the Alps marked the north for the Italic people. The French term tresmontaine, cited as early as 1209 and still used in the 15th century, was borrowed directly from the Latin.
The word moved from Latin into French with the meanings "North Star" and also "the guide". In 1636 the French expression "perdre la tramontane" meant "to be disorientated."
The continuous howling noise of the tramontane is said to have a disturbing effect upon the psyche. In his poem "Gastibelza", Victor Hugo has the main character say, "Le vent qui vient à travers la montagne me rendra fou..."
Greece
In Greece, tramountána is used as a nautical term to define not only the northern wind, but also the northern direction and even the cardinal point of north on a compass.Italy
In Italy it is called tramontana.It is a northeasterly or northerly winter wind that blows from the Alps and Apennines to the Italian coast. It is very prevalent on the west coast of Italy and Northern Corsica. It is caused by a weather system from the west following a depression on the Mediterranean, due to the minimum baric level in the Ligurian Sea between Genoa and Corsica, which recalls strong winds. It is strongest before sunrise, when it can reach speeds of 70 km/h. It is a fresh wind of the fine weather mistral type.
A clear sky can occur, or a cloudy sky and precipitation when associated with a perturbed system. This last case is called in Liguria "dark Tramontane", which in Liguria is activated following the invortication of the perturbations coming from the west on the Ligurian Sea; for this reason a proverb in the Ligurian language states: "tramuntann-a scüa, ægua següa".
In Italy the expression on board, "to lose the Tramontane", which meant losing one's orientation, then has passed into the common language with the same metaphorical meaning.