Trentino-Alto Adige (Italian Autonomous Region)

Trentino-Alto Adige (or Trentino-South Tyrol) is an autonomous, partly German-speaking Alpine region of northern Italy bordering Graubünden to the west and Austrian Tyrol to the north. The region comprises two autonomous provinces, Bolzano, which is officially bilingual, and Trento.

To the east, the region covers part of the Dolomites and borders on Veneto, while to the south it includes the northern part of Lake Garda. The whole region is mountainous, with high Alpine ranges reaching over 3900m.

It is one of the least densely populated regions in Italy. Tourism is a major source of income in both summer and winter, and its fertile valleys produce excellent red and white wines, fruits, dairy products, etc.

Trentino, its southern half corresponding to the province of Trento, is predominantly Italian-speaking, but the northern half, Alto Adige (South Tyrol, i.e. the province of Bolzano), is trilingual, with the majority of the population speaking Südtirolerisch (a German dialect close to Bavarian).

With 25% Italian speakers and a minority whose mother tongue is a Ladin dialect (a language close to the Romansh spoken in Graubünden), South Tyrol has trilingual road signs in some places!

Trentino-Alto Adige became progressively German-speaking from the 11th century onwards and was part of the Holy Roman Empire and then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was after the defeat of the Empire at the end of the First World War that it was attached to Italy in 1919.

The Fascist period, with its Italian-speaking immigration and forced Italianisation, did not succeed in eradicating the German-speaking language and culture, even though today many place names are known in Italian. For example, Prato allo Stelvio is actually called Prad am Stilfserjoch and the real name of Curon Venosta is Graun im Vinschgau.

Our 2022 "Switzerland Tour outside Switzerland" passed through the region without lingering, from the Reschenpass (Resia Pass) on the Austrian border to the Passo del Tonale, which leads into Lombardy. A quick first visit, just to have an overview and to make us want to go back!