Trent (Trènt in Trentino dialect, Trént in Rovereto dialect, Trënt in Ladin, Tria in Cimbro, Trea't in Mocheno, Trient in German) is an Italian town of 120 899 inhabitants, capital of the autonomous province of Trento and of the Trentino region. South Tyrol.
The municipality of Trento offers tourists an information point in Piazza Dante 24 (crossroads via Torre Vanga/via Alfieri), where free maps of the city are available. Furthermore, in almost all bus stops there is one with the routes and stops of the service drawn.
Churches
The city boasts numerous churches, with architecture
ranging from the Romanesque period to the modern era. The most important
are:
Cathedral of San Vigilio - The cathedral of San Vigilio is
the Cathedral of Trento located in Piazza del Duomo. It is the main city
church and was built in the 13th century on the area where there was
originally an ancient basilica dedicated to San Vigilio, from whom it
takes its name and who is the patron saint of the city. This ancient
basilica was built outside the walls because it served as a cemetery
church: San Vigilio and the remains of the three Ananuense martyrs
Sisinnio, Martirio and Alessandro were buried there. Emperor Maximilian
I of Habsburg (author of the Tyrolean Landlibell) was crowned Emperor of
the Holy Empire in the cathedral on 4 February 1508 by the Bishop of
Gurk Mattias Lang. Most of the bishops of Trento are buried in the
cathedral, including all the most recent. In the sixties and seventies
of the twentieth century, important archaeological research was carried
out in the subsoil of the apse of the basilica, which also partly
modified the internal distribution of the apse area.
Church of Santa
Maria Maggiore – built in the 16th century by Antonio Medaglia by order
of Cardinal Bernardo Cles, in Renaissance style but with Gothic
reminiscences ("Clesian style"). The façade has an important
sixteenth-century portal, while inside there is a choir from the same
century and paintings by Cignaroli and Moroni. The church hosted the
third period of the Council of Trent (April 1562 - December 1563). The
exterior was completely cleaned and returned to its original state in
2007. Archaeological excavations have highlighted that the sacred
building was built on top of three previous churches (among which one is
perhaps the Santa Maria della Neve, mentioned in written sources) . The
oldest of the three, the early Christian ecclesia (5th-6th century),
served as the episcopal seat and the main place of worship in the city
during the first centuries of Christianity. This ecclesia, in turn, was
built on top of a Roman public area where there was probably a spa
complex.
Church of Saints Peter and Paul - was built in the 12th
century near Piazza dell'Anfiteatro on a pre-existing chapel. The
neo-Gothic façade was rebuilt to a design by Pietro Estense Selvatico
between 1848 and 1850. It began in three bays and is surmounted by the
statue of Saint Peter. Piazza dell'Anfiteatro (whose shape partly
follows the oval of an amphitheatre) takes its name from a wall with
steps discovered near a local cellar which is believed to be the base of
the ancient Roman amphitheater where pagan shows took place. Other
fragments of the Roman amphitheater can be visited in an internal area
of the Palazzo della Cassa di Risparmio in via Galilei.
Church of
Sant'Apollinare - built in the 13th century at the foot of Doss Trento
on the banks of the Adige near the ancient village of Piedicastello. It
is dedicated to the bishop of Ravenna of the 5th century and this
suggests much more ancient origins. It appears extremely slender
upwards, with a typically Nordic style sloping roof with shingle roofing
(small wooden planks). In 1183, Pope Lucius III decided that the nearby
church of San Lorenzo should take custody of this church: ecclesiam
sancti Apollinaris cum hairs suis et relevantis.
Church of San
Lorenzo – building dating back to the 12th century built by the
Benedictines from Bergamo called to Trento by Bishop Altemanno. The apse
part built in Romanesque style and the presbytery are particularly
interesting.
Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Laste
Furthermore,
some convents are located in Trento:
Convent of Santa Croce alla
Spalliera, belonging to the Order of Capuchin Friars Minor;
Convent
of San Bernardino, belonging to the Order of Friars Minor.
Palaces
Case Cazuffi-Rella - The frescoes of the two houses were
apparently commissioned by Tommaso Cazuffi on the occasion of the visit
in 1535 of Ferdinand I of Austria, emperor of the Romans.
Palazzo
delle Albere - Renaissance style palace, was built around 1550 at the
behest of the Madruzzo family, who ruled the Principality of Trento for
a century. Despite being a representative residence, it features
fortifications and architectural defense elements, such as the four
corner towers. It was a suburban country villa of the Prince-Bishops,
until it was completely abandoned after the Second World War onwards.
After its purchase in the seventies of the 20th century by the
autonomous Province of Trento, from 1987 to 2010 it was the Trento
headquarters of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and
Rovereto - MART. Closed for restoration in 2011, it has been used since
2015 as an exhibition space for temporary exhibitions.
Palazzo
Pretorio - located in Piazza del Duomo, between the Castelletto and the
Civic Tower, was the ancient and first bishop's residence (until the
mid-13th century). Bordered by battlements and decorated with mullioned
windows, the Civic Tower was built next to it. It now houses the
Tridentine diocesan museum.
Palazzo Thun (current seat of the town
hall) – in via Belenzani 19, representative palace of the Thun family,
originally from Val di Non, who brought together a series of
pre-existing buildings in a single complex in the mid-15th century. It
underwent a notable transformation in 1830, when it was profoundly
restored by Rodolfo Vantini according to the neoclassical taste by will
of Count Matteo II Thun.
Palazzo Geremia – in via Belenzani 20,
building built towards the end of the fifteenth century with a
Renaissance style on the outside and late Gothic on the inside. It is
now owned by the municipality and hosts the mayor's office and cultural
events. On the facade there are portraits of various characters such as
Marco Curzio portrayed on a white horse (on the first floor to the left
of the four-light window), Muzio Scevola (to the right of the same
four-light window) and Curio Dentato. On the lower level there is the
wheel of fortune and the halberdier.
Palazzo Sardagna – in via
Calepina 14, a palace owned by the autonomous Province of Trento, was
built in the sixteenth century and renovated in the eighteenth century
by the will of the Sardagna family, whose family coat of arms is painted
on the vault of the atrium. From 1982 to 2013 it hosted the headquarters
of the Tridentine Museum of Natural Sciences. One of the three putti,
who appear in the Costantino Room, was portrayed with particularly dark
tones, so-called. little black angel, which according to legend would be
the fruit of a miracle that occurred while the author, Marcello Fogolino
from Vicenza, was painting the fresco. Today it is the seat of the
Rectorate of the University of Trento.
Palazzo Lodron - built in the
period of the Council of Trent (around 1570) by Ludovico II Lodron,
houses a pictorial cycle that extends over all the most important rooms
of the building. Seat of the Regional Administrative Court of Trento.
Palazzo Salvadori – in via Manci 119, one of the first examples of
Renaissance civil architecture in Trento. It was built by the Lombard
master Lucio Tosani, in the Clesian period starting from 1515. Around
the mid-18th century, two stone medallions were affixed to the façade to
celebrate the martyrdom of Simonino di Trento, the child who was falsely
believed to be the victim of a Jewish ritual in Easter 1475. This
episode, perhaps the most negative in the history of the city, caused
the expulsion of the small Jewish community of Trento, which had its own
synagogue in the building, the rooms of which are still visible in the
semi-underground level along the Vicolo al Vò complete with a
commemorative stele. The chapel of the Saint, however, is located in
Palazzo Bortolazzi and is occupied by a jewelery shop.
Palazzo
Galasso or Del Diavolo (Ca del Diaol) – located in via Manci 99 and
built in 1602 by a descendant of the powerful Fugger banking family; so
called, according to legend, also cited by Goethe, due to a bet won by
Fugger against Mephistopheles. In the annexed noble chapel of the Santi
Martiri Anauniensi, on 9 January 1837, King Ferdinand II of the Two
Sicilies married Archduchess Maria Teresa of Habsburg-Teschen, the
wedding was celebrated by Bishop Giovanni Nepomuceno de Tschiderer.
Palazzo Roccabruna – in via SS.Trinità 24, part of a merger of various
building units which took place in the mid-16th century, with courtyard,
frescoed hall and frescoed chapel dedicated to Saint Gerolamo. In the
same building, on the ground floor, there is the Provincial Enoteca
which hosts exhibitions and tastings of typical local wines.
Palazzo
Bortolazzi - in via Malpaga 17, today the headquarters of the SOSAT
(Tridentine Mountaineers Society Workers' Section) and its choir, takes
its name from the Bortolazzi family. It includes a chapel dedicated to
Simonino.
Palazzo Calepini - the palace takes its name from the noble
family who settled there in the 15th century.
Palazzo Ghelfi – in
Piazza Pasi 21, takes its name from the family who settled in the city
of Trento during the fifteenth century.
Palazzo Cazuffi – in via Oss
Mazzurana 45, located in the San Benedetto district, is of Renaissance
origin. Of the rich pictorial decoration that affected the entire
palace, only the upper part and the string course remain. Not to be
confused with the Case Cazuffi in Piazza Duomo.
Casa Balduini – in
Piazza Duomo 30, of medieval origin, is frescoed by an unknown
"abstract" painter. It houses a typical local tavern.
Casa Torre
Mirana – in via Belenzani 21, one of the oldest buildings in the Sass,
of medieval origins, was remodeled in the Renaissance by the Mirana
family.
Palazzo Migazzi Ciani – in via Manci 158 the vast Renaissance
building belonged to the Migazzi family from Cogolo in Val di Peio. It
houses a cinema.
Palazzo Trautmannsdorf – in Piazza Sanzio at the
corner of Via Suffragio, extends between Piazza Mostra and Via Suffragio
and overlooks Piazza Raffaello Sanzio; it took on its current appearance
during the seventeenth century by the Tyrolean counts Trautmannsdorf.
Previously it belonged to the noble Particella family; after the counts
it passed to the Salvadori barons.
Palazzo Quetta - Alberti Colico –
in via Belenzani 30, next to Palazzo Geremia, derives from the fusion of
two previous building nuclei, has a frescoed façade with candelabra and
frescoes dating from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century period.
Palazzo Civico - (or old town hall) next to Palazzo Alberti Quetta
Colico, was the ancient seat of the consular magistrate. On the roof is
written a motto (in Latin) attributed to San Bartolomeo which,
translated, sounds more or less like this: el sass me gavè da l'arzent e
l'nom de Trent (the mountain has supplied us with silver and the title
of Trent).
Palazzo Consolati - in via S.Maria Maddalena 1 where the
members of the "Accademia degli Accesi" met to compete for the title of
lezù (= intellectuals) against those of the Agiati of Rovereto.
Palazzo Del Monte – in via Suffragio 93, built in 1519 in the "Cantone"
(between via Suffragio and via San Marco), is frescoed with the labors
of Hercules and with a coat of arms of Maximilian I.
Casa Niccolini -
in Piazza Mario Pasi, with frescoes from 1500-600 rediscovered in 2020
Palazzo della Filarmonica – in via Verdi 30, inside the concert season
hall of the Philharmonic Society.
Palazzo Firmian – in via Galilei 1,
of Renaissance origins; Carlo G.Firmian, governor of Lombardy (from
1759), protector of men of letters and poets and one of the promoters of
the young Mozart, was born in the palace. Now and headquarters of the
Savings Bank.
Palazzo Larcher Fogazzaro – in via Mazzini 10, late
Trentino Baroque building erected by the noble Guarinoni family. The
portal has two giants holding up the balcony above. Adjacent you can see
a fragment of the medieval walls, a residue of the removal works along
Via Verdi.
Palazzo Pilati – in via Oss Mazzurana 38, has an
interesting Gothic façade dating back to the 15th century.
Palazzo
Saracini Pedrotti – in via Manci 57, of Renaissance style, was raised in
1862. Now home to the S.A.T. (not to be confused with the S.O.S.A.T.
based in Palazzo Bortolazzi).
Palazzo Tabarelli – in via Oss
Mazzurana 65, built in 1515, takes its name from whoever ordered its
construction. Also known as "Palazzo dei Diamanti": this is how the
Trentino people baptized it, due to its façade shining with reflected
diamonds. 22 profiles of local historical figures are carved on the
facade (the last one on the right on the first floor is Bernardo
Clesio).
Palazzo Trentini – in via Manci 83, originally belonging to
the Trentini barons, the palace was built towards the middle of the 18th
century, seat of the Council of the Autonomous Province of Trento.
Palazzo della Propositura - next to the church of Santa Margherita, Enea
Silvio Piccolomini lived here.
Provincial Palace – in Piazza Dante,
seat of the Presidency and Council of the Autonomous Province of Trento.
Inside there are decorations by Fortunato Depero.
Former Jesuit
college building - in via Roma, purchased in the seventeenth century by
the Jesuits, is now the seat of the municipal library of Trento,
incorporating an old cinema, still visible in via Torre Verde 28.
Palace in Prato – of sixteenth-century origins, it was the residence of
the barons in Prato, demolished to make room for:
Palazzo delle Poste
– (1929-1934) in Piazza Vittoria, built in the fascist period, it
incorporates the rear part of the Palazzo in Prato.
Palazzo Voltolini
- in Piazza Vittoria (north side), dating back to the 17th century, is
now the headquarters of the Civil Engineers.
Palace of the Court of
Trento - in via San Francesco, built in 1876 as the Austro-Hungarian
"government palace", it houses the Palace of Justice, while the judicial
prisons have recently been moved to the outskirts.
Building of the
faculty of Sociology - in via Verdi 32, since 1962 home to the faculty
of sociology and the central library of the humanities faculties.
Previously (from 1889 until 1961) it housed an elementary school.
Palazzo Ranzi – in Piazza S.Maria 31, built in neo-Renaissance style
(pilasters in pink Fiemme granite) on which façade a series of marble
busts representing 15 Trentino figures have been placed: from bottom
left: Andrea Pozzo (Jesuit architect), Francesco Oradini (sculptor),
Gianbattista Lampi (painter), Francesco Guardi (painter), Fede Galizia
(painter), Bianca Laura Saibanti (poet from Rovereto), Niccolò Dorigatti
(painter), Andrea Rensi (painter), Antonio Tita (naturalist), Aliprando
Caprioli (engraver); on the second floor from the left: Andrea
dell'Aquila (painter and sculptor), Vincenzo Vicentini (painter),
Alessandro Vittoria (sculptor), Vigilio Rubini (sculptor) and Bernardo
di Santagnese (religious).
Palazzo Arciescovile – on the east side of
Piazza Fiera, built to a design by Ignazio Liberi for the Ceschi family,
taking advantage of some structures of the seventeenth-century
extra-urban villa of the Particella, then Cannella, which in turn was
built on the site of the two sixteenth-century huts. From the Particella
residence, called according to legend, "La favorita", the portal with
large white and red ashlars that serves the garden remains. Since 1921
it has been the archbishop's residence and seat of the Curia.
Ex Casa
Littoria – in Largo Porta Nuova, built in 1938, depicts on a portion of
the facade a high relief of a bare-chested man wearing a cloak with one
hand raised, in the other holding a rifle and a spade, above which there
is a balcony with a falcon carved on the parapet. Towards the top of the
building there are two supports between which there was a fasces.
Palazzo Nogarola-Guarenti – in via Oss Mazzurana 1 from the 16th century
houses department stores. On the first floor, a graceful two-storey door
complete with a wrought iron balcony catches your attention.
Molino
Vittoria – in via Verdi dating back to 1912, initially used for the
processing of cereals, it frequently changed use and destination. It is
now owned by the University of Trento which has reserved some rooms for
library use. The southern façade features two interesting statues
dedicated to Ceres, goddess of cereals and crops (in the west corner),
and Mercury, god of goods and protector of traders (in the east corner).
Villa Tambosi - in Villazzano di Trento now home to the Trentino section
of the European Center for Theoretical Studies in Nuclear Physics and
Related Areas (ECT*).
Mausoleum of Cesare Battisti on Doss Trento -
the Mausoleum dedicated to Cesare Battisti was built on the hill (308 m)
that rises on the right bank of the Adige: 16 marble columns 14 meters
high on a circular base. Doss Trento also houses the Alpine Museum. Next
to it there are the remains of an ancient early Christian church from
the 4th century.
Hotel Cavour, in Piazza S.M. Maggiore 21, the convex
façade dominates the most evocative part of the square, built in the
16th century, it houses the Golden Rose Brewery.
Former Augustinian
Complex (16th century) in via S. Marco, corner of via S. Maria, housed
the order of the same name, it is a public park.
Francesco Crispi
Schools - on the corner between Piazza Fiera and Via Don Bosco. Born as
an orphanage, they were commissioned around 1860 to the architect Angelo
Milesi of Ortona by the Civic Congregation of Charity of Trento. The
project involved the demolition of the pre-existing Maso dei Leoni, the
diversion of the canal and the construction of the building in alignment
with those that constituted the southern limit of Piazza Fiera. The
building is characterized by an internal courtyard, a full-arch portico
and an archivolted loggia with balustrades, both of which were infilled
when, towards the end of the 1920s, the municipality obtained the
structure with the aim of adapting it to a school building. The project
and renovation works were carried out between 1927 and '28. A second
renovation, which lasted several years, ended in 2014.
The numerous
frescoed houses in Piazza Duomo and in other streets of the city are
interesting. Single-cell terraced houses, which usually rise up to 3
floors above ground, are examples of Trentino residential architecture
and make up the majority of homes in the centre. Without significant
decorative elements, it still retains the typical layout with the
entrance hall and shop on the ground floor, wooden stairwell with two or
more flights and upper rooms overlooking the street (living room and
sleeping area, while the kitchen and latrine are placed on the bottom).
Fountain of Neptune - one of the most important monuments of the 18th
century city (it was built between 1767 and 1768 based on a design by
Francesco Antonio Giongo), built in the period of the Enlightenment for
"the health and decorum of the city". In the courtyard of the municipal
building there is the original statue of Neptune, the one sculpted by
Stefano Salterio da Como: in fact, in the 1940s, a bronze reproduction
was placed on the top of the fountain.
Fontana dell'aquila - small
fountain in Piazza Duomo surmounted by a stone eagle. A legend was born
about this eagle.
Fontana delle Naiadi - fountain from 1954 in the
center of Largo Porta Nuova, circular in shape with 150 jets along the
perimeter that spray water towards the center where since 1983 a
sculpture by Eraldo Fozzer (1908-1995) representing two stylized horses
has been placed adjacent and looking towards the sky. The fountain takes
its name from the sculpture, again by Fozzer, which in 1956 was placed
in the center and which depicted two naked bodies of Naiads, later
removed in the name of the sense of modesty of the Trentino people (the
sculpture was then purchased in 1960 by the municipality of Bolzano, who
placed it on the fountain in Piazza del Tribunal). The fountain is also
locally known by the nickname of the mayor's lavamàn, due to its
circular shape.
Fountain in Piazza delle Erbe - designed in 1867 by
Stefano Varner and Tamanini, it was originally located in the center of
the adjacent Piazza Alessandro Vittoria, from which it was removed to
erect the monument to Alessandro Vittoria in 1908. On the fountain there
is a bronze putto, work by Andrea Malfatti, who meditates at the top of
the supporting column, with two lateral jets pouring water into
shell-shaped basins. It is also called "ostarìa dei dó castradi" (tavern
of the two castrati) due to the lateral jets in the shape of a ram.
Fontana del Fauno Innamorato - nineteenth-century fountain, also known
as the Bacchino, can be admired on the west side of Piazza Pasi which,
in the original sketch, was supposed to represent the mythical figure of
Narcissus and which, instead, turned out to be a whim of the Trentino
sculptor Andrea Malfatti who he had fallen in love with Mariolina, a
girl who worked at a tailor's shop in the adjacent building. The gaze of
the Faun, in fact, intent on pouring water into a jar, is turned towards
a window of Casa Crivelli.
Fountain of the two dolphins, in the small
square in front of the S.Chiara park, near the church of the same name.
Fountain on the church of San Marco, with the statue of St. Giovanni
Nepomunceno, located at the corner of the church inside a niche with a
classic frame.
20th century fountain dedicated to Antonio Rosmini, on
the corner of via Bartolomeo Malfatti and corso III Novembre, with a
bust by Livio De Gasperi from 1955.
20th century fountain-monument
dedicated to Luigi Negrelli, in Piazza Dante. The work recalls the Suez
Canal project, created by Negrelli.
Fountain from 1957 in the gardens
of Piazza Venezia, the work of the sculptor Antonio Berti, located in
the staircase at the back of the monument to Alcide De Gasperi. It is
characterized by a mosaic in which the coats of arms of the Italian
capitals appear.
The city of Trento also has other fountains of less
artistic interest. Among these there are the fountain of Port'Aquila,
the fountain in the park in front of the court, the 3 fountains in the
park of San Marco, the fountain in Piazza Garzetti, behind the Torre del
Massarello, the fountain in Piazza Santa Teresa Verzeri.
Since Trento is of Roman origin and located on an important military
road, it is reasonable to assume the existence of some bridges that
crossed the Adige river and the Fersina stream, located south of the
city where the military road came from. However, keep in mind that the
course of the Fersina torrent has only been in its current location
since the 16th century, when it was diverted because it flooded the
historic center several times a year, the course being in the center of
the current Piazza Fiera, immediately outside the walls, in a position
highest in the historic center. The Ponte Alto waterfall (built to slow
the speed of the water) and the powerful embankments built at the time
to contain the current course have prevented any subsequent flooding of
the Fersina, even if on rare occasions the torrent has reached the point
of touching the embankments. Sometimes, however, the lower area of
Bolghera has been invaded by the water of the Rio Salè, which south of
the Fersina flows almost parallel to it, then flowing into the Fersina
immediately before it flows into the Adige.
Up to now no trace
has been found of these bridges, nor is it known whether they were made
of masonry, wood or built with boats (in the case of the Adige,
remembering that in moving the course the river's path was significantly
shortened and therefore previously the water flowed much more slowly and
the course was wider).
The same considerations can be applied to
bridges of medieval origin. Ancient maps of the city report the
existence of a bridge, called the "covered bridge", which crossed the
Adige at Torre Vanga to lead to the Church of San Lorenzo and another
bridge located over the Fersina. These bridges almost certainly stood
where the Roman ones once stood, the road leading to the city passed
from the one over the Fersina (probably located in front of the Torrione
in Piazza Fiera). Obviously the bridge was recreated in place of the
current Ponte dei Cavalleggeri when the course of the Fersina was moved,
probably in wood (but there is no memory or certainty of this). The
"Covered Bridge" over the Adige was destroyed when, by the Austrian
government, the course of the Adige river was diverted to make way for
the railway.
Now there are newer bridges in the city.
On
Fersina
Ponte Santa Barbara - at the beginning of via De Gasperi
Ponte dei Cavalleggeri - between Corso III Novembre and Viale Verona
Ponte dei Mille - on the street of the same name
Ponte Borzaga - on
via Vicenza, named after the missionary Mario Borzaga
Dame of Sion
Bridge - at the Galilei Institute
Ponte Cornicchio - Manci climb
towards Mesiano
Old Lodovico Bridge - connection to Mesiano
Ponte
Lodovico - along the road that goes up to Mesiano, near the contemporary
San Donà roundabout, built in the 2000s alongside the pre-existing Old
Ponte Lodovico to meet the increased traffic needs
Ponte Alto - small
and narrow bridge east of the city, on the small road leading to Povo
from the highway entrance. The nearby Ponte Alto waterfall, in the Ponte
Alto ravine, is an artificial waterfall created by order of Bernardo
Clesio to vent the floods of the Fersina.
On the Adige
Motorway Bridge - on the Brenner Motorway north of the city.
Ponte
della Statale - on the Strada Statale north of the city
St. George's
Bridge - in the city
San Lorenzo Bridge - in the city
Ravina
Bridge - on the road to the village of Ravina
Ponte di San Nicolò -
on the state road south of the city
Trento "Gianni Caproni" airport, named after the engineer. Trentino
aeronautical officer Gianni Caproni - in the suburb of Mattarello, 5 km
south of the city.
Boscolo Hotel – in via Alfieri 3 has performed the
functions of a hotel since 1939.
Casa del Balilla – in via Pozzo
since 1933 it housed the premises of the Italian youth of the littorio,
demolished in the 1950s in favor of the bus station.
Case IACP – also
known as "Complex ai Muredei" located in the street of the same name,
built in 1929 for residential use; it is one of the city's few examples
of deco style.
Houses for the maimed and war invalids – in via
Montello 30 built in deco style in 1927 for the veterans of the Great
War. On the corner you can see a votive newsstand.
"Gavino Pizzolato"
barracks named in memory of Gen. Gavino Pizzolato, decorated with two
Silver Medals for Military Valor and two Bronze Medals for Military
Valor, of the Military Order of Savoy and of the colonial Order of the
Star of Italy , which fell in North Africa on 23 March 1943.
Bruno
social center – next to the Trento-Malé station, it housed the customs
premises since 1934, then in the sixties it was renovated as a
self-managed social service and demolished in 2015.
Expansion of the
Faculty of Law - Mario Botta
Faculty of Engineering in Mesiano -
Giovanni Leo Salvotti De Bindis (1985-1995)
Garbari Gallery – between
Via Manci and Piazza Cesare Battisti was built in 1924 in Art Nouveau
style.
Regional Institute of Social Studies and Research (1950) in
Piazza S.Maria at the corner of Via S.Giovanni, former National Body of
Italian Schools of Social Service. It houses a specialized library on
social work. A relief by Luigi De Gasperi is visible on the facade.
MUSE – in Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3 (in the Le Albere
district), built in 2013 based on a design by Renzo Piano.
Electrical
workshop – in Viale Trieste for various uses, it had functioned as a
hydroelectric power station since the 1920s.
Santa Chiara Hospital,
in Largo Medaglie d'Oro, 9.
Tourism Pavilion – between via Alfieri
and via Torre Verde, built in 1940 in record time to replace the
previous pavilion.
Savoy Pavilion - next to the Tourism Pavilion,
built in 1920 as a hostel to accommodate travelers coming from the
station, it was later used as a pastry shop until more recently when it
was purchased by SIT.
Government Palace – in C.so III Novembre 11,
planned since 1950 for the functions of Co.Re.Co., houses the Police
Station.
Palazzo della Regione – in via Gazzoletti 2, Adalberto
Libera (1950-56)
Post Office Building - Angiolo Mazzoni (1929-1934)
Palazzo Salvotti (1960) for residential use located in Corso III
Novembre on the corner with Via Piave.
Dorigoni Passage – connects
via Suffragio with via Torre verde, built in 1910 in correspondence with
the old Porteghet. Frescoes depicting Cronos are barely visible.
Major Seminary – in c.so III Novembre 46, houses the theology faculty
and two libraries.
Railway station - Angiolo Mazzoni
Raffaello
Sanzio elementary school – in the square of the same name, Adalberto
Libera (1931-34)
Bus station - next to the railway station (1956).
Residential unit and church of Madonna Bianca - Marcello Armani and
Luciano Perini (seventies)
In addition to the castles and towers located in the municipal territories, there were, and some still exist, some military barracks, including the "Cesare Battisti", the "Gavino Pizzolato" and the "Damiano Chiesa".
Buonconsiglio Castle - Built in the thirteenth century, it hosted the prince bishops of the city for five centuries. The oldest structure is represented by Castelvecchio (13th century), later rebuilt. Palazzo was built next door by order of Bernardo Clesio the Great, decorated by Romanino and Dosso Dossi, then put in direct communication with the ancient building through the Albertian Council. Torre Aquila, oriented towards Aquileia, preserves an important International Gothic fresco, the Cycle of the Months, perhaps attributable to the master Wenceslaus of Bohemia. Other towers of the castle are Torre d'Augusto (the main tower, the circular one) and Torre del falco. In front of the main entrance of the castle, across the road, there is also a stone sarcophagus. According to legend, the Buonconsiglio Castle was previously called Malconsiglio because of the witches who haunted the Torre d'Augusto and who were chased away after the Council. They would then take refuge in Val di Sole near S. Bernardo di Rabbi where they still live.
Noble families did not hesitate to build a tower near their home as
it is well known that temperatures are warmer on the upper floors; in
harmony with the name of the city, thirty-three can be counted:
Civic
Tower - built before the year 1000 next to Palazzo Pretorio where,
during the Roman period, Porta Veronensis stood. Originally it
represented the keep of Palazzo Pretorio (lower and stockier than the
current tower, which was built over the centuries). On it there is a
large clock and inside there is the Renga bell, or the bell that called
"all'Arengo", to public assemblies and death sentences carried out in
the Piazza Duomo below. In the civic tower overlooking Piazza Duomo it
is said that a bell once rang to announce to Vigilio the imminent death
of Romedio, the patron saint of None. After being reopened to the
public, three years later, precisely on 4 August 2015, the top of the
tower caught fire.
Torre Vanga - tower built in 1210 by Prince Bishop
Federico Vanga and once bordered by the river Adige, had the purpose of
controlling access to the Doss Trento hill.
Torre Verde - built in
1450, was also built on the banks of the ancient course of the river,
near a port area. The bed of the Adige was diverted during the
nineteenth century to make way for the construction of the railway.
Torre della Tromba - dating back to the early thirteenth century, it was
built near the Cathedral.
Torre Mozza - from the 13th century, is
located in via Belenzani in the immediate vicinity of Torre della
Tromba.
Torrione Madruzziano (El Torion), or also the Rotonda (since
it is circular in shape). The tower was built in the 16th century, by
order of Ludovico Madruzzo, and was equipped with a guardhouse that
monitored the southern entrance to the city (Porta Santa Croce), which
has now been demolished. The Torrione is located on the western side of
Piazza Fiera, right in front of the Curia palace, which is located on
the eastern side. Over time (nineteenth century) it was transformed into
a commercial building (cafeteria) and subsequently used as shops and
homes. The tower is covered by a high conical spire (lantern). After the
renovation in 2017, in 2018 it was converted into an accommodation
facility.
Torre del Massarello - of medieval construction, was the
seat of the archdeacons of the cathedral chapter at the time of the
Council (hence the probable original name of Archdeacon Tower-House).
The current name derives from that of Angelo Massarelli da San Sepolcro,
general secretary of the Council of Trent, who lived there in the twenty
years in which the assembly was held. This tower has the upper part cut
off and is located in via SS. Trinity.
Torre dei Gionghi - in
Graffiano di Povo, above the Gocciadoro park. Only this tower remains of
the Pietrapiana Castle, which controlled the city of Trento from its
hilltop position.
Torre Aquila - in via Cervara, incorporated into
the medieval walls
Torre Benassuti - in the alley of the same name,
of Roman origins
Benetti-Mersi tower house, in Largo Carducci on the
corner with via S.Pietro
Consolati Tower - in via Rosmini near the
ruins of the Roman Villa
Torre dei Rochi - in Ravina
Torre
dell'Orco - in Ravina
De Negri tower house - in Piazza Duomo (Bar
Portici) not to be confused with:
De Negri-Rella tower house - in via
S.Pietro, next to the Legionaries Gallery
Torre del Deposito - Molino
Vittoria, former municipal bakery
Torre Franca - in Mattarello
Modern Tower - in via degli Orti, 8
Torre Littoria - in Piazza
Venezia taken from the former Casa Littoria
Maestranzi Tower - in
Piazza Lodron
Bell tower of S. Maria Assunta - Church of S. Maria
Maggiore
Bell tower of S. Lorenzo - Civic Temple
Bell tower of S.
Francesco Saverio - former Casa delle Costede
Bell tower of the
Cathedral - overlooking via Verdi
Bell tower of S. Romedio -
overlooking via Garibaldi
Bell tower of S. Apollinare - Piedicastello
St. Peter's bell tower - Anfiteatro square
Bell tower of the SS.
Pietro and Andrea - Povo
Bell tower of S. Croce - Church of the same
name in Corso III Novembre
Bell tower of S. Marco - Church of the
same name
Bell tower of the SS. Filippo and Giacomo - Cemetery church
in Sardagna
Port'Aquila - in the eastern part of the city, incorporated over the
centuries by the castle.
Porta S. Margherita - secondary gate in the
western part of the city, spared, together with Port'Aquila, from
demolition in the nineteenth century because it was in a secondary
position with respect to the main traffic routes.
Walls of Piazza
Fiera - the only ones left of the ancient thirteenth-century walls that
surrounded the city, built by Bishop Vanga, are surmounted by
swallowtail battlements. Note the remains of the staircase that led to
the patrol passage. Under the square, in the covered car park, you can
see another stretch of walls, in fact in the Middle Ages the road level
was much lower than now, the ground of the current Piazza di Fiera being
raised by the gravel continually brought there by the floods of the
Fersina which it ran in front of the walls and whose old banks were
found in the excavation of the underground car park. Sections of other
pieces of walls can also be seen incorporated into the houses located
along their perimeter.
Fortifications
In the province of
Trento there are numerous forts and fortifications dating back to the
17th and 19th centuries and in any case to before the First World War
built by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, some are in a good state of
conservation, of others only the remains are visible. Of the many
fortifications in Trentino[59], some of these constituted the fortified
complex "Fortezza di Trento", in German Festung Trient, which included:
Bus de Vela road cut - in Cadine along the road from Gardesana down
to Trento
Forte Doss di Sponde - on the slopes of Mount Bondone
Forte Candriai - also on the slopes of Mount Bondone
Forte Mandolin -
no longer exists, in its place the Alcide Degasperi heliotherapy colony
Forte Camponzin - on the road from Sopramonte to Candriai
Forte Palon
- on the top of Mount Bondone in Trento
Forte delle Viote - on Mount
Bondone in Trento
Forte Romagnano - in Romagnano di Trento
Mattarello fortified complex - divided into the Lower Battery and the
Upper Battery, in addition to the fort. In Mattarello di Trento
Doss
Fornas Battery - the fort is positioned on the left relief of the
Valsorda, and guarded the entrance to Trento from this valley.
Brusafer Battery - the fort is positioned on the right relief of
Valsorda, and guarded the entrance to Trento from this valley.
Marzola Battery and Blockhaus Marzola - controlling the path that from
Vigolo Vattaro led to Marzola
Forte San Rocco - on the San Rocco hill
in southern Trento
Roncogno Battery - located on the slopes of Mount
Celva, under the jurisdiction of Trento
Martignano Battery - in
Martignano di Trento
Forte Casara - on the northern slope of Monte
Calisio, controls the Civezzano-Montevaccino road. Under the
jurisdiction of Trento
Fortification of Doss Trento - on the Doss
Trento.
Cimirlo Battery - stood on a hill overlooking the town of
Roncogno, a hamlet of Pergine Valsugana, under the jurisdiction of the
municipality of Pergine Valsugana.
Civezzano fortified complex: Upper
and Lower Road Cut, a railway barrier in addition to the fort. Under the
jurisdiction of the municipality of Civezzano.
These last two
fortified complexes, even if they are not under the jurisdiction of the
municipality of Trento, were mentioned due to their border position.
In the 20th century there were several military barracks in Trento,
some of which can no longer be found.
"Cesare Battisti" barracks:
built between 1800 and the beginning of the twentieth century by the
engineer Annibale Apollonio for the Austro-Hungarian troops, it had the
name of Caserma Madruzzo. During the Great War it became a military
hospital. After the conflict it underwent some small changes and was
dedicated on 15 May 1939 to Cesare Battisti, hosting the "Trento" Alpine
Battalion and the 62nd "Sicilia" Infantry Regiment belonging to the
"Trento" Motorized Infantry Division. During the Second World War it
became the headquarters of the Trentina Police Force. Once again in the
hands of the Italians, it became the seat of various departments:
from 1954 to 1974: 1st Engineer Regiment and dependent departments;
from 1964 to 1974: XIV Pioneer Engineer Battalion, I Teleferista Company
and a mixed company of the II Bolzano Engineer Regiment;
from 1975 to
1993: IV Battalion of the “Orta” pioneer engineers;
from 1993 to
1995: 1st Pioneer Engineer Regiment;
since 1995: II Sappers Regiment
belonging to the "Julia" Alpine Brigade.
Roads
The main streets of Trento are: via Andrea Pozzo, via
Antonio Gazzoletti, via Armando Diaz, via Calepina, via Camillo Benso
Cavour, via degli Orbi, via del Simonino, via delle Orfane, via Galileo
Galilei, via Giannantonio Manci, via Giuseppe Garibaldi , via Giuseppe
Mazzini, via Giuseppe Verdi, via Mantova, via Oriola, via Paolo Oss
Mazzurana, via Rodolfo Belenzani, via Roma, via San Giovanni, via San
Marco, via San Pietro, via San Vigilio, via Santa Maria Maddalena, via
Santissima Trinità, via Senato Carlo Esterle, via Torre Vanga, via Torre
Verde, via Vittorio Alfieri, vicolo dei Gaudenti, vicolo del Vò, vicolo
dell'Adige, vicolo Galasso; via Alessandro Manzoni, via Brennero, via
cardinale Bernardo Clesio, via Clementino Vannetti, via dei Cappuccini,
via della Cervara, via della Malvasia, via della Pontara, via della
Spalliera, via Felice e Gregorio Fontana, via Francesco Petrarca, via
Gian Domenico Romagnosi , via Giovanni Segantini, via Jacopo Aconcio,
via San Martino, via Torre d'Augusto; Corso III Novembre, via Fratelli
Bronzetti via Fratelli Perini, via Giacomo Matteotti, via Gino Buccella,
via Giuseppe Giusti via Michelangelo Mariani, via Palermo, via Vittorio
Veneto, viale Rovereto, viale Verona.
Squares
The busiest
squares in the Trentino capital are: Piazza Adamo d'Arogno, Piazza
Cesare Battisti, Piazza del Duomo, Piazza Dante, Piazza delle Erbe,
Piazza Lodron, Piazza Venezia, Piazzetta Anfiteatro, Piazzetta del Sas,
Largo Giosuè Carducci; Piazza Centa, Piazza della Mostra, Piazza
Raffaello Sanzio, Piazza Silvio Pellico, Largo Nazario Sauro.
Arches
Arco dei Tre Portoni - was the monumental access to the
tree-lined avenue that led to the Madruzzo suburban residence, the
Palazzo delle Albere.
However, we are not aware of a Roman triumphal
arch.
Sarcophagi
Stone sarcophagus, in front of the entrance
to the Buonconsiglio castle
Sarcophagi of the Bishops of Trento:
almost all the bishops of Trento of the last millennium are buried
within the Duomo cathedral in stone sarcophagi.
Cemeteries
Monumental Cemetery of Trento - work to build it began in 1826
Columns
Column in Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore - erected in 1845 in
memory of the celebrations for the third centenary of the opening of the
council.
Column in the Tirrena Gallery
Monument to Dante - in Piazza Dante, erected in 1896 to underline the
Italian nature of the city in contrast to the statue of the medieval
singer Walther von der Vogelweide in Bolzano.
Monument to Alcide De
Gasperi - in Piazza Venezia, erected in 1955 to commemorate the Trentino
statesman. Justice, Faith and Diplomacy are sculpted on the base of the
monument. On the mosaic of the fountain, however, the coats of arms of
the main Italian cities appear. During the winter, the image of the
sculpture on the back of the monument under blankets of snow is
suggestive, almost indicating the freezing of any dream of greatness of
the homeland.
Statue of Alessandro Vittoria - in the square of the
same name to commemorate the Trentino sculptor.
Statue of San Vigilio
- located in the center of Piazza D'Arogno, south side of the Cathedral.
Statue of San Camillo - in front of the hospital of the same name,
depicts the saint holding a suffering Jesus in his hands.
Statue in
Santa Chiara - in front of the hospital of the same name.
Bust of
Martino Martini - in Corso III Novembre.
Bust of Giosuè Carducci - in
Piazza Dante.
Bust of Cesare Battisti sculptor Eraldo Fozzer - inside
the mausoleum of the same name located on Doss Trento.
Bust of
Giovanni Prati - in Piazza Dante
Bust of Giacomo Bresadola - in
Piazza Dante.
Bust of Antonio Gazzoletti - in Piazza Dante.
Bust
of Luigi Negrelli - in the train station.
Bust of Msgr. Enea Silvio
Piccolomini - canon of Trento who later became Pope Pius II, is located
in Piazza Santa Teresa Verzeri
Stele to Guglielmo Ranzi - (creator of
the monument to Dante), is located in Piazza Dante next to the monument
he wanted.
Monument to Luigi Negrelli - in Piazza Dante.
Monument
to Eusebio Francesco Chini - in Piazza Dante.
Monument to the family
- in Piazza Dante, represents the Giuliani family (typical family 2007).
Monument to Marco Pola - (poet) in Piazza Cesare Battisti, created by
Cesarina Seppi tit. Lunar flower.
Monument to the Fallen of the
Resistance in Albania - in the park in front of the Court.
Monument
to those fallen at work - in the park in front of the Court.
Archaeological remains of Tridentum
The surveyor responsible for
the sewer excavation works in 1930 left a series of notes about
continuous archaeological finds under the streets of the historic
centre, but at that time the interest was in the rapid completion of the
works and the finds were constantly violated to create the sewer; after
all, the gas and drinking water distribution networks had passed before,
probably at a lower depth. In those same years, the central district was
destroyed, made up of small houses and narrow alleys, and new large
buildings were built in the historic center with the new square at the
centre, then (and until the 1960s) called Piazza Italia, and then
renamed many times. The floor level of the historic center has risen
over time due to repeated floods coming from the Fersina torrent (whose
course until the deviation in the 16th century ran immediately outside
the walls crossing the current Piazza Fiera) and from the Rio Saluga.
Of great interest are other more recent excavations:
Porta
Veronensis - under the Civic Tower. It was the monumental entrance to
the city of Tridentum, it was equipped with two arches, one for
pedestrians and the other for carts, with a rectangular plan and
internal courtyard. The external facade, characterized by a pilaster,
was flanked by two polygonal towers with 16 sides. Today only the
western part remains, in fact the eastern part has been incorporated
into the foundations of the Civic Tower. The internal façade was
decorated with a statue of which only the base remains and a fountain.
We are also certain of the existence of an upper floor of the door, as
suggested by some architectural fragments found during the excavations;
however, the presence of a second floor is only conceivable. Fallen into
ruin, semi-destroyed and then incorporated into the Civic Tower.
Sas
Underground Archaeological Space - Under the Social Theater in Piazza
Cesare Battisti. It is an entire block with the remains of a wall, the
remains of a tower, a road with a sewage system, a domus with various
rooms of the house (triclinium, kitchen, latrine, atrium, courtyard);
furthermore there are a hypocaustum and two mosaics, one depicting the
god Ocean in the atrium and the other of a geometric nature in the
triclinium.
Archaeological space under Palazzo Lodron - in this
archaeological space there is a road and the remains of a tower, a house
with a latrine and a wine shop (the nature of which has been deduced
from the imprint of 6 vats and an engraved marble plaque found on site).
Furthermore, a well-preserved stretch of the Roman and medieval city
walls can be observed.
Early Christian Basilica of San Vigilio -
under the Cathedral. Outside the city walls, the building originally
played the role of a cemetery basilica.
Roman Villa - in via Rosmini.
These are the remains of a villa outside the city walls, the mosaic
inside it is very interesting.
Furthermore, the remains of
another early Christian basilica are visible on the top of Doss Trento.
In Trento there was also an amphitheater, in fact, under the square
of the same name in Trento fragments of paving, walls and steps of the
same were found, in addition to the fact that the position of part of
the houses in the square has the typical curvature of the amphitheater ,
as the houses were built on the remains of the same and using
pre-existing walls and stones. Pieces of city walls, towers, streets and
houses were also found under numerous buildings, streets and squares in
Trento.
Recent excavations under the church of Santa Maria
Maggiore are bringing to light another area of the city, in fact, here
was the ancient ecclesia which served as a cathedral in the first
centuries of Christianity, it is hypothesized that it was built on top
of an ancient temple. According to Roman urban planning this building
stood in the public area of the city, so it is thought that the forum of
Tridentum was present in this place. Also in the forum were other
buildings of a public nature. Further excavations have also brought to
light a Roman tower behind the building of the sociology faculty and a
Roman villa in the place where the new faculty of literature will be
built.
Perhaps a temple dedicated to Neptune stood in Trento,
given the name the city had, and because a legend tells that the god
Neptune, lord of the seas, ascended the rivers in ancient times to
expand his dominion over the Alpine territories.
The presence of
a triumphal arch is not certain, even if the Romans built them to
celebrate their victories over a specific territory. In fact, there have
been no archaeological finds in this sense and there are not even
documents that would prove its existence.
According to Latin tradition, the toponym Trento derives from
Tridentum (name assigned by the Romans) due to the three hills (Doss
Trent, Dosso Sant'Agata and Dosso di San Rocco) that surround the city
or also due to the presence of three rivers (Adige, Fersina and Vela)
which form a trident.
According to other sources the name is much
older and of Rhaetian origin. The toponym in fact derives from trent, or
trifurcation (due to the irregular bed of the Adige river or to the
three waterways, Adige, Fersina and Salè, which form a trifurcation
looking at the city from the south).
Despite everything, the
Latin tradition has always had the upper hand, to the point that on the
old town hall we can still read the Latin inscription Montes argentum
mihi dant nomenque Tridentum («The mountains give me silver and the name
of Trento»), due to Fra Bartolomeo da Trento († 1251; obviously the
silver refers to the mines of Mount Calisio, which overlooks the city to
the north-east).
According to some theories, Trento (Tridentum) developed on a
previous Rhaetian settlement on the valley floor. It is also probable
the presence of an ancient Rhaetian hillfort on Doss Trento, perhaps
also used by the Romans after the conquest, one of the first urban
centers of the city. It is reasonable to believe that the Adige Valley,
as a primary north-south communication route, favored frequent cultural
exchanges with other pre-Roman populations, such as the Venetians, the
Etruscans and the Gauls.
The Roman conquest of Trentino occurred
during the 1st century BC. Trento, which had already been built before
the conquest as a Roman military camp (Castrum), was baptized Tridentum
("city of three teeth"), perhaps because near the city there are three
hills vaguely resembling three teeth (Doss Trento, Sant'Agata and San
Rocco) or because there are three rivers (Adige, Fersina and Vela) that
formed a trident. The city became a municipium between 50 and 40 BC.
In the Augustan period, with the Empire engaged in a series of
military operations in the Alps, the strategic role of the city grew.
Trento developed starting from a quadrangular plan, delimited on one
side by the Adige river, on the other three sides by walls and moats,
with quadrangular towers and gates for access; the main one, Porta
Veronensis, was twin, with two circular towers on the sides. The city
streets developed in an orderly manner, parallel to the layout of the
cardo and the decumanus according to the principles of Roman urban
planning.
Tridentum was equipped with all the typical
infrastructures of an important Roman centre: there was a forum, an
amphitheatre, baths, a river port, an aqueduct coming from the eastern
hills for water supply and an area used for burials outside the walls,
as well as homes (villas) and infrastructure outside the walls.
Tridentum was also an important road junction, due to the presence in
its territory of the Via Claudia Augusta (main military road towards the
north), in its branches of the Claudia Augusta Padana and the Via
Claudia Augusta Altinate, which connected the city with the Veneto
passing through the Valsugana.
Despite the difficult political
situation that arose with the decline of the Empire, Trento remained the
economic, commercial and military center of the region even in the 4th
and 5th centuries.
Around the middle of the 4th century, the bishop's chair was
established, entrusted to the first bishop whose name is known only,
Giovinus (Iovinus). The establishment of the Tridentine diocese
represented an important step, because the figure of the bishop always
tried to guarantee security and unity to the city, despite the
continuous foreign incursions. The third bishop of Trent, successor of
Giovinus and Abbondanzio, was a Roman patrician, Vigilius. He tried to
accelerate the evangelization of Trentino, to establish solid links with
the outside, in particular with Ambrose and the Milanese Church, of
which Trento was initially a suffragan. Vigilio was the first great
leader of the Tridentine Church (which in the following centuries also
took upon itself secular powers) and died in Val Rendena, becoming the
patron saint of the city and an object of veneration throughout the
region.
In the 6th century Trento was occupied by the Goths, led
by Theodoric. In a letter, the Gothic king, as reported by Cassiodorus,
invited the Venetian city of Feltre to collaborate with the Tridentine
municipality for the construction of a new urban center, probably to be
built in the Lower Valsugana, which in reality was not built. Of this
episode, dating back to 523-526, traces remain in the popular tradition
of the city, through the challenge of the Ciusi and the Gobj which takes
place every year during the Christmas holidays, in which the Ciusi
(representing the people of Feltre) try to conquer the polenta defended
by the Gobj (the people from Trentino) and by the strazzere, armed
peasant women. The names of Ciusi and Gobi have distant origins and more
precisely from Chiusi (in Tuscany) and Gabi (in Lazio). The masquerade
dates back to the era of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, when a
dispute between the Feltrini and the Trentinos over territorial borders
resulted in a war won by the Trentinos who established the carnival to
commemorate the event. In this way the Ciusi should remember the Feltres
with a dog-face mask.
The city and the entire Trentino territory
were conquered by the Lombards around 568-569. Subsequently, the Franks
and the Baivarians engaged in continuous incursions and military
expeditions in the territory of Trentino-Alto Adige. To try to preserve
the city and find a compromise between the Lombards and the Franks, the
bishop of Trento Agnello (577-591) became the protagonist of a series of
peace initiatives between the peoples, also financially committing the
diocese for the ransom of the prisoners made by the Franks. Following
this, the Lombard domination was strengthened and a border Duchy was
organized with its capital in Trento and first governed by Duke Evino (†
595). With the Lombards, the area of influence over which the city's
power extended was established for the first time, the Tridentinum
territorialum, which extended up to the south of Merano, including the
current city of Bolzano. Only the northernmost territories of Alto Adige
were not subject to the authority of the Duke of Trent and remained in
the hands of the Franks and the Bavarians. Evino was succeeded by
Gaidoaldo who managed to expand the duchy westwards, occupying the
entire Valsugana and the Cismón valleys. Subsequently, the Duchy of
Trento lost its autonomy and probably became a territory directly
dependent on the Lombard crown.
In 982 Trento was incorporated by
the Ottonians into the Holy Roman German Empire.
In 1027 (or 1004) the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II created the
Episcopal Principality of Trento, an institution that resisted together
with the County of Tyrol (formed later) until the Napoleonic period. The
principality was united with the county according to the Foederatio
Tyrolensis. The territory of the Principality, however, did not entirely
coincide with that of the current province of Trento: some areas,
especially those located in current Alto Adige (Bozner Unterland)
forming the so-called Deutscher Anteil (the German-speaking part of the
bishopric), were the subject of dispute politics with the Counts of
Tyrol (who resided in the castle of the same name above present-day
Merano), advocates of the bishop, before the county passed to the
Habsburgs in 1363). Other parts orbited the Venetians (Primiero, Lower
Valsugana). The Episcopal Principality marked the history of the city in
the Germanic context for eight centuries, with greater or lesser
autonomy depending on the situations and characters, with a succession
of 51 prince-bishops at its top, often chosen by the imperial power.
Around 1200, the city was a mining center (especially silver, coming
from Monte Calisio) of considerable importance, so much so that it
issued the first mining statute in the Alps, due to Prince Bishop
Federico Vanga. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Trento also acted as a
city driving force in the Adige area, spreading municipal statutory
elements as far as Bolzano. In 1407 Rodolfo Belenzani was the leader of
a revolt of the citizens, who rose up against the oppression of the
prince bishop George of Liechtenstein and governed Trento for a couple
of years. Trento became internationally famous for the Council
(1545-1563), with which the Counter-Reformation began. The 16th century
was one of the periods of greatest splendor for the Trentino capital. At
the head of the Principality, Cardinals Bernardo Clesio and Cristoforo
Madruzzo, important patron figures, transformed the urban layout of
Trento according to Renaissance principles, renovating and building new
buildings and churches. The curvature of the streets in the center (via
S. Pietro, via Belenzani, via Oss Mazzurana, etc.) would have been
specifically designed by Bernardo Clesio to offer the foreigner a
surprising scenic effect. The principality had to defend itself several
times, not only from the attempts to overwhelm the counts of Tyrol, but
also from the subsequent attempt at Venetian expansionism which
culminated with the battle of Calliano, in which the small Trentino army
(about 3,000 men) with the support of very small local contingents and a
small contingent (800 men) of the imperial army, garrisoned in Trento,
inflicted a resounding and definitive defeat on the many times larger
Venetian army under the command of Roberto di San Severino, who perished
in the battle, resulting in its extermination. No better luck for the
Venetians was a kind of naval battle fought on Lake Loppio (which was
drained in 1956) in an attempt to take Riva del Garda from behind, the
domain of the Prince Bishop of Trento, which the Venetians had failed to
conquer with numerous naval attacks from Lake Garda.
Throughout
the Middle Ages, however, the city retained, thanks to its fortified
geographical position on the North-South road (with repeated transits
and short stays of kings and emperors) and the proud defense of its
autonomy, a notable importance certainly disproportionate to the modesty
of the number of the inhabitants (less than 10,000 throughout the Middle
Ages). At the beginning of the modern era it had even greater
international notoriety for the Council that was celebrated there and
whose resolutions represented the bulwark of Catholic doctrine against
Protestant heresies for the following four centuries.
The Episcopal Principality was suppressed by Napoleon in 1803. From
the beginning of the Napoleonic-Bavarian occupation until 1809,
Trentino-Tyrolean patriots commanded by Andreas Hofer had fought a
permanent guerrilla war against the Napoleonic army with a series of
skirmishes, without ever obtaining the repeatedly promised help from the
Habsburg army. In the battle at the Bergisel in Innsbruck, Hofer's
Trentino-Tyrolean troops were defeated by the Franco-Bavarians, while
the daughter of the Emperor of Austria married Napoleon and Andreas
Hofer was executed in Mantua. After the Napoleonic era, in 1815 Trento
and its entire current province were incorporated into the County of
Tyrol within the Habsburg Empire. The Congress of Vienna of 1815
establishes the new territorial structure. The ancient government of the
episcopal principality, already abolished by Napoleon, will not be
restored, although the bishop of Trento retained the only formal title
of prince and "His Highness" until 1953, when Pope Pius XII abolished
all the noble titles of ecclesiastics.
Throughout the 19th
century Trento was the subject of transformations of considerable
importance. Among these we must remember the construction of the Brenner
railway in 1864, which connected Venice (then under Habsburg rule) to
Vienna (then capital of the Habsburg empire) passing through the
fortress cities of Verona and Trento, the Valsugana railway (between
Trento and Bassano) by a private Austrian company with concession from
1899 to 1998 (but incorporated into the Italian State Railways in 1919),
and the Trento Malé railway (still formally private and managed under
the control of the autonomous province), the last remnant of other
railway sections that from the beginning of the 20th century connected
Trento with Riva del Garda (via Mori-Arco) and Predazzo (via
Ora-Cavalese). Other significant events were the movement (with the aim
of better building the railway) towards the western outskirts of the
course of the Adige river from its centuries-old bed that lapped the
medieval city, and the construction of buildings of great prestige such
as public schools, barracks, the Palazzo of justice composed of the
court and prisons (architect Karl Schaden), the Austro-Hungarian Bank
(current headquarters of the Bank of Italy), the Hotel Imperial (current
headquarters of the Autonomous Province of Trento) and the railway
station (demolished 50 years later by the fascist government).
Starting from 1870, irredentist political movements and circles
developed in Trento which sought to defend the Italian nature of the
city from the attempts at Germanisation brought by the more nationalist
sectors of German Tyrol, such as the Tiroler Volksbund movement
(established in Vipiteno in 1905). To these were also added movements to
defend Trentino's Italian identity, but without the desire to detach
Trentino from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As an example of the climate
marked by nationalist antagonisms of the late nineteenth century, in
1896 a monument to the greatest poet of the Italian language, Dante
Alighieri, was inaugurated in Trento. In the same year the first
international anti-Masonic Congress was held in Trento. In Bolzano the
monument to Walther von der Vogelweide, a medieval German-speaking poet,
was erected. Even if in the most radical irredentist circles the
separation of Trentino from the Tyrol and the Empire and its annexation
to the Kingdom of Italy was hoped for, the majority of the population,
especially peasants, was faithful to the Habsburg Empire, while hoping
for greater territorial autonomy compared to the Tyrolean provincial
government of Innsbruck. As reported in the report of the talks he had
in Rome in 1915 with Sonnino, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Italy,
Alcide De Gasperi, representative of the Trentino Catholics in the
imperial parliament of Vienna, agreed that the majority of the Trentinos
were not in favor of a annexation to Italy.
During the First World War Trento was declared a fortress city and
became the stronghold of the Austro-Hungarian southern front. Around
60,000 Trentino soldiers, compulsory conscripts, fought in the uniform
of the Imperial and Royal Army and thousands of them (11,000 throughout
the province, of which 1,000 from the city of Trento) fell during the
war enlisted in the Kaiserjäger and Landesschützen. About 900 volunteers
(of whom 710 were actually Austrian citizens) enlisted in the Italian
army.
The city was defended by a ring of forts which are still
present and partly visitable. At the end of the year 1915 the Trento
fortress became the seat of the Austro-Hungarian headquarters for the
southern front. The surrounding mountains hid the most powerful
stronghold of the Italian front, with many structures dug into the rock.
The creator of such works was Major General Franz von Steinhart.
The First World War brought tragedies of enormous proportions to Trento
and the entire border area, starting with the evacuation of most of the
civilian population. The evacuation, combined with the closeness of many
to the previous Austrian administration, leaves doubts about the
spontaneity shown in the photographs of the celebrating population who
welcomed the arrival of the Italian troops on 4 November 1918. Trento,
together with the rest of the Tyrolean princely county south of the
Alpine watershed, it became Italian territory at the end of the First
World War with the Treaty of Saint Germain.
During fascism the
city and the entire province lost the autonomy they had enjoyed for
centuries. In 1923 the municipal council of Trento was dissolved after
the resignation as mayor of Giovanni Peterlongo, elected the previous
year. Peterlongo was then appointed prefectural commissioner, a position
he held until 1926). To regain administrative and economic autonomy,
Trento waited until the end of the Second World War (statute of the
Trentino-Alto Adige autonomous region). During the Second World War the
city was bombed by the Allies from 2 September 1943 until 3 May 1945,
for a total of 80 raids which caused around 400 victims and 1792
buildings damaged. During the first bombing the Portela massacre
occurred, which caused around 200 deaths.
The history of the city
in the 20th century mostly coincided with that of the province and the
region.
With the statutory changes of 1971 and the related
implementation rules of the following years, autonomy was significantly
expanded but the Region was divided with the attribution of almost all
powers to the two autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano.
Near via Torre Verde, when the Adige lapped the area, the ancient
commercial port of the city stood from where goods coming from Lombardy
and Veneto were exchanged or sold at the local markets. The large
tonnage boats, the tanse, took 3 days to reach Venice, while for light
transport rafts were used whose sailors were grouped in the Paroni de
Barca corporation based in the same place.
The crossroads that wedge
between via San Pietro, via Manci and via del Suffragio, the so-called
el canton, delimited the four cantons of the city center where the
market was held; in particular, coming from via San Pietro you can see,
on the second and third floors of the facing building, wooden doors,
i.e. covered balconies, the so-called jealousies, where the inhabitants
could monitor what was happening in the street without being seen
themselves.
In a confessional in Santa Maria Maggiore a group of
seven letters M is said to be engraved to indicate the contempt that
Martin Luther had for the President of the Council: Cursed Madruzzo
Martino Never Will Change Better to Die!
During the Council, Cardinal
Madruzzo decided to temporarily expel all the poor and miserable people
of the city, concentrating them beyond the Adige in the current
neighborhood of Piedicastello. Those who lived by their wits called
themselves barons of the sun.
Piazza Pasi, the old Piazza delle Opere
where the vegetable market was held, still hides the treasure of the
barbaz buried by Brenno, according to some, the Rhaetian founder of the
city.
Via delle Orne derives its name from a unit of measurement for
liquids, the orna, which corresponded to approximately 64 liters and was
used by local artisans for the construction of wine barrels.
In
Vicolo dei Birri, near the Duomo, there was the headquarters of the
police who had the task of filing complaints at the Palazzo del
Pretorio. The head of police was the Bargello.
In via Secondo da
Trento, near Piazza di Centa, the "alle bettine" brothel, a place of ill
repute at the time, was very popular until 1958 (Merlin Law).
At the
traffic lights between Via Vanga and Via Pozzo coming from the station,
behind the private language school, there was the House of the Chain, of
medieval construction, so called because once upon a time, a chain
blocked night-time navigation of the river.
The area located between
Villazzano and the Adige is called Man, which takes its name from the
Latin manes as it is believed that the souls of the dead were venerated.
Until 1922, in the current street called Largo Carducci, there stood a
particular building (called Casa Ranzi) which was equipped with the
characteristic Erker (Nordic style), following a night bomb attack, it
was then destroyed by unknown persons.
The city of Trent is located in the valley of the
Adige river, about 150 km from the source of the river and 250 km
from its mouth, 55 km south of Bolzano and 95 km north of Verona.
The city of Trent is located in the center of an urban area lying
latitudinally between Mezzolombardo and Rovereto and extending east
towards the Valsugana, up to the municipality of Pergine.
Trento presents extreme territorial and population diversity. The
municipal population is not concentrated only in the city, but also
in numerous scattered centers or suburbs, quite different from each
other and which still retain their own urban, rural, rural or
mountain identity. The ancient city has 80,000 inhabitants (October
2004). The urban agglomeration with the neighboring municipalities
reaches 150,000 inhabitants. Among the suburbs, the most populous
one is Gardolo (district north of the city, 12 449 inhabitants).
The least populated one is Sardagna (1 106 inhabitants). Most of
them are located on the Adige valley floor or on the hills east of
the city, while the village of Sardagna is located to the west on a
rocky level at 560 meters above sea level and is also connected to
the valley floor by a small cable car; the Bondone villages are
instead located between 490 m s.l.m. of Vigolo Baselga and the 1 650
meters of Vason and are all part of the same municipal district.
The vastness of the municipal area therefore leads to a
population density not characteristic of compact cities with a high
concentration of population (736 inhabitants / km² against, for
example, 2,037 inhabitants / km² of Bolzano).
Trento
maintains a very close link with the mountains; Paganella is to the
north-west, Mount Calisio to the north-east, Marzola to the east,
Vigolana to the south-east and Monte Bondone to the west, also
called the "Alpe di Trento". The latter, which largely falls within
the municipal area, can be reached in a short time from the city
center via the provincial road.
At the Viote del Bondone
basin it is possible to visit the alpine botanical garden and start
the excursion to the Three Peaks of Bondone Integral Nature Reserve
(Cornet, Dos d'Abramo and Cima Verde).
The 15,803 hectares of
which the municipality of Trento is composed are divided as follows
(in order of size):
50.62% of area covered by woods (7 999.21
hectares)
20.09% of agricultural area (3 174.12 hectares)
7.70% residential area (1 216.64 hectares)
3.33% of grazing area
(525.84 hectares)
3.23% of unproductive area; mostly rocky and
mountainous area (510.99 hectares)
3.00% of area covered by roads
(474.33 hectares)
2.63% for other services (416.24 hectares)
2.48% of public green area in residential areas (392.62 hectares)
2.48% of production and industrial area (391.56 hectares)
2.02%
of area covered by rivers, lakes and biotopes (320 hectares)
0.89% of area covered by railway (140.43 hectares)
0.70% of
mining area (111.40 hectares)
0.61% of skiable area (96.37
hectares)
0.12% of parking area (19.42 hectares)
0.09% other
(13.82 hectares).
The city of Trent is crossed by several
rivers: the Adige river, which runs through it from north to south,
and the Fersina stream, which crosses it from east to south-west and
then flows into the Adige, are the largest . Parallel to the Adige,
the canal called "Adigetto" flows. To the south of the city flows
another small permanent stream, coming from the hill of Povo, the
Rio Salè, which flows into the Fersina just before this in turn
flows into the Adige; despite having adequate banks and a large bed
compared to the normal flow rate, it has sometimes flooded the
surrounding area, called "Bolghera" or "Gocciadoro".
On the
right orographic bank, the stream that descends from the clearly
visible Sardagna waterfall joins.
Six weather
stations are located in Trento. According to the Trent
Meteorological Station, which is located in a hilly area at about
240 m asl, the average data of the thirty years 1961-1990 record an
average temperature of the coldest month, January, at +1.6 ° C,
while that of the month hottest, July, is +22.4 ° C.
In the
valley floor, near Gardolo, where the city is located, due to the
thermal inversion, however, the minimum values are significantly
lower than those measured by the hill station (and shown in the
following table). The minimum January averages for the city of Trent
are -3.6 ° C with a monthly average of 0.5 ° C. The monthly average
for July, the hottest month, is +21.9 ° C.
Average annual
rainfall exceeds 900 mm, distributed on average over 88 days, with a
peak in late spring and summer and a relative minimum in winter.
The snow average is about 55 cm; Trent was the capital city of
the province most affected by the Snowfall of the 1985 century with
145 cm of snow, another very snowy winter was 1978 with 211 cm
seasonal, a remarkable value considering that the city is only about
200 m a.s.l.