Salorno sulla Strada del Vino (Italian pronunciation:[saˈlorno];German:Salurn[saˈlʊrn]) is the southernmostcomune (municipality) and a village inSouth Tyrol in northernItaly, located about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwest of the city ofBolzano. It is one of only five mainly Italian-speaking municipalities in South Tyrol.
The village centre is located on ascree in theAdige (Etsch) valley, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of the city ofTrento and about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwest ofBolzano. Parts of the municipal area belong to theTrudner Horn Nature Park nature reserve, which is part of theNatura 2000 network. Salorno station is a stop on theBrenner Railway line fromInnsbruck toVerona.
The municipality contains thefrazioni (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Cauria (German:Gfrill) and Pochi (Buchholz). As of 31 December 2011, Salorno sulla Strada del Vino had a population of 3,591 and an area of 33.2 square kilometres (12.8 sq mi).[3]
The village is home to the ruins of the medieval castleHaderburg (Italian:Castello di Salorno). First mentioned in a 1053 travelogue, it is situated on alimestone rock high above theSalurner Klause bottleneck of the Adige Valley. In 1158 the local Counts ofEppan had two cardinals of theRoman Curia on their way to the court of EmperorFrederick Barbarossa attacked and raided. Frederick's cousinHenry the Lion launched apunitive expedition, whereby the castle was demolished. It was rebuilt afterwards and about 1200 was acquired by theCounts of Tyrol. It was purchased by CountMeinhard II of Gorizia-Tyrol in 1284, besieged and occupied by DukeLouis V of Bavaria in 1349, and finally bequested to the AustrianHouse of Habsburg in 1363. EmperorMaximilian I had the fortifications enlarged, however, the castle lost its strategical significance soon afterwards and decayed. Since 1648 the ruins are in possession of theVenetian counts of Zenobio-Albrizzi.
AfterWorld War I and the dissolution ofAustria-Hungary, Salorno was annexed to Italy together with the rest of South Tyrol and other areas of the Austrian territory, as consequence of theTreaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 October 1920. According to the census of 1921 the majority of the population of Salorno declared themselves as German-speaking. After that a governmental commission adjusted the result by modifying the declaration of people whose family name sounded Italian. Salorno and other municipalities of South Tyrol have since then an Italian-speaking majority. The effectiveItalianization conducted by thefascist Regime changed definitively the proportion between the languages.[4] Only 37% of the inhabitants speak mainly German today.
The emblem isargent apile reversed andchiefazure. It is the insignia of the Lords ofGraland who obtained the village in the thirteenth century. The emblem was adopted in 1971.[5]
Since 2001, Salorno's population has risen strongly. According to the 2024 census, 62.49% of the population speakItalian, 37.33%German and 0.17%Ladin as first language.
