It is a major industrial centre for manufacturing ships, airplanes, textiles, chemicals, and refined oil, and is home to one ofFincantieri's main shipyards. Monfalcone is the northernmost city on theMediterranean Sea.
Monfalcone is the fifth most populous town inFriuli-Venezia Giulia and the main centre of Bisiacaria territory. Joined to its neighbourhoods, it has about 50,000 inhabitants. The town lies between theKarst hills and theAdriatic coast, and it is the northernmost port of the Mediterranean Sea.
The municipality extends along the northern coastal strip of the Adriatic Sea for 24.39 km and is enclosed to the south by the bay of Panzano and to the north-east by the Carso, while to the north-west it borders the municipalities of Ronchi dei Legionari and Staranzano.[3] From a seismic point of view, the municipal territory is located, according to the Civil Protection classification, in zone 3 subject to low seismicity.[4]
In prehistoric times the area of Monfalcone housed several fortified villages calledcastellieri. After the foundation of theRoman city ofAquileia (181 BC), some thermal buildings were created on the hills, known asInsulae Clarae.
AfterOstrogoth,Byzantine,Lombard, andFrankish domination, Monfalcone was controlled by thePatriarchs of Aquileia starting from 967.[6] TheVenetians conquered it in 1420 after three days of siege, keeping it until 1511, when it fell to the French. Conquered back by Venice, it was ravaged by the troops ofHabsburg EmperorMaximilian I in 1513, who destroyed the Rocca fortress. In 1521 it was returned to the Republic of Venice, under which it remained until its dissolution by the 1797Treaty of Campo Formio.
Adria factories in Monfalcone during Austrian bombing inWorld War I
As of December 31, 2024, foreigners residents in the municipality were 9,991, i.e. 32.0% of the population.[7] The largest foreign community is that fromBangladesh with 55.0% of all foreigners present in the city, followed byRomania andNorth Macedonia.[8]
Rocca fortress. Of medieval origin (according to a legend, it was founded byTheoderic the Great, King of the Ostrogoths), its current appearance dates to Venetian restorations in the early 16th century. The interior houses a speleology exhibition.
Roman villas and thermae: Several remains ofRoman villas have been found on the territory of the municipality of Monfalcone. The sites are object of archaeological research but are not open to public. Athermae dating back to the Roman era is also present and what remains of the ancient edifice is now included in the current thermal establishment that was reactivated in 2014.[9]
Monfalcone is served by regionally and nationally important roads, spanning a total of nearly 100 km.[10] The S.S. 14 of Venezia Giulia and the A4 highway pass through the city, allowing access to the toll booths.
Monfalcone is home to the northernmost commercial port in the Adriatic, the Mediterranean and Italy, making it the second largest regional port and the hub for unloading goods destined for all of Europe. The Port of Monfalcone is thus a highly diverse port, with a de facto specialization in the automotive market, whose traffic is rapidly growing.It operates in close synergy with the Port of Trieste, both being part of the Eastern Adriatic Port System Authority.[12]
^Touring Club Italia:Gorizia e provincia: Grado, la laguna, il Collio, Redipuglia, l'Isonzo page 103: "...attraverso un «priviliegium imperiale» Ottone I assegnò nel 967 il «vicus Panzani», primo nucleo abitato della futura Monfalcone, al patriarca di Aquileia."; in English: "...through apriviliegium imperiale of the year 967, Otto I granted the territory calledvicus Panzani, the original nucleus of the future village of Monfalcone, to the patriarch of Aquileia."
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