Autonomous Province of Trento Provincia autonoma di Trento(Italian) Provinzia autonoma de Trent(Ladin) Autonome Provinz Trient(German) Sèlbstendig Provintz vo Tria(Cimbrian) Autonome Provinz va Trea't(Mòcheno)
Trentino (Lombard,Venetian andLadin:Trentin), officially theAutonomous Province of Trento (Italian:provincia autonoma di Trento; Ladin:provinzia autonoma de Trent;German:Autonome Provinz Trient;Cimbrian:Sèlbstendig Provintz vo Tria[3];Mòcheno:Autonome Provinz va Trea't[4]), is anautonomous province of Italy in thecountry's far north. Trentino andSouth Tyrol constitute theregion ofTrentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region under the constitution.[5] The province is composed of 166comuni (municipalities).[6] Its capital is the city ofTrento (Trent). The province covers an area of more than 6,000 km2 (2,300 sq mi), with a total population of 541,098 in 2019.
The province is generally known as "Trentino".[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] The name derives from Trento, the capital city of the province. Originally, the term was used by the local population only to refer to the city and its immediate surroundings. Under formerAustrian rule, which began in the 19th century (previously, Trentino was governed by the local bishop), the commonGerman name for the region wasWelschtirol (lit.'Walhaz, meaning Foreign Tyrol') orWelschsüdtirol (lit.'Walhaz/Foreign South Tyrol'), or justSüdtirol,[15] meaning South Tyrol with reference to its geographic position as the southern part of Tyrol.
The corresponding Italian name wasTirolo Meridionale, which was historically used to describe the wider southern part of the County of Tyrol, specifically Trentino and sometimes also today's South Tyrol,[16][17][18] orTirolo Italiano. In its wider sense,Trentino was first used around 1848 in an article by a member of theFrankfurt National Assembly; it became a popular term among leftist intellectual circles in Austria.[19]
Since the new 1972 autonomous status, the administrative name of the province isautonomous province of Trento (Italian:provincia autonoma di Trento; German:Autonome Provinz Trient).[20]
Castello del Buonconsiglio (Buonconsiglio Castle) in Trento was the seat of the prince-bishops from the 13th century to 1803.Trentino is part of the Euroregion Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino, which corresponds to the historic Tyrol region.[21]
The history of Trentino begins 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 theAdige River, thanks to its milder climate.
TheCouncil of Trent, held in three major sessions from 1545 to 1563, with the first at Trento, was one of the important councils in the history of theRoman Catholic Church. It was an articulation of Roman Catholic doctrine in response to theProtestant Reformation, and specified doctrine on salvation, the sacraments, and the Biblical canon.
AfterWorld War II, the Italian and Austrian Foreign Ministers signed theGruber-De Gasperi Agreement, creating the autonomous region of Trentino-South Tyrol, consisting of the autonomous provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol. Since the treaty, Trentino has enjoyed considerable autonomy from the Italian central government inRome. It has its own elected government and legislative assembly.
In 1996, theEuroregion Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino was formed between the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Italian provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino. The boundaries of the association correspond to the old County of Tyrol. The aim is to promote regional peace, understanding and cooperation in many areas. The region's assemblies meet together as one on various occasions and have set up a common liaison office to theEuropean Union inBrussels.
TheMarmolada, in the northeast, is the highest mountain in the Dolomites.
Trentino is a mountainous region. TheAdige River flows through the central Trentino in a valley named after the river. The principal towns of Trentino lie in the Adige Valley, which has been a historical passage connecting Italy with Northern Europe. Among other important valleys areNon Valley, known for its apple production,Sole Valley,Giudicarie, which has been historically connected by Trento andBrescia,Fiemme andFassa,Lagarina,Mocheni,Sugana Valley and many others.
The province has an area of 6,214 km2 (2,399 sq mi), and a total population of 524,826 (2010). There are 217comuni (singular:comune), in the province.[23]
The 1972 second Statute of Autonomy for Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtiroldevolved most legislative and executive competences from the regional level to the provincial level, creatingde facto two separate regions. Administratively, the province enjoys a large degree of autonomy in the following sectors: health, education, welfare and transport infrastructure. The provincial council comprises 35 members, one of whom must by law be drawn from theLadin minority.
In theelections in 2023, the centre-right coalition won 21 of 35 seats in the province's council.[24] These 21 seats were distributed between theTrentino League with 6 seats (including the provincial governor ("presidente")Maurizio Fugatti), theBrothers of Italy (5) Fugatti for Governor (4), theTrentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party (3), The Civic List (2) and the Fassa Association which provides this session's legally mandated seat for the province's Ladin minority (1). The centre-left alliance makes up most of the opposition, with 13 seats. This includes 7 seats for theDemocratic Party, 4 seats forCampobase and one seat each for theGreens and Left Alliance andAutonomy House.[25] There was also a non-allied party, Wave, which won one seat.[26]
The executive powers are attributed to the provincial government (Italian:Giunta Provinciale), headed by thegovernor (Presidente). Since 2018 the governor isMaurizio Fugatti. In 2023, Fugatti remained in power by receiving 51.8% of the vote for governor compared to 37.5% for Francesco Valduga of the centre-left coalition and about 10% for candidates aligned with neither major coalition.[27]
In addition to serving as the legislative body for the province, the members of the council also combine with South Tyrol's council to form the regional council ofTrentino-South Tyrol. Trentino's governor alternates with thegovernor of South Tyrol as president of the region. The regional government has its seat in the formerHotel Imperial in Trento.
Due to the division of the province into the 217 municipalities (comuni/Gemeinden), often of small or even tiny size, in the late 1970s, eleven larger units known as districts (comprensori) were introduced. The municipalities forming a district elect the council for that district. However, this tier of government has provoked criticism, and, in 2006, a reform created fifteen more homogeneous "Valley Communities" (comunità di valle,Talgemeinden) and one territory including the municipalities ofTrento,Cimone,Aldeno andGarniga Terme (seeMunicipalities of Trentino).
Map of Trentino with its 16 new districts, established in 2006Map of Trentino with its 11 districts, abolished in 2006
Vineyards of TrentinoA view of Lake Garda fromRiva del Garda in the south. Tourism is one of the primary revenue areas of the Trentine economy.
TheGross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 25.5 billion euros in 2023,[28] accounting for 1.2% of Italy's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 37,900 euros or 126% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 119% of the EU average.[29]
Despite the overwhelmingly mountainous nature of the territory, agriculture remains important. Farms often join to form larger cooperatives. The most important produce comprisesapples (50% of national production, together with South Tyrol) and other fruit, vegetables (primarily in theVal di Gresta), andgrapes. Important especially for their quality, the latter are used for the production ofdry and sparkling wines.
In January 2008, theEdmund Mach Foundation was established to promote research, training and services in the agricultural, agri-food and environmental fields.
The primary 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.
The Trentino province is crossed by the main road and rail connections between Italy andGermany. These include the Brenner A22 motorway and road which passes through the Etsch/Adige Valley. A regional project of switching much of the road traffic to railways is currently under consideration.
In 2019 the population of Trentino was 541,098. The highest concentration of the population is located around the capital city of Trento, and the southern parts. The whole region is divided up into 175 municipalities.
Minority languages in Trentino. Census-data per municipality 2011.
The majority of the Trentino population isItalian-speaking, with the local languages of native Italian being transition dialects ofEastern Lombard andVenetian. The region is also home to three indigenous linguistic minorities, which areLadin,Mòcheno andCimbrian.[30] All languages are protected by regional and provincial laws, statutes, and regulations.
AfterWorld War II and the devolution of power to regional authorities, a change in policy slowly began, which gained momentum in the 1990s. Since then a number of far-reaching laws and regulations have been passed and implemented, that protect and promote the use of these three languages and the unique cultural heritage and identity. This has for example been extended to school curricula in the regional languages and street signs becoming bilingual. All three minorities have their own cultural institute which were decreed by national law and receive state funds. The purpose of these cultural institutes is to safeguard and promote the respective culture and languages.
Mòcheno is still spoken in the municipalities ofFrassilongo (Garait),Palù del Fersina (Palai en Bersntol) andFierozzo (Vlarötz), while the Cimbrian language is spoken inLuserna (Lusérn).[5] The 2001 census found there were 2,276 native Mócheno and 882 Cimbrian speakers.[31]A recorded percentage of 57.8% in 2001 declared themselves as belonging to the Mòcheno population in the municipality ofSant'Orsola Terme, despite the municipality not being included in the core Mòcheno-speaking area.[32] The percentage dropped to 13% in the 2021 census.[33]In 2021 also, a percentage of 10.2% of the inhabitants in the municipality ofTerragnolo were recorded as belonging to the Cimbrian language group.[34]17,160 inhabitants of theVal di Non declared themselves as belonging to the Ladin linguistic minority, representing 18.2% of the valley's population. In theVal di Sole, Ladins accounted for 6.2% of the population, equal to 954 inhabitants. InSpormaggiore, the percentage was 11.3%.[33]
Territorial distribution of the Ladin, Mòcheno, and Cimbrian languages in Trentino in 2021
Legislative Decree No. 592 of December 16, 1993, introduced a 'Survey on the size and territorial distribution of the populations speaking Ladin, Mòcheno, and Cimbrian' (RCDT), in order to determine the number and geographic distribution of individuals belonging to linguistic minorities in Trentino. The survey was an integral part of the general censuses of 2001 and 2011. In 2021, it was carried out independently but during the same period as the permanent census.
In the 2021 RCDT survey, the understanding and knowledge of the three languages by the provincial population who responded to the survey were also analyzed, regardless of their declared affiliation.
Knowledge of Ladin, Mòcheno, and Cimbrian 2021
Language
Respondents 2021
Understand
Speaks
Read
Write
Ladin
125,919
17.5%
11.3%
10.6%
7.3%
Mòcheno
4.2%
0.8%
1.1%
0.4%
Cimbrian
4.0%
0.6%
0.9%
0.3%
Starting from the 2001 census, proposals have been made to recognize the Ladin identity of the Non Valley at the provincial level,[36] and also in parliament.[37] In 2013, the Provincial Council of Trento approved a motion acknowledging the 2011 census, which revealed a request from the populations of the Non Valley and the municipalities of Spormaggiore andCavedago to promote their linguistic identity. Between 2020 and 2021, the municipal councils of 16 out of 23 municipalities in the Non Valley passed resolutions in favor of Ladin identity.[38] The classification of the Non Valley and Sole Valley idioms as part of theRhaeto-Romance linguistic group remains a subject of linguistic and political debate.
TheNones language hails from theNon Valley and is considered by some[who?] linguists a variant of Ladin.[citation needed] Estimates range up to 30,000 speakers. TheSolandro language is also under debate as to whether it is a dialect of Ladin or a separate language. Native speakers are mainly found in theSole Valley and are estimated to be up to 15,000. Both idioms are alternatively considered as dialects within the range ofGallo-Romance languages. There is no official census to date that has Nones and Solandro as officially distinct languages. The total number of Ladin speakers in the census of 2001 exceeds the population of around 7,500 in the Fassa Valley. A number of Nones and Solandro speakers identified as Ladin speakers, while others chose not to exercise that option due to the disagreement whether or not their languages are Ladin or a separate idiom.
The Trentino is a region of cultural encounters. Already in the pastGermans,Italians andLadins joined in this area. The alpine province is a piece of land, in which mountain passes and elevated plains join hilly valleys and plains and in which different people and cultures join. Its history, but also the relatively insular geographic position of some valleys led to an extraordinary richness in culture and many customs and traditions that have been kept alive up to the present. Also some minority groups and gastronomic peculiarities have been preserved till now.[39]
In the territory of the province there are numerous museums, which have had significant development over the last twenty years by the financial resources of the province. Among the main ones:
the modern and contemporary art museum of Trento and Rovereto (MART), inaugurated in 2002, based in Corso Bettini inRovereto. The modern architectural structure was designed by Mario Botta and fits harmoniously into the historical fabric of the city. MART can boast an extensive permanent collection of contemporary works and aims to take on an increasingly international dimension.
the museum of the uses and customs of the Trentino people, one of the major ethnographic and material culture museums of the entireAlpine area, with headquarters inSan Michele all'Adige;
the Italian historical museum of the War of Rovereto, dedicated to theFirst World War, hosted at the city's castle.
Padre Kino Museum located in Segno in theVal di Non chronicles the life of missionary explorerEusebio Kino and the indigenous people of today's borderlands of Arizona and Sonora.
Also worthy of note are the cultural institutes and museums dedicated to the three minorities of the province, the Istitut cultural Ladin "majon di fascegn" in Val di Fassa and the "Kulturinstitut Bersntol - Lusérn" for the promotion of German-speaking minorities mòchene and Cimbre.
In the region there are numerous castles. With the financial aid of province, some of them could be restored and are now open to the public. Here the most important:
Trentino Volley is a professional Italianvolleyball team. It has played in the Italian Volleyball League without interruption since 2000, whileAquila Trento is abasketball team in the Italian top league.
^Among many: Karl Müller, An der Kampffront in Südtirol: Kriegsbriefe eines neutralen Offizeirs, Velhagen & Klasing, 1916: Das politische und militärische Ziel des Feldzugs der Italiener im Südtirol ist die befestigte Stadt Trient = The political and military objective of the Italian campaign in South Tyrol was the fortified city ofTrento.
