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| {{Infobox_RegionIT | | |||
| name = South Tyrol | | |||
| fullname = Autonome Provinz Bozen - Südtirol <br /> Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano - Alto Adige <br /> Provinzia Autonòma de Balsan - Südtirol| | |||
| isocode = | | |||
| capital = ]| | |||
| governor = ]<br />('']'') | | |||
| zone = ] | | |||
| province = ] | | |||
| municipality = 8 | | |||
| arearank = | | |||
| area = 7 400 | | |||
| areapercent = | | |||
| population_as_of = 2003 est. | | |||
| populationrank = | | |||
| population = 476,023 | | |||
| populationpercent = | | |||
| populationdensity = | | |||
| coatofarms = ] | | |||
| flag = ] | | |||
| map = ] | | |||
| }} | |||
| '''South Tyrol''' (] and ]: ''Südtirol'', ]: ''Alto Adige''; official in German: ''Autonome Provinz Bozen - Südtirol'', official in Italian: ''Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano - Alto Adige'', official in Ladin: ''Provinzia Autonòma de Balsan - Südtirol'') is an autonomous ] of ] that belongs to the ] of ], of which it is a subdivision. South Tyrol's extensive autonomy makes it '']'' comparable to an autonomous region of Italy. The province itself is divided into 116 municipalities called ]{{ref|communes}}. The capital of the province is ]. It has an area of 7 400 km², and a total population of 476,023 (]). South Tyrol is known for its ], which compose a portion of the Italian Alps and the main ] chain located in ]. | |||
| The province was part of the ] until the end of ] when it was ceded to Italy together with the southern Italian-speaking province of ]. After ], the German-speaking majority population of the region requested a possible reunification with ], but the idea was rejected by the ] in ] and in ]. Because of the rejection, Austria and Italy agreed on ] for South Tyrol and now the province enjoys a degree of self rule from the ] and lively relations with Austria. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| :''See main article: ].'' | |||
| From the 6th to the 9th century, the region was settled by the ] together with the ] and the romanised natives. As part of the ] and later the ] the region had a strategical importance as a bridgehead to Italy as southern part of the duchy of ]. Large parts of the province was donated to the Bishops of ] and ]. After their caretakers, the earls of ] (See ]) had gathered the province under their command, the region together with the valleys to the north was known as Tyrol. | |||
| In ], the earldom went over to the Bavarian dukes again when Emperor ] voided the first marriage of Countess ]. But already in ] the ] released the country for ]. They ruled the region almost continuously until ]. | |||
| ===World War I=== | |||
| From ], Italy was part of the ] (German: ''Dreibund''), a defensive pact signed with Germany and Austria-Hungary. When Austria-Hungary, in ], declared war against Serbia, thus starting ], Italy remained neutral. Austria-Hungary, fearing Italian intervention in the war against it, offered some territorial compensations in exchange for Italian neutrality for the whole war. On the other side, the ] signed with Italy the ], which promised territorial gains at Austria-Hungary's expense, including South Tyrol, in exchange for Italian intervention in the war. | |||
| The frontline followed mostly the Austria-Italian border, which ran right through the highest mountains of the Alps. The ensuing front became know as the "War in ice and snow", as troops occupied the highest mountains and glaciers all year long. Twelve metres (40 feet) of snow were a usual occurrence during the winter of ]-] and tens of thousands of soldiers disappeared in ]. The remains of these soldiers are still being uncovered today. The Italian ], as well as their Austrian counterparts (], ] and ]) occupied every hill and mountain top and began to carve whole cities out of the rocks and even drilled tunnels and living quarters deep into the ice of glaciers like the ]. Guns were dragged by hundreds of troops on Mountains up to 3 890 m (12,760 feet) high. Streets, cable cars, mountain railways and walkways through the steepest of walls were built. | |||
| But whoever had occupied the higher ground first was almost impossible to dislodge, so both sides turned to drilling tunnels under mountain peaks, filling them up with explosives and then detonating the whole mountain to pieces, including its defenders: Col di Lana, Monte Pasubio, Lagazuoi, etc. | |||
| Climbing and skiing became essential skills for the troops of both sides and soon Ski Battalions and Special Climbing units were formed. | |||
| In ], after the Austrian defeat at the ], Italian troops ended the war with Austria-Hungary by penetrating deep into South Tyrol. With the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the Italian-speaking province of Trentino was attached to Italy. However, Italy also annexed the Southern part of the province of Tyrol, which was inhabited by ethnic Germans and ] (today Ladin is the third official language of South Tyrol, alongside German and Italian). The territorial arrangements were confirmed by the ] (1919). | |||
| ===Fascist rule and World War II=== | |||
| After the rise of ] in ] a policy of ] was implemented. All places, down to the tiniest hamlet, were given Italian names, and even family names were translated. The process intensified in the ], when the government of ] encouraged thousands of southern Italians to relocate to the region. The proportion of the Italian-speaking population thus grew significantly from 3% before World War I (census of ]) to over 34% in ]. ] did not claim the German-speaking South Tyrol for his "Reich", because ] was too important as an ally. In ], both dictators agreed to give the German-speaking population a choice: they could emigrate to Germany (or its new territories) or stay in Italy and accept their complete Italianisation. It was a difficult choice for the people of South Tyrol: between their language or the landscape where their ancestors had lived. Both solutions meant the breakdown of their culture. As a consequence, South Tyrolean society was deeply riven. Those who wanted to stay ("Dableiber"), were condemned as traitors, those who left ("Optanten") were defamed as Nazis. Because of the outbreak of World War II, this agreement between Mussolini and Hitler was never fully accomplished. | |||
| In ], Mussolini was deposed and Italy surrendered to the Allies, who had invaded southern Italy via ]. German troops promptly invaded northern Italy and South Tyrol became part of the "Operationszone Alpenvorland", annexed to the Greater German Reich. Many German-speaking South Tyroleans wanted revenge upon Italians living in the area but were mostly prevented by the occupying Nazis, who still considered Mussolini head of the "]" and wanted to preserve good relations with the Fascists. | |||
| The region largely escaped fighting during the war, and its mountainous remoteness proved useful to the Nazis as a refuge for items looted from across ]. When the ] occupied South Tyrol in May ], it found vast amounts of precious items and looted treasures. Among the items reportedly found were railway wagons filled with gold bars, hundreds of thousands of metres of silk, the Italian crown jewels, King Victor Emmanuel's personal collection of rare coins, and scores of works of art looted from art galleries such as the ] in ]. It was feared that the Germans might use the region as a last-ditch stronghold to fight to the bitter end, but this possibility was rendered moot by the suicide of Hitler and the rapid Nazi surrender thereafter. (''The Times, London, ] ]'') | |||
| In 1945 the South Tyrolean People's Party (]) was founded, above all by ''Dableiber'' – people who had chosen to stay in Italy after the agreement between Hitler and Mussolini. A party founded by the ''Optanten'' would not have been acceptable for the occupying Americans, owing to their apparently close relationship to the Nazis. The support of the ''Dableiber'' also proved useful as a means of deflecting renewed Austrian claims for the return of south Tyrol. | |||
| ===After World War II=== | |||
| With the ] (1946) the German-speaking people were granted special rights. But the statutory order was implemented by De Gasperi for the whole region (South Tyrol and Trentino), where Italians were in the majority, making real self-government for the German-speaking South Tyroleans impossible. Even the implementation of this "First statutory order" was delayed repeatedly, while more and more Italians were encouraged to relocate to South Tyrol, with the aim of creating an Italian majority. | |||
| As a consequence of delaying implementation of the statutory order, the late ] and especially ] saw the rise of anti-Italian ] in South Tyrol. At the beginning the terrorist strategy was targeted only against structures. | |||
| The 1960s brought some progress towards the establishment of self-government for the South Tyroleans. In consequence, only the most fanatical of the terrorists wanted to continue their fight for an Austrian South Tyrol by violent means. Terrorists carried out 361 attacks with explosives, guns and landmines between ] and ]. Acts were mainly against structures; however, there were 21 casualties, four of which were terrorists, slain by their own explosive devices. The wounded amounted to 57. | |||
| Eventually, the pressure of terrorism caused the Italian central government to consider a "Second statutory order", primarily for the mostly German-speaking province of Bozen-Bolzano (South Tyrol). | |||
| ===Today=== | |||
| Today, South Tyrol enjoys a high degree of autonomy, and relations with ] – the two portions of the old state retained by ] – are lively, especially since ] joined the ]. The ], or ''Südtiroler Volkspartei'', has been consistently in power since its founding in 1945. | |||
| However, South Tyrolean society is still to some extent segmented across ethnic lines: each resident must declare his or her ethnic group at the census (choosing amongst Italian, German or Ladin). According to the ] ] more than two-thirds of the population is German-speaking (68%); the second most used language is Italian (28%), followed by Ladin (4%). Places today have two (German and Italian) or even three (German, Italian and Ladin) names. | |||
| Public jobs are assigned by ethnic quotas, and require proficiency in both Italian and German, with the effect of protecting the local labour market from immigration. Notwithstanding this imperfect cohabitation, since the ] there has been an increased call, especially amonst the youth, for superseding ethnic divisions. One famous advocate of this novel movement was ] (]–]), ] for the ] group. | |||
| Furthermore, the increased permeability of European borders (e.g., with Austria) following the ] has further undermined the rationale of ethnic separation and of the special autonomy of the region. As a result, the future of the ethnic policies that served the region during the past 40 years is not clear. | |||
| == Government == | |||
| During the closing months of World War II, South Tyrol was involved in negotiations with the Austrian provisional government to come up with a plan to hand the land back over to ]. However, the Allied Powers did not allow this plan to continue in a decision made in the ] of ]. While a ] and protests were held inside South Tyrol and in Austria to support the merger with Austria, the plan was finally defeated the following year. This opened the door for the Italian and Austrian governments to allow autonomy for the province. Owing to the ] between Italy and Austria, South Tyrol was promised legislative and executive power by the Italian government. The details of these powers were laid out in the ], an agreement that was passed by the Italian ] on ] ]. | |||
| The province is divided into eight districts, with one of them being the capital city of Bozen-Bolzano. The other seven districts encompass a portion of the various communes and the people who are located in those communes. Each district is headed by a president and two bodies called the district committee and the district council. The districts are responsible for intercommunal disputes, roads, schools and social services such as retirement homes. {{ref|districts}} | |||
| == Economy == | |||
| Out of the 454,000 residents of the province, 219,000 of them are employed (]). Most of these employees are working in the fields of ], handicrafts, ], commerce, ], self-employed professionals and the service industry. The unemployment level in ] was roughly 3], which is lower than the national (Italian) average of 9%, or the ] average of 10%. The handicraft industry is dominated by ] making, ], ], ], meat preparation, and ]. South Tyrol also acts as a bridge between the European and Italian markets, and hotel stays in the province count for 8 percent of the money Italy earns from hotels and other lodging. {{ref|economy}} | |||
| == Geography == | |||
| South Tyrol is located at the northernmost point in Italy. The province is bordered by ] to the east and north and by ] to the west. Italian provinces that border South Tyrol are ] to the southeast, ] to the south and by ] to the southwest. The landscape itself is mostly cultivated with different types of ] and ]. {{ref|landscape}} | |||
| === Mountains === | |||
| ] | |||
| ] dot many parts of the of South Tyrol landscape. Many of these mountains belong to the ], which extend through many ]an nations. In this mountain chain, there is a smaller group called the ]. In this group, which is considered the centre of the Italian Alps, there is a mountain called the ], which rises 3 905 ] above ], and is the highest peak in the Ortler Alps. Another group of mountains located in South Tyrol are the ]. The Dolomites are a section of the main alpine chain, of which equal parts are located in the South Tyrol and in neighbouring Italian provinces. One mountain, the ] (2 563 m), is part of the Dolomite chain. Other mountains located in South Tyrol are: | |||
| * ] (''Catinaccio'') | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] (''Tre Cime di Lavaredo'') | |||
| * ] | |||
| == Notable natives == | |||
| Freedom fighters: | |||
| * ] | |||
| Political activist: | |||
| * ] | |||
| Inventors and scientists: | |||
| * ] | |||
| Others: | |||
| * ] Mountaineer | |||
| * ] Artists | |||
| * ] Politician | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] Minstrel | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] Composer | |||
| * ] Mummy | |||
| == References == | |||
| # {{Note|communes}} | |||
| # {{Note|districts}} | |||
| # {{Note|landscape}} | |||
| # {{Note|economy}} | |||
| == See also == | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| == External links == | |||
| {{Commons|South_Tyrol}} | |||
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| * - Official site of the Autonomous Province of Bozen - South Tyrol | |||
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| {{Trentino-South Tyrol}} | |||
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Revision as of 17:31, 10 January 2006
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