Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol[6] (Italian:Trentino-Alto Adige[trenˈtiːnoˈaltoˈaːdidʒe];Austrian German:Trentino-Südtirol;[7]Ladin:Trentin-Südtirol[8]), often known in English asTrentino-South Tyrol[9] or by its shorter Italian nameTrentino-Alto Adige,[10][a] is anautonomous region ofItaly, located in thenorthern part of the country. The region has a population of nearly 1.1 million, of whom 62% speak Italian as their mother tongue (in areas where the local languages are transition dialects betweenEastern Lombard andVenetian), 30% speakGerman (around 93% of whom are fluent in the localSouth Tyrolean dialect ofBavarian), and the remaining are minority speakers of Ladin,Mòcheno orCimbrian and immigrant communities speaking several foreign languages.[14][15] Since the 1970s, most legislative and administrative powers have been transferred to the two self-governingprovinces that make up the region: the province ofTrento, commonly known asTrentino, and the province ofBolzano, commonly known asSouth Tyrol (Italian:Alto Adige; German:Südtirol). In South Tyrol,German remains the sizeable majority language.
Castello del Buonconsiglio (Buonconsiglio Castle) in Trento was the seat of the prince-bishops from the 13th century to 1803.TheMarmolada, in the northeast, is the highest mountain in theDolomites.2008Maratona dles Dolomites ascent to Campolongo Pass, with Corvara in the background
The two bishoprics were secularized by theTreaty of Lunéville of 1803 and given to the Habsburgs. Two years later, following the Austrian defeat atAusterlitz, the region was given to Napoleon's allyBavaria (Treaty of Pressburg, 1805). The new rulers provoked a popular rebellion in 1809, led byAndreas Hofer, a landlord fromSt. Leonhard in Passeier; this rebellion was crushed the same year. At the resulting Treaty of Paris (28 February 1810), Bavaria ceded the southern part of Tyrol (Trentino and the city of Bolzano) to the NapoleonicKingdom of Italy.[18][19] During French control of the region, it was called officiallyHaut Adige (Italian: "Alto Adige"; German: "Hochetsch"), literally "HighAdige", in order to avoid any reference to the historical County of Tyrol.[20] After Napoleon's defeat in 1815, the region returned to Austria.[citation needed]
Under Austrian rule the territory of today's province of South Tyrol was calledsüdliches Tirol orDeutschsüdtirol,[21] but was occasionally also referred to asMitteltirol, i.e. Middle Tyrol, due to its geographic position,[22] whileSüdtirol (Italian:Tirolo meridionale), i.e. South Tyrol, indicated mostly today's province of Trentino.[23] Trentino was also calledWelschtirol ("Romance Tyrol", Italian:Tirolo italiano) orWelschsüdtirol ("Romance South Tyrol", Italian:Tirolo meridionale italiano). SometimesSüdtirol also indicated the whole of the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region.[citation needed]
During the First World War, major battles were fought high in the Alps and Dolomites between Austro-HungarianKaiserjäger and ItalianAlpini, for whom control of the region was a key strategic objective. The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian war effort enabled Italian troops to occupy the region in 1918 and its annexation was confirmed in the post-war treaties, which awarded the region to Italy under the terms of theTreaty of Saint-Germain.[citation needed]
Cathedral Maria Himmelfahrt inBolzano, capital of South TyrolView of theRosengarten group in South Tyrol
Under the dictatorship ofBenito Mussolini, the Fascist dictator of Italy (ruled 1922–1943), the German population was subjected to an increased forced programme ofItalianization: all references to old Tyrol were banned and the region was referred to asVenezia Tridentina between 1919 and 1947, in an attempt to justify the Italian claims to the area by historically linking the region to one of theRoman Regions of Italy (Regio XVenetia et Histria).[24]Hitler and Mussolini agreed in 1938 that the German-speaking population would be transferred to German-ruled territory or dispersed around Italy, but the outbreak of the Second World War prevented them from fully carrying out the relocation. Nevertheless, thousands of people were relocated toNazi Germany and only with great difficulties managed to return to their ancestral land after the end of the war.[25]
In 1943, when the Italian government signed an armistice with the Allies, the region was occupied by Germany, which reorganised it as theOperation Zone of the Alpine Foothills and put it under the administration ofGauleiterFranz Hofer. The region wasde facto annexed to theGerman Reich (with the addition of theprovince of Belluno) until the end of the war. This status ended along with theNazi regime and Italian rule was restored in 1945.[citation needed]
Italy and Austria negotiated theGruber-De Gasperi Agreement in 1946, put into effect in 1947 when the new republicanItalian constitution was promulgated, that the region would be granted considerable autonomy. German and Italian were both made official languages, and German-language education was permitted once more. The region was calledTrentino-Alto Adige/Tiroler Etschland between 1947 and 1972.[citation needed]
However, the implementation of the agreement was not seen as satisfactory by either the German-speaking population nor the Austrian government. The issue became the cause of significant friction between the two countries and was taken up by the United Nations in 1960. A fresh round of negotiations took place in 1961 but proved unsuccessful, partly because of popular discontent and a campaign of terrorism and bombings by German-speaking autonomists and separatists led by theSouth Tyrolean Liberation Committee.[26][27][28]
The issue was resolved in 1971, when a new Austro-Italian treaty was signed and ratified. It stipulated that disputes in South Tyrol would be submitted for settlement to theInternational Court of Justice inThe Hague, that the province would receive greater autonomy within Italy, and that Austria would not interfere in South Tyrol's internal affairs. The new agreement proved broadly satisfactory to the parties involved and the separatist tensions soon eased. Matters were helped further by Austria's accession to theEuropean Union in 1995, which has helped to improve cross-border cooperation.[20]
In May 2006, senator-for-lifeFrancesco Cossiga introduced a bill that would allow the region to hold a referendum, in which the local electorate could decide whether to stay within the Italian Republic, become fully independent or return to Austria. All parties, including the separatists, rejected this measure as potentially causing a revival of ethnic tensions.[citation needed]
Alpine landscape near the village ofStilfs, South Tyrol
The region is bordered by East and NorthTyrol (Austria) to the north-east and north respectively, byGraubünden (Switzerland) to the north-west, and by the Italian regions ofLombardy to the west andVeneto to the south and southeast. It covers 13,607 km2 (5,254 sq mi). It is extremely mountainous, covering a large part of theDolomites and the southernAlps.[citation needed]
The region is composed of two provinces, Trentino in the south and South Tyrol in the north.[citation needed]
Trentino has an area of 6,207 km2 (2,397 sq mi), most of it mountainous land (20% is over 2,000 m (6,600 ft) and 70% over 1,000 m) and covered by vast forests (50% of the territory). The climate is various through the province, from an alpine climate to subcontinental one, with warm and variable summers and cold and quite snowy winters. The region has always been a favourite destination for tourists, both in winter for skiing in the high mountains and in summer to visit the wide valleys and many lakes (the largest beingLake Garda).[29]
South Tyrol has an area of 7,398 square kilometres (2,856 square miles), all of it mountainous land and covered by vast forests. The climate is of the continental type, owing to the influence of the many mountain ranges which stand at well over 3,000 metres (9,800 feet)above sea level and the wide valleys through which flow the main river, theAdige, from north to south and its numerous tributaries. In the city ofBolzano, capital of the province, the average air temperature stands at 12.2 °C (54.0 °F) and the average rainfall at 717.7 mm (28.3 in). The lowest pass across the Alps, theBrenner Pass, is located at the far north of the region on theborder with Austria.[30]
Map of the two autonomous provinces of the regionThe provincial assembly building ofSouth Tyrol
The region is divided into two autonomousprovinces: Trentino (Autonomous Province of Trento) and South Tyrol (Autonomous Province of Bolzano). The Italian Republic recognised a certain degree of autonomy for the region and its two constituent provinces, which was the result of theGruber–De Gasperi Agreement of 1946, as well as of the special status of autonomy approved by constitutional law in 1948. This statute gave the region the right to initiate its own laws on a wide range of subjects and to carry out respective administrative functions.[citation needed]
In 1972, the introduction of the second Statute of Autonomy, which was in the centre of the discussions between the Italian and Austrian governments, meant the transfer of the main competencies from the region to the two provinces. The autonomy recognized by the special statute covers the political, legislative, administrative, and fiscal institutions. The second statute turned the regionde facto into a loosecommonwealth withdevolved powers to the two autonomous provinces, with very limited legislative or executive competencies left.[citation needed]
The capital city is Trento, although the two provincial capitals alternate biennially (the other beingBolzano) as the site of the regional assembly.[30]
The region's fertile valleys producewine, fruit, dairy products, and timber, while its industries include paper, chemical and metal production. The region is a major exporter ofhydroelectric power. The most important features of the region's economic structure are the strength of tourism and the special system of co-operation between agriculture and industry. In the last decade, tourism became a very important component of the province's economy. The region, which is a staging-post between the countries of northern Europe and central and southern Italy, has found its true vocation in this leading branch of the services sector with all its spin-offs. The region has a higher concentration of hotels than any other region (6,178 establishments in 2001 with 236,864 hotel beds). The total accommodation capacity of the region counts for 651,426 beds available in hotels and other establishments.[31]
Christmas in Italy begins on 8 December with theFeast of the Immaculate Conception, the day on which traditionally Christmas trees are erected, and ends on 6 January of the following year withEpiphany.[34] In Italy, the oldest Christmas market is considered to be that ofBologna, held for the first time in the 18th century and linked to the feast of Saint Lucia.[35] The tradition of the markets has however spread in Italy predominantly especially since the 1990s, with the birth of the first modern markets: among these, the first ever was that ofBolzano, born in 1991, which was followed by others in South Tyrol,[36] in particular inMerano,Brixen,Sterzing andBruneck.[37] TheTrento Christmas market, established in 1993, is renowned inTrentino.[38]
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol has many small and picturesque villages, 16 of them have been selected byI Borghi più belli d'Italia (English:The most beautiful Villages of Italy),[39] a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,[40] that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.[41] These villages are:[39]
The region has a population of 1,086,095 as of 2025. The population density in the region is low compared to Italy as a whole, with 79.8 inhabitants per square kilometer, whereas the national density is 195.1 per square kilometer. The population density in the province of Trento was 88.1 per square kilometer, higher than the figure of South Tyrol at 72.9. It has 106,216 foreigners, equal to 9.8% of the total population.[44][45]
In Trentino the majority language is Italian, although there are Cimbrian minorities in the municipality ofLuserna and four Mòcheno municipalities in theMòcheni Valley. There are also Ladin-speaking minorities living in theFassa Valley and inNon Valley (3.5% of the population). While in Fassa Valley Ladin already enjoys official status, in Non Valley it still does not, despite there being more Ladin speakers in the latter than in the former.Sole Valley also historically belongs to the Ladin area.[citation needed]
In South Tyrol the majority language is German (62% of the population). Many of the German-speakers useSouth Tyrolean dialects in informal settings. In South Tyrol's capital cityBolzano 73% of the population speaks Italian as its maternal language due to internal immigration from other regions of Italy.[48] Italian speakers are also a significant component in other major urban centres of the province, such as inMerano (49% Italian as the mother language) andBrixen (26% mother language).[49] More than 90% of the 120,000 Italian speakers live in Bozen/Bolzano, Merano, Leifers and Brixen, and the greater part of the rest in the small towns south of the capital just north of the border with Trentino or scattered about in very small numbers throughout the rest of the province. The Italian language is a majority in 5 of 116 municipalities. Italian is the first language of 26% of the population (down from 35% in 1960) of the population of 453,000 recorded in the 2011 census, not counting the 51,000 who listed Language as 'Other' who are immigrants. Ladin is the additional official language in some municipalities and a majority in 8. According to the census of 2001, 103 out of 116 communes have a majority of German native speakers, eight of Ladin speakers and five of Italian. Today both German and Italian have the status of co-official languages in South Tyrol.[citation needed]
The Trentino-Alto Adige airport service is divided into the 3 large airports:Trento-Mattarello Airport,Bolzano Airport andDobbiaco Airport. Trento-Mattarello Airport (Italian:Aeroporto di Trento-Mattarello,[51] also known asAeroporto G.Caproni, is anairfield located atTrentino, 3.4 NM (6.3 km; 3.9 mi) south[52] ofTrento, Italy. The airport is at an elevation of 610 feet (186 m) abovemean sea level. It has onerunway designated 18/36 with anasphalt surface measuring 1,130 by 30 metres (3,707 ft × 98 ft).[52] Bolzano Airport (Italian:Aeroporto di Bolzano — Dolomiti,German:Flughafen Bozen — Dolomiten) is aregional airport nearBolzano in the province ofSouth Tyrol in northernItaly. The airport was established in October 1926 with a 1,300-metre (4,300 ft) landing runway.[53] The Dobbiaco Airport lies approximately 1 km to the South of the village ofDobbiaco and is Italy's northernmost and highest airport. The military airfield has a 700m long and 50m wide grass runway and is managed by theItalian Air Force's Airport Detachment Toblach. On weekends and holidays from May to October the airport is open for civilian traffic.[citation needed]
The seat of Italy's national public broadcasting companyRai in Bozen/Bolzano, South Tyrol. The building houses the editorial offices of Rai Südtirol, Rai Ladinia and Rai Alto Adige
L'Adige is the regional daily newspaper of Trentino-Alto Adige but is mainly distributed in the province ofTrento. With an average circulation of 28,511 copies, it is the second most-read newspaper in the region, preceded byDolomiten in German with 50,711 copies, mostly sold in South Tyrol. The third regional newspaper isAlto Adige/Trentino with an average circulation of 27,736 copies (as of January 2013).
RAI maintains two separate offices in Trento and Bolzano. The Bolzano office includesRAI Alto Adige in Italian,RAI Südtirol in German, andRAI Ladinia in Ladin.RAI Alto Adige works in collaboration with the provincial office in Trento. Therefore, there is no singleRAI Trentino-Alto Adige at the regional level.
TheRadiotelevisione Azienda Speciale (Special Broadcasting Company) for the autonomous province of Bolzano broadcasts German, Austrian, and Swiss radio and TV programs in the South Tyrol area, especially for the German-speaking population.
Regional private networks includeRadio Tele Trentino Regionale (RTTR),Trentino TV (which offers television content for theCimbrian,Mòcheno, and Ladin linguistic minorities), andVideo 33.
Many dishes, such ascanederli (bread dumplings),strudel, andsauerkraut, show the strong influence of Austrian cuisine in Trentino-Alto Adige.
A typical agri-food product of the region isspeck (smoked cured ham).
The region produces various types of wine, including Alto Adige Pinot Bianco, Alto Adige Val Venosta aromatic Traminer, Teroldego Rotaliano, Lagrein, Trentino Müller-Thurgau, Trento white sparkling wine, and Alto Adige Valle Isarco Sylvaner Bressanone.
A typical bread from Trentino-Alto Adige is thespaccata.
Thecoat of arms quarters the arms ofTrentino (black eagle) and the arms ofSouth Tyrol (red eagle). TheFlag of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol consists of a coat of arms, containing two eagles ofSan Venceslao (Trentino) and two Tyrolean red eagles (Alto Adige), historical symbols of the two provinces, which stand out against a white and blue background. The shape of the flag is a rectangle with a framed heraldic shield on it. Like other flags, the flag of Trentino-Alto Adige is also inspired, albeit differently, by theFrench flag introduced with therevolution of 1789. When Napoleon's army crossed Italy, starting from March 1796, flags of tricolour style were adopted both by the various newbornJacobin republics and by the military units that supported the French army. In the Alpine region, however, sketches of the two-tone known today began to emerge. Trentino-Alto Adige has been a region with a special statute since 1948. The two parts that make it up, the Province of Trento and the Province of Bolzano, in turn, constitute two provinces with particular prerogatives of autonomy defined in 1972. The white-blue flag, in use (limited) since 1995, takes up the characteristics of the banner, including the shield with quartered eagles from the province of Trento (1st and 4th) and that of Bolzano (2nd and 3rd). White and blue are the colours on which the coats of arms of Trento and Bolzano respectively were worn in ancient times. It has never been legally defined, unlike the coat of arms and the banner, approved on 17 September 1982 and approved by presidential decree of 21 March 1983.[citation needed]
The flag has no ancient origins, and most likely derives from the French tricolour, with the colours in the flag and in the coat of arms. With the Austrian reoccupation of the area, completed in 1814 byBellegarde againstBeauharnais, and confirmed by theCongress of Vienna, the Trentino-Altoatesino bicolour was completely abandoned, defined as a symbol of the past Napoleonic regime. With regard to Trentino, the first public signal of Austrian intentions to dissolve the army of the Kingdom of Italy, consisted in the prohibition, issued by Bellegarde on 13 June 1814, of wearing tricolour cockades, which evidently were very widespread. Certainly,Francis II and Bellegarde were convinced that no other ties had matured in the meantime. There are various versions of the exact origin of the flag. One claims that the flag was created afterWorld War I, while other says that it was all a coincidence, mainly because it was thought that such different ethnic groups, like the Austrians and the Italians, had never shared a territory. The flag of Trentino-Alto Adige has ancient origins in terms of its coat of arms. The eagle ofSt. Wenceslas, making up the coat of arms, was granted byJohn of Luxembourg on 9 August 1339. The rest of the flag consists of two horizontal bands of blue and white, with the coat of arms in the centre.[56][57]
^"Province of Bolzano/Bozen".Official website of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen. 2009. Archived fromthe original on 20 December 2002. Retrieved20 February 2009.
^"Südtiroler Sprachbarometer 2014" (Document) (in German). Bolzano: Landesamt für Statistik – Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen. 2015. Cited in"Tyrolean".AlpiLink. Retrieved25 June 2025.
^Allgemeiner historischer Handatlas, Gustav Droysen.
^abProf. Dr. Rolf Steininger (2011)."Die Südtirolfrage".ZIS Zeitgeschichte Informationssystem. Institute of Contemporary History, University of Innsbruck. Retrieved15 April 2011.
^Karl Höffinger (1887).Gries-Bozen in Deutsch-Südtirol, als klimatischer, Terrain-Kurort und Touristenstation – Vademecum für Einheimische, Reisende und Touristen in Gries-Bozen und im Etsch- und Eisack-Gebiete. Innsbruck, Wagner.
^e.g. Theodor Trautwein (1868).Wegweiser durch Süd-Baiern, Nord- und Mittel-Tirol und die angrenzenden Theile von Salzburg. Mit den Städten München, Augsburg, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Bozen und Meran. Munich, Lindauer.
^Karl Müller (1916).An der Kampffront in Südtirol: Kriegsbriefe eines neutralen Offiziers. Velhagen & Klasing.
^On Bolzano's fascist policies cf. Andrea Bonoldi, Hannes Obermair (2006).Tra Roma e Bolzano. Nazione e provincia nel ventennio fascista—Zwischen Rom und Bozen: Staat und Provinz im italienischen Faschismus. Bozen-Bolzano: Città di Bolzano.ISBN88-901870-9-3
^Helmut Alexander, Adolf Leidlmair, Stefan Lechner (1993).Heimatlos: die Umsiedlung der Südtiroler. Vienna: Deuticke.ISBN3-216-07832-9
^"Eurostat". Circa.europa.eu. Archived fromthe original on 5 August 2007. Retrieved6 May 2009.
^ab"Eurostat". Circa.europa.eu. Archived fromthe original on 5 August 2007. Retrieved6 May 2009.
^"Eurostat". Circa.europa.eu. Archived fromthe original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved6 May 2009.
^P. SaundersWine Label Language pp. 120–212 Firefly Books 2004.ISBN1-55297-720-X.
^J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. VouillamozWine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours, p. 112 Allen Lane 2012.ISBN978-1-846-14446-2.
^Anthony R. Rowley. "'Mocheno e Cimbro'. Von Dialek(ten) zu Sprache(n)?" In: Dieter Stellmacher,Dialektologie zwischen Tradition und Neuansätzen, Steiner, Stuttgart 2000, p. 213-221
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