Trentino-South Tyrol

Trentino-South Tyrol
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Basic data
capital city	Trento (Trento)
Official languages	Italian, German ; ; Ladin, Fersentaler and Cimbrian are recognized minority languages
Provinces	2
area	13,606.87 km² ( 11. )
resident	1,074,819 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	79 inhabitants / km²
Website	www.regione.taa.it
ISO 3166-2	IT-32
president	Maurizio Fugatti ( Lega , since July 7, 2021)
	; Relief map of the Trentino-South Tyrol region

Trentino-South Tyrol (until 1972 Trentino-Tyrolean Etschland ), Italian Trentino-Alto Adige , Ladin Trentin-South Tyrol , officially according to the constitution of the Italian Republic Trentino-Alto Adige / South Tyrol , is an autonomous region in northern Italy . Most of their competencies have been transferred to the likewise autonomous provinces of Bolzano and Trento or South Tyrol and Trentino since the 1970s .

According to the statute , the capital of the region is Trento ; in fact, Bolzano also takes on the functions of the capital.

geography

Trentino-South Tyrol is 13,607 km² and has 1,074,819 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019). The region borders on the Austrian federal states of Tyrol (north and east Tyrol) and Salzburg in the north and north-east, on the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the north-west and on the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto in the west and south and east.

The landscape is strongly shaped by the Alps , especially the Dolomites . The highest point is the Ortler , at 3,905 meters above sea level.

The main river is the Etsch , from which the Italian name of South Tyrol ( Alto Adige , meaning "Hochetsch") goes back. In addition, the northern part of Lake Garda , Italy's largest lake, belongs to Trentino-South Tyrol.

structure

Politically, the region of Trentino-Alto Adige is divided into the provinces of Trento ( Trentino ) and Bolzano ( South Tyrol ), both of which have the suffix autonomous , as they are the only Italian provinces that have legislative powers and are not subordinate to the region . According to their autonomous orientation, Trentino and South Tyrol are not only referred to as provinces, but also as countries and their presidents as provincial governors .

province	capital city	ISO	Municipalities	Population (December 31, 2019)	Area (km²)	Population density (inh / km²)
Autonomous Province of Bolzano	Bolzano	IT BZ	116	532.080	7,400.43	72
Autonomous Province of Trento	Trent	IT-TN	175	542.739	6,206.90	87
Trentino-South Tyrol	Trent	IT-32	291	1,074,819	13,606.87	79

story

The Trentino inhabited mainly by Italians was until 1803 as Bishopric of Trento , a formally independent, in fact since the completed in the 14th century Tridentine compacts one of the County of Tyrol dependent kingdom principality of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation ; through the Imperial Deputation Main Council in 1804 it also became de jure part of the Fürsteten Grafschaft Tirol in the newly founded Austrian Empire .

At the end of the 19th century, especially in the liberal-national circles of the Trentino, voices were voiced for an annexation of the Trentino to the Kingdom of Italy , which found its most radical form of expression in the Irredenta movement. But other non-radicalized bourgeois strata of the Italian-speaking part also pushed for an autonomous part of the country before the First World War, which culminated in the struggle for its own Italian-speaking university in the so-called Fatti di Innsbruck . In the course of the increasingly worsening nationality conflict in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Trentino became a battlefield for Pan-German and irredentist associations such as the German School Association or the Società Dante Alighieri .

Some irredentists not only demanded that Trentino be annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, but also that the Italian border should be moved to the main Alpine ridge , which should also annex the predominantly German-speaking area of what is now South Tyrol. Ettore Tolomei from Rovereto appeared most vehemently , who met these alleged claims of Italy with spectacular actions such as the alleged first ascent of the Klockerkarkopf , the hoisting of the Italian flag on its top and the naming of this mountain in the upper Ahrntal as Vetta d'Italia (“Top of Italy “) Tried to underpin it in 1904. Indeed, Italy did in during the First World War, negotiated the London secret agreement these claims as its own, then the Treaty of St. Germain in 1919 the state of Tyrol was divided between Austria and Italy. The parts of Tyrol south of the Brenner Pass came to Italy (with the exception of East Tyrol ), where they were initially administered jointly as Venezia Tridentina . This name was coined by the Italian linguist Graziadio Isaia Ascoli , based on the neighboring regions of Venezia Euganea (Veneto and Friuli) and Venezia Giulia ( Julian Venetia ) . It has become so naturalized in Italian that people sometimes still speak of Triveneto or Le Tre Venezie to designate the three regions in north-east Italy. The term has also survived within the Catholic Church: The church region Triveneto is one of 16 church regions in Italy.

In the era of fascism there were intensive efforts to Italianize South Tyrol:

The use of the German language was completely banned: in schools, in the media, in administration, in court. The place names were Italianized, even family names and first names were "translated".
In the course of massive industrialization, numerous workers from southern Italy, Veneto and Friuli were settled. Bolzano became a predominantly Italian city.

In 1927 Venezia Tridentina was divided into the predominantly Italian-speaking province of Trento and the predominantly German-speaking province of Bolzano.

In 1939 the “ option ” referred to as the resettlement agreement between fascist Italy and the National Socialist German Reich came into being. The German-speaking and Ladin-speaking South Tyroleans as well as the Zimbri from Lusians and the residents of the Fersental were given the choice of either staying in their homeland, which was shaped by the Italianization campaign, or emigrating to the German Empire. Although around 85% of South Tyroleans chose to emigrate, the majority of those affected did not leave their homeland or returned later.

The Haderburg near Salurn marks the linguistic border between the different parts of the country

After the Second World War , the victorious powers did not deny that South Tyrol remained within the Italian state. In order to strengthen the rights of the German-speaking South Tyroleans, the Gruber-De-Gasperi Agreement was negotiated instead between Italy and Austria . The South Tyroleans were initially denied real self-government. When the First Statute of Autonomy came into force in 1948 , the autonomy rights were not assigned to the province of Bolzano or South Tyrol, but to the newly created region, which was given the German name Trentino-Tiroler Etschland . In the region, the Italian language group was clearly in the majority, and all important decisions were made in Trento.

In addition, the governments in Rome and Trento continued to endeavor to settle immigrants from the rest of Italy in South Tyrol. When it was decided in 1957 to build 5,000 apartments for Italian immigrants, 35,000 South Tyroleans gathered at the large rally at Sigmundskron Castle and chanted “Los von Trient”. Between 1956 and 1969, frustration with Italy's South Tyrol policy led to a series of bomb attacks carried out by the South Tyrol Liberation Committee .

After long negotiations, in which Austria played a major role as a protective power, the Second Statute of Autonomy came into force in 1972, the region , which has since been known as Trentino-South Tyrol , was largely disempowered and autonomy was passed on to the provinces of Bolzano and Trento or to South Tyrol and Trentino. The role of the region has been weakened to such an extent that its political organs only fulfill minor functions.

With the Constitutional Law No. 2/2001, this institutional change in meaning was reproduced in that the region is no longer divided into two provinces, but instead the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano form the region in accordance with Art. 116, Paragraph 2. With the same law, the official name in the constitutional text was changed from Trentino-Alto Adige to Trentino-AltoAdige / South Tyrol .

languages

The language group majorities in the municipalities of the region according to the 2011 census

While around seventy percent of the residents of South Tyrol have German as their mother tongue, Italian is spoken almost exclusively in Trentino , which means that Italians are in the majority in the Trentino-South Tyrol region. According to the statute, the official languages of the region are Italian and German. However, this only affects the level of the regional authorities, while the German language does not play a role at the provincial and municipal level in Trentino.

German dialects, which can be assigned to Bavarian , are not only spoken in South Tyrol, but also in the Trentino language islands of the Zimbern and Fersentaler . While Cimbrian is still spoken by almost the entire village population in Luserna / Lusern , it almost died out in Lavarone / Lafraun / Lavróu and Folgaria / Vielgereuth / Folgrait in the first half of the 20th century. Heels talers are spoken in Fierozzo / Florutz / Vlarotz, Palù del Fersina / Palai im Fersental / Palae en Bersntol and Frassilongo / Gereut / Garait, including Roveda / Eichleit / Oachlait. Both Zimbri and Fersentaler are recognized minorities.

Rhaeto-Romanic dialects are spoken in some valleys . In Val di Fassa , Val Gardena and Val Badia , the Ladin language is even recognized as an administrative language . In Val di Non and Val di Sole an independent idiom is spoken, the Nones, the panelist linguist Graziadio Isaia Ascoli as Romansh. The latter, however, does not enjoy any legal recognition.

There are therefore five language groups in the region, the Italian, the German, the Ladin, the Fersentaler and the Cimbrian.

Autonomy and politics

The region has a special statute that grants it extensive autonomy in legislation, administration (schools, health services) and finances. However, most of these regional competencies have been transferred to the provinces.

The continued existence of the region is legally and politically secured: On the one hand, the statute (constitution) of the region approved by constitutional law and state treaty with Austria forms the basis of South Tyrol's autonomy. In addition, it is anchored in the constitution of Italy : The provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol form the region (Art. 116, Paragraph 2).

De facto, however, the two provinces united in the region are viewed as separate regions: For example, in European statistics the two provinces are listed as individual regions.

Even the role of Trento as the capital is a mere formality, the functions of the capital (meeting place of the regional council and the regional government or administrative seat) are shared with Bolzano .

Although its importance has declined significantly, the region has its own political organization and also retains some competencies: organization of public welfare and welfare institutions; Organization of the corporations for land and agricultural credit, the savings banks and the Raiffeisenkassen as well as the credit institutions of a regional character. In other areas, the region still has the power to enact laws, but administration has been transferred to the states of Trentino and South Tyrol by regional law: creation and management of land registers; Fire services; Order of sanitary and hospital bodies; Rules of the Chambers of Commerce. See also legislative and financial autonomy of the Trentino-Alto Adige region .

Trentino-South Tyrol is also part of the European region Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino , which essentially corresponds to the area of the former crown land of Tyrol.

Regional council

The 70-seat regional council is the region's legislative body and consists of members of the South Tyrolean parliament and the Trentino parliament (35 members each). The regional legislative period lasts five years.

It is chaired by a regional council president elected for two and a half years, who alternates between the German and Italian language groups. Alternatively, since Constitutional Law No. 2/2001 came into force, a representative of the Ladin language group can also hold this office.

Regional government

The regional government consists of the president, two vice-presidents and the assessors, who are elected by the regional council from among its members, whereby the numerical strength of the Italian and German language group must be taken into account. Due to the reform of the Statute of Autonomy in 2001, the Ladins are guaranteed a seat in the regional government, regardless of their proportional representation.

On the basis of a political agreement since 2004, the presidency of the region has been assumed by the governors of South Tyrol and Trentino for one half of the legislative period (rotation principle).

coat of arms

The coat of arms shows in silver gevierten blazon the Wenceslas eagle for Trentino in the first and fourth field and the red gold reinforced Tiroler Adler in the other fields.

business

Agriculture is mainly practiced in the Alpine valleys. The cultivation of apple trees is widespread in the Vinschgau and Non Valley . The region is also an important wine-growing area.

The industrial companies are particularly active in the wood and paper industries , in the construction industry and in metal processing . The region is Italy's leader in the field of renewable energies : the nature of the area promotes the production of electricity from hydropower . Even photovoltaics - and solar systems are produced in Trentino-Alto Adige and used. Tourism is also of great importance . One of the most important employers is the ITAS insurance group .

Trentino-Alto Adige is one of the wealthiest regions in Italy and Europe (GDP per capita over € 30,000) and has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Italy and Europe (below 3%).

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
GDP (Mln. EUR)	25,356.7	25,953.9	26,702.1	27,647.2	28,976.4	29,670.0	30,954.0	32,435.7	33,670.9	33,436.4
GDP per capita (EUR)	26,801.4	27,669.4	28,238.3	28,904.5	29,915.7	30,278.6	31,266.7	32,403.3	33,238.8	32,633.6

literature

Giuseppe Ferrandi, Günther Pallaver (Ed.): The region of Trentino-South Tyrol in the 20th century. 1: Politics and Institutions . Museo Storico in Trento, Trento 2007, ISBN 978-88-7197-082-0 .
Andrea Leonardi (Ed.): The region of Trentino-South Tyrol in the 20th century. 2: Economy: The Paths of Development . Museo Storico in Trento, Trento 2009, ISBN 978-88-7197-122-3 .

Web links

Commons : Trentino-Alto Adige - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ The use of the individual languages used in the region (i.e. Italian, German, Ladin, Heel-Taleric and Cimbrian) as well as the rights of the individual language groups (e.g. when filling government offices and parliamentary offices and bodies) are regulated in the special statute for the region ( PDF file; 612 kB) in Articles 19, 30, 36, 48, 50, 58, 62, 89, 98 and in IX. and XI. Section regulated. According to Art. 99, the German language is equivalent to the Italian language, whereby the Italian version is authoritative for acts with legal force.
According to the special statute, Ladin, Fersentaler and Cimbrian are not official languages of the Trentino-Alto Adige region. However, the implementing provisions of the special statute, which were passed in 1988 and were slightly modified in 1996, 2001 and 2006, considerably expanded the rights of the Ladin-speaking population in South Tyrol , so that Ladin has all the characteristics of an official language in the localities concerned.
The authorities of the Province of Bolzano must also publish their legal provisions and circulars in Ladin (i.e. in a total of three languages) if they are of interest to the Ladin-speaking population. Likewise, Ladin-speaking citizens have the right to use their own language in writing and orally in relation to the provincial authorities that are primarily responsible for the Ladin-speaking population or are based in the localities concerned. The authority must then answer verbally in Ladin or in writing in all three lingua franca.