Ancient times
In prehistoric times the Bolzano area was not habitable as it was
marshland and was often flooded by the three nearby rivers (Adige, Isarco
and Talvera). The first human settlements were therefore on the
mountainsides and other high ground. In 15 BC. Druso, the adopted son of
the Emperor Augusto conquered the Val d'Adige and Val d'Isarco areas
building a bridge (Pons Drusi) and a road outlook or post in the Bolzano
area. The exact location of this station is unclear, but must have been of
average size and importance. Some say it must have been near to Castel
Firmiano on the Adige, others say the area of Rencio Isarco, whilst there
are some who maintain that the first settlement was near to the old town
between the cathedral and the convent of the Cappuccini. The name Bolzano
only appeared in 680 in its Latin form of 'Bauzanum', in the 'Historia
Longobardorum' by Paolo Diacono. However the name did not refer to a real
urban settlement. According to some interpretations the name actually
derives from a Roman landowner, Baudius, whilst others say it referred to
the original swampy area at the bottom of the valley.
The Early Middle Ages
After the fall of the Roman Empire the region was invaded several times by
the Goths, the French, the Longobards and the Bavarians. In the 11th
century the Emperor Corrado II gave the area in fief to the Bishop of
Trento Ulderico II who took the area occupied by a vineyard belonging to
the monastery of Tegernsee, and promoted the foundation of a small urban
nucleus corresponding to what is now the Via Portici, a road full of
commercial activity (a central communication point between North and
South). The city was built between the 12th and 13th centuries equipping
itself with a wall and moat and obtaining municipal rights. In 1222, it
was devastated by fire with around 1500 deaths. In 1277, Bolzano came
under the control of the Tyrol counts and passed to the Habsburgs in 1363,
increasing its commercial prospects and expanding in the area which is now
the old town. At the beginning of the 13th century, the city had 3000
inhabitants. It was from the original nucleus of the Via dei Portici (a
road set between two rows of houses with shops and arcades, surrounded by
walls), that the city and its commercial activities and fairs began to
develop, a privileged meeting point between merchants from the
Mediterranean area and those of Northern Europe.
The Asburgo dynasty
In 1363, Margherita di Maultasch, the last Tyrolian countess, abdicated in
favour of the Duke of Austria, Rodolfo d'Asburgo who took care not to
damage the commercial aspects of the flourishing city which in 1450
obtained the right to have its own mayor. At the beginning of the 15th
century, Federico Habsburg thanked the city for its support during the
struggle with the rebellious Tyroleans with the insertion in the Diet of
the Tyrol of two Bolzano representatives. At the height of its prosperity
the citys destiny crossed with that of Claudia de' Medici, widow of the
arch duke Leopoldo V, who set up the merchants' magistrate, a sort of
bilingual tribunal to decide commercial disputes which has now evolved
into the modern day Chamber of Commerce. Claudia de' Medicis intuitions
were very exact: even today, Bolzano is a primarily commercial city with
many fairs all year round. The meeting of two cultures has developed not
just in the commercial sector but can also be seen in its culture,
gastronomy and traditions.
The 19th century
In 1797, Napoleons troops invaded the city but they were driven back by
the territorial armies that became todays Schützen, or defenders of the
homeland, the beloved fatherland. In 1805, the Tyrol passed to Bavaria
together with Bolzano annexed to the Italic kingdom, or the Napoleonic
collapse when the Tyrol was returned to the Asburgos. The medieval urban
structure remained almost intact to the middle of the 1800s when the civic
architect Sebastian Altman di Monaco was placed in charge of the plans for
a new district, Gries, a spa centre renowned among the bourgeoisie of
central Europe, initially an autonomous town, only becoming part of
Bolzano in 1925.
A history of winners and losers
After the First World War the treaty of Saint Germain moved the borders to
Brennero, assigning the Alto Adige to the kingdom of Italy: a splitting of
the historic Tyrol area (which stretched from Borghetto, between Trento
and Verona, to Kufstein between the Tyrol and Bavaria) the effects of
which were felt for many centuries and still are today. A little before
the march on Rome (October 1922) fascists arrived in Bolzano and occupied
it, removing the Perathoner syndicate which had governed the city since
1895. Mussolini wanted to 'Italianise' the Alto Adige and its capital,
Bolzano. The objective was to integrate immigrants coming from all over
Italy. The final result - a city of 100,000 inhabitants. In the '30s the
construction of the industrial area began, which led to a further influx
of workers. Teaching of German was forbidden and punishable, Italian was
declared the official language, the use of the name 'Tyrol' was banned and
the German language was banished from public life. With the Anschluss, the
annexation of Austria, Nazi Germany arrived in Brennero. And it was here
that the alliance with Mussolini began. The Duce obtained solemn
declarations on the intangibility of the borders of Brennero, as well as
the renunciation of the Reich of clams on the former Southern Tyrol. In
1939, Italy and Germany signed an agreement for 'options': South Tyrol was
to decide whether to go back to Germany or remain part of Alto Adige,
renouncing all ethnic protection. A sharp split.
The roots of "special autonomy"
With the Second World War over, a group of South Tyroleans founded the
Südtiroler Volkspartei (Popular Party of South Tyrol) in Bolzano
requesting the right for self-rule for the German speaking population. In
April 1946 the foreign ministers of the four great powers (United States,
England, France and the Soviet Union) rejected the Austrians' requests for
a plebiscite for Alto Adige. On the 5th September of the same year, the
president of the council of Italian ministers, Alcide Degasperi and the
Austrian foreign minister Karl Gruber signed the Treaty of Paris, which
assured special measures for the South Tyroleans for the maintenance of
ethnic character and Economical and Cultural development. It was agreed
that primary and secondary schools would provide teaching in the mother
tongue, that both languages would be used along side each other in the
areas of public administration, official documents and place names. In
1948, the Italian constitution ratified the first Statute of Autonomy with
which the two provinces of Bolzano and Trento would be unified in the
Trentino-Alto Adige region, but in 1956, regional autonomy entered into
crisis: German protests exploded into what would become a long wave of
terrorism. On the 11th June, 1961, South Tyrolean Irridentists recruited
among country people, artisans, students and workers carried out dozens of
attacks on high voltage pylons and other installations. International
repercussions were widespread. The terrorism continued intermittently
until 1988 with dozens of deaths and a few hundred wounded. On the 1st
September 1961 the Council of Italian Ministers created the Commission of
the 19: a new body who were assigned to study the Alto Adige problem and
were to present their findings to the government. In November 1969, the
Svp congress approved the 'pact' of 137 laws of ethnic leadership: the
second statute of autonomy came into effect in 1972. The latest
regulations were passed twenty years later (30.5.1992), with Italy
informing Austria that it had carried out its promises: with Vienna
pacified, international confrontations are definitively closed. Any
violations of the Statute of Autonomy can be dealt with by the
International Court of Aja. |