Everything about Trento totally explained
Trento (traditional English:
Trent;
Italian:
Trento;
German:
Trient;
Latin:
Tridentum; Note that many of the region's
Italian languages/dialects use
Trent or
Trènt) is an
Italian city located in the
Adige River valley in
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of the region and of the Autonomous
Province of Trento.
Geography
The township of Trento is geographically very large and encompasses the town center as well as many suburbs of extremely varied geographical and population conditions (from the industrial suburb of Gardolo, just north of the city, to tiny mountain hamlets on the Monte Bondone). Various distinctive suburbs still maintain their traditional identity of rural or mountain villages. The town proper only has 55,197 inhabitants (October 2004). The 2004 population of the entire township is 110,142.
Trento lies in a wide
glacial valley called the
Adige valley just south of the
Alps foothill range
Dolomite Mountains, where the
Fersina and
Avisio rivers join the
Adige River (the second longest river in Italy). The valley is surrounded by mountains, including the
Vigolana (2,150 m), the
Monte Bondone (2,181 m), the
Paganella (2,124 m),
the Marzola (1,747 m) and the
Monte Calisio (1,096 m). Nearby lakes include the
Lago di Caldonazzo,
Lago di Levico,
Lago di Garda and
Lago di Toblino.
History
The origins of the city are controversial. Some scholars maintain it was a
Rhaetian settlement: the Adige area was however influenced by neighbouring populations, including the
(Adriatic) Veneti, the
Etruscans, the
Cimbri, and the
Gauls (a
Celtic people). According to other theories, therefore, the latter did instead found the city during the
4th century BC.
Trento was conquered by the
Romans in the late
1st century BC, after several clashes with the Rhaetian tribes. The Romans gave their settlement the name
Tridentum, because of the three hills that surround the city: the
Doss Trent,
Sant'Agata and
San Rocco. The Latin name is the source of the adjective
Tridentine. On the old townhall a Latin inscription is still visible:
Montes argentum mihi dant nomenque Tridentum ("Mountains give me silver and the name of Trento"), attributed to Fra' Bartolomeo da Trento (died in 1251).
After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire, Trento was ruled by
Ostrogoths,
Lombards and
Franks, finally becoming part of the
Holy Roman Empire. In 1027, Emperor
Conrad II created the
Prince-Bishops of Trento, who wielded both temporal and religious powers; but in the following centuries the sovereignty was divided between the
Bishopric of Trent and the
County of Tyrol (from 1363 part of the Habsburg monarchy). Around 1200, Trento became a minerary production center of some significance (silver was mined from the Monte Calisio - Khalisperg), and Prince-Bishop
Federico Wanga issued the first mining code of the alpine region. A dark episode in the history of Trento involved the alleged disappearance of a three year old boy known as
Simon of Trent (S. Simonino) in 1475, which was blamed on the local Jewish community and resulted in a series of executions.
In the 16th century Trento became famous for the
Council of Trent (1545-1563) which gave rise to the
Counter-Reformation. The adjective
Tridentine (as in "Tridentine Mass") literally means pertaining to Trento, but can also refer to that specific event. Among the famous prince bishops of this time were
Bernardo Clesio (who ruled the city 1514-1539, and managed to steer the Council to Trento) and
Cristoforo Madruzzo (who ruled in 1539-1567), both able European politicians and Renaissance
humanists, who greatly expanded and embellished the city.
During this period, and as an expression of this Humanism, Trento was also known as the site of a
Jewish printing press. In
1558 Cardinal Madruzzo granted the privilege of printing
Hebrew books to Joseph Ottolengo, a German
rabbi. The actual printer was
Jacob Marcaria, a local physician; after his death in 1562 the activity of the press of Riva di Trento ceased. Altogether thirty-four works were published in the period 1558 to
1562, most of them bearing the coat of arms of Madruzzo.
(External Link
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Prince-bishops ruled Trento until the Napoleonic era, when it bounced around among various states. Under the
reorganization of the Holy Roman Empire in
1802, the Bishopric was secularized and annexed to the
Habsburg territories. The
Treaty of Pressburg in
1805 ceded Trent to
Bavaria, and the
Treaty of Schönbrunn four years later gave it to Napoleon's
Kingdom of Italy. With Napoleon's defeat in 1814, Trento was finally annexed by the
Habsburg Empire, becoming part of the province of
Tyrol.
In the next decades Trento experienced a modernization of administration and economy with the first railroad in the Adige valley opening in 1859. During the late 19th century, Trento and
Trieste, cities with ethnic Italian majorities still belonging to the Austrians, became icons of the Italian
irredentist movement.
Benito Mussolini briefly joined the staff of a local newspaper in 1908. The nationalist cause led Italy into
World War I. Damiano Chiesa and
Cesare Battisti were two well-known local irredentists who had joined the Italian army to fight against Austria-Hungary with the aim of bringing the territory of Trento into the new Kingdom of Italy. The two men were taken prisoners at the nearby southern front. They were put on trial for high treason and executed in the courtyard of Castello del Buonconsiglio (Cesare Battisti had served in the Austrian army). Their death caused an emotional outcry and was later used by the Italian government to celebrate the "liberation of Trento." The region was greatly affected during the war, and some of its fiercest battles were fought on the surrounding mountains.
After
World War I, Trento and its Italian-speaking province, along with
Bolzano and the part of Tyrol that stretched south of the Alpine watershed (which was German speaking), were annexed by Italy.
In 1943, Mussolini was deposed and Italy surrendered to the Allies, who had invaded southern Italy via Sicily. German troops promptly invaded northern Italy and the provinces of Trento,
Belluno and
Bolzano-Bozen became part of the
Operation Zone of the Alpine Foothills, annexed to Greater Germany. Many German-speakers wanted revenge upon Italians-speakers living in the area, but were mostly prevented by the occupying Nazis, who still considered Mussolini head of the
Italian Social Republic and wanted to preserve good relations with the Fascists. From November, 1944 to April, 1945 Trento was bombed as part of the so-called "Battle of the Brenner." War supplies from Germany to support the
Gothic Line were for the most part routed through the rail line through the Brenner pass. Over 6,849 sorties were flown over targets from
Verona to the
Brenner Pass with 10,267 tons of bombs dropped. Parts of the city were hit by the Allied bombings, including the church of S. Maria Maggiore, the Church of the Annunciation and several bridges over the
Adige river. In spite of the bombings, most of the medieval and renaissance town center was spared.
Starting from the 1950s the region has enjoyed prosperous growth, thanks in part to its special autonomy from the central Italian government.
Society and economy
Eight centuries of Prince-Bishop rulers, relative independence from the rest of Europe, the Austrian domination and a strong sense of communal fate left a distinctive mark on the city's culture, which is dominated by a fairly progressive Social-Catholic political orientation (in fact, Trento is one of the few cities in Italy where left-leaning Catholics form the majority party). The city is considered to be well-administered and enjoys the benefits of special autonomy from the central Italian government. Trento ranks high in Italian quality-of-life statistics.
The city owes much of its unique history to its position along the main communication route between Italy and Northern Europe and to the Adige river which prior to its diversion in the 19th century ran through the center of the city. The Adige river was formerly a navigable river and one of the main commercial routes in the Alps. The original course of the river is now covered by the Via Torre Vanga, Via Torre Verde and the Via Alessandro Manzoni.
Today Trento thrives on commerce, services, tourism, high-quality agriculture and food industry (including wine, fruit), as a research and conference center thanks to a small but renowned
university and research centers such as
ITC/IRST, and
ECT*, and as logistics and transportation thoroughfare. The manufacturing industry installed in the post-war period has been mostly dismantled.
Valued pink and white
porphyry is still excavated from some surrounding areas (Pila). This stone can be seen in many of Trento's buildings, both new and old.
Politics
The administrative elections of
May 8,
2005 were won by a Center-Left coalition. Results are the following (only parties with more than 5% are listed):
Current mayor is Alberto Pacher, of the
Democrats of the Left.
Main sights
Although off the beaten path of mass tourism, Trento offers rather interesting monuments. Its architecture has a unique feel, with both Italian Renaissance and Germanic influences. The city center is small, and most Late-Medieval and Renaissance buildings have been restored to their original pastel colours and wooden balconies. Part of the medieval city walls is still visible in Piazza Fiera, along with a circular tower. Once, these walls encircled the whole town and were connected to the Castello del Buonconsiglio.
The main monuments of the city include:
Duomo (Cathedral of Saint Vigilio), a Romanesque-Gothic cathedral of the twelfth-thirteenth century, built on top of a late-Roman basilica (viewable in an underground crypt).
Piazza Duomo, on the side of the Cathedral, with frescoed Renaissance buildings and a neoclassicist Fountain of the Neptune built in 1767-1768.
Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (1520), site of the preparatory congregations of the Third Council of Trent (April 1562 – December 1563). It was built for Bishop Bernardo Clesio by the architect Antonio Medaglia in Renaissance-Gothic style. The façade has a notable 16th century portal, while the interior has works by Giambettino Cignaroli and Moroni.
Castello del Buonconsiglio, which includes a museum and the famous Torre dell'Aquila, with a cycle of fine Gothic frescoes depicting the months, commissioned by the prince-bishop Georg von Lichtenstein.
Church of San Pietro (12th century) It has a neo-Gothic façade added in 1848-1850.
Church of Sant'Apollinare, erected in the 13th century at the feet of the Doss Trento hill.
Church of San Lorenzo (12th century). It has a notable Romanesque apse.
Torre Verde, along the former transit path of the Adige river, is said to be where persons executed in the name of the Prince-Bishop were deposited in the river.
Palazzo delle Albere, a Renaissance villa next to the Adige river built around 1550 by the Madruzzo family, now hosting a modern art museum.
Palazzo Pretorio, next to the Duomo, of the 12th century, with a bell tower (Torre Civica) of the thirteenth century (it now hosts a collection of baroque paintings of religious themes). It was the main Bishops' residence until the mid-13th century.
Palazzo Salvadori (1515).
Palazzo Geremia (late 15th century). It has a Renaissance exterior and Gothic interiors.
Palazzo Lodron, built during the Council of Trent. The interior has a large fresco cycle.
Various underground remains of the streets and villas of the Roman city (in Via Prepositura and Piazza Cesare Battisti).
Trento also sports noteworthy modernist architecture, including the train station and the central post office, both by rationalist architect Angiolo Mazzoni. In particular, the train station (1934–36) is considered a landmark building of Italian railways architecture and combines many varieties of local stone with the most advanced building materials of the time: glass, reinforced concrete, metal. The post office was once decorated with colored windows by Fortunato Depero, but these were destroyed during bombings in World War II. Other buildings of that time include the Grand Hotel (by G. Lorenzi) with some guest rooms furnished with futurist furniture by Depero, and the "R. Sanzio" Primary School built by Adalberto Libera in 1931–34.
An important museum of modern art (Museo d'Arte di Trento e Rovereto) is located in the nearby town of Rovereto.
A famous aeronautical museum (Museo dell'Aeronautica Gianni Caproni) is located in Trento - Mattarello's Airport.
The Museo tridentino di scienze naturali (Trent Museum of Nature), is a museum of natural history and science.
Trento's surroundings are known for the beautiful mountain landscapes, and are the destination of both summer and winter tourism.
The Alpine Botanical Garden, located on Monte Bondone in Le Viotte was founded in 1938 and is therefore probably the first such garden in Italy.
Trento is also the venue of a popular Mountain Film Festival
Famous natives
In addition to the aforementioned Bernardo Clesio and Cristoforo Madruzzo, Giacomo Aconzio was born in Trento. Kurt von Schuschnigg was born in Riva del Garda, in the Trentino region. Other famous natives of Trento include:
Beniamino Andreatta, politician.
Lorenzo Bernardi, volleyball player for the Italian national team who was declared "Player of the century" by an international jury.
Francesco Antonio Bonporti, composer.
Gianni Caproni, aeronautical engineer, born in Massone d'Arco 1886. Trento's airport is dedicated to him.
Eusebio Chini, Jesuit Priest, missionary and explorer.
Fortunato Depero, futurist artist and one of the founders of the futurist movement in Italy, was born in Fondo in 1892, close to Trento. He was later "adopted" by the city of Rovereto.
Alcide De Gasperi, politician in Austria-Hungary, political leader and post-war premier in Italy and one of the founding fathers of the European Union, was born in Pieve Tesino, in the province of Trento.
Felice Fontana, scientist.
Gregorio Fontana, mathematician.
Ernst von Koerber, prominent politician of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement.
Gianfrancesco Malfatti, mathematician.
Martino Martini, geographer, historian, missionary.
Maximillian Fullieri, entrepreneur.
Luigi Negrelli, engineer.
Paolo Oss Mazzurana, Trento's most famous mayor. His tenure is characterized by progressive economic policies that impacted Trento's commercial sector and its eventual independence.
Francesco Moser, cyclist
Antonio Pedrotti, conductor and composer
Andrea Pozzo, Jesuit Brother, baroque painter and architect.
Giovanni Prati, poet and politician.
Antonio Rosmini, priest, philosopher, born in Rovereto, 1797.
Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, naturalist and physician, born in Cavalese.
Giovanni Segantini, Italian Art Nouveau painter, was born in Arco in 1858.
Alessandro Vittoria, mannerist sculptor.
Riccardo Zandonai, opera composer.
Francesca Neri, Award Winning Actress.
Mattia Fontanari, Famous Disco/Club Promoter.
Transport
Highway A22-E45 to Verona and to Bolzano, Innsbruck and Munich. Railway (main connection between Italy and Germany; direct train to Venice). Bus or train service to the main surrounding valleys: Fassa, Fiemme, Gudicarie, Non, Primiero, Rendena, Sole, Tesino, Valsugana.
Twin cities
Trento is twinned with:
Berlin Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Germany, since 1966
Donostia/San Sebastián, Spain, since 1987
Kempten, Germany, since 1987
Prague, Czech Republic, since 2002
Districts of Trento are twinned with:
Schwaz
Fließ
Ergolding
Herrsching
Neufahrn bei Freising
Znojmo
Povo, Villazzano, Gardolo, Roncafort, Mattarello, Martignano, Cognola, Ravina, Romagnano, Montevaccino, Vela, Meano, Sardagna, Sopramonte, Vigo Meano, Gazzadina, Candriai, Vaneze, Cadine, Vigolo Baselga
Notes and references
Further Information
Get more info on 'Trento'.
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