Bolzano

"Bozen" redirects here. For other uses, see Bozen (disambiguation).

For the mathematician, see Bernard Bolzano. For other uses, see Bolzano (disambiguation). For the province, see South Tyrol.

Bolzano
—  Comune  —
Città di Bolzano Stadt(gemeinde) Bozen
Panorama of Bolzano
Coat of arms
Bolzano Location of Bolzano in Italy
Coordinates: 46°30′N 11°21′E
Country	Italy
Region	Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Province	South Tyrol (BZ)
Government
• Mayor	Luigi Spagnolli (PD) (Democratic Party)
Area
• Total	52.34 km2 (20.21 sq mi)
Elevation	262 m (860 ft)
Population (Dez. 2010)
• Total	104,011
• Density	Bad rounding here2,000/km2 (Bad rounding here5,100/sq mi)
Demonym	Italian: bolzanini German: Bozner
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	39100
Dialing code	0471
Website	Official website

Bolzano  listen  (German: Bozen; Ladin: Balsan or Bulsan; Latin: Bauzanum) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. It is one of only five mainly Italian speaking municipalities in South Tyrol.

Bolzano is the seat of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, where lectures and seminars are held in English, German and Italian. The city is also home to the Italian Army's Alpini High Command (COMALP) and some of its combat and support units.

In a 2010 quality-of-life survey by the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, Bolzano was ranked number one on a list of 107 Italian cities. In the 2011 edition of the survey, Bolzano was ranked number two, after top-ranked Bologna.

History

Bolzano in 1898.

It was inhabited by the Raetian Isarci people and the Romans built a settlement there after the area was conquered in 15 BC by general Nero Claudius Drusus, after whom the settlement Pons Drusi ("Drusus Bridge") was named. The nearby village was called Bauzanum. With the end of the Roman empire a Bavarian immigration began and the first mention of a Bavarian count as ruler of Bolzano dates from 679. The area has been settled by German populations since then. Bolzano became an important trading point after its elevation to a town on 24 June 1190 by bishop Konrad of Trent owing to its location between the two major cities of Venice and Augsburg. Four times a year a market was held and traders came from the south and the north. The mercantile magistrate was therefore founded in 1635. Every market season two Italic and two Germanic officers (appointed from the traders who operated there) worked in this office. The city was a cultural crosspoint at that time and still is to this day.

Before World War I Bolzano was part of the Austro-Hungarian county of Tyrol. It was annexed by Italy at the end of World War I and on 1 January 1927 became a provincial capital. At the time of its annexation Bolzano was primarily a German-speaking city, with a pre-war population of 30,000 people. In the 1920s, along with the rest of the province, the city was subjected to an intensive Italianization programme under orders from Benito Mussolini. The aim was to outnumber the local German-speaking population by tripling the population with Italian-speaking immigrants drawn from the old provinces.

During World War II Bolzano was the site of the Nazi Bolzano Transit Camp, a concentration camp for Jews and political prisoners.

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2011 census 73.80% of the city's inhabitants speak Italian, 25.52% German and 0.68% Ladin as their first language.

Economy

The city thrives on a mix of old and new high-quality intensive agriculture (including wine, fruit and dairy products), tourism, traditional handicraft (wood, ceramics) and advanced services. Heavy industry (machinery, automotive, steel) installed during the 1930s has now been mostly dismantled. On the downside, the local economy is very dependent on the public sector and especially the provincial government.

Bolzano is the biggest city in South Tyrol, which is an autonomous province in Northern Italy with a special statute. This statute preserves the rights of the German-speaking minority in Italy. This unique system has been admired by the Dalai Lama, who visited the city on several occasions to study a possible application in Chinese-occupied Tibet. It has also been presented as role model for the successful and fair resolution of inter-ethnic conflict to other regions of the world.

Climate

Being located at multiple climate borders, Bolzano features a humid subtropical climate (Cfa/Cwa) with hot summers (just sufficient to be called 'subtropical') and relatively cool winters. Some of its suburbs feature an oceanic climate (Cfb) due to some cooler summer temperatures, while mountains in the area may feature a continental climate (Dfb).

Climate data for Bolzano
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	5.9 (42.6)	9.3 (48.7)	14.6 (58.3)	18.8 (65.8)	23.2 (73.8)	26.8 (80.2)	29.2 (84.6)	28.3 (82.9)	24.8 (76.6)	18.7 (65.7)	11.0 (51.8)	6.5 (43.7)	18.09 (64.56)
Daily mean °C (°F)	0.3 (32.5)	3.5 (38.3)	8.1 (46.6)	12.1 (53.8)	16.2 (61.2)	19.8 (67.6)	22.0 (71.6)	21.4 (70.5)	18.0 (64.4)	12.1 (53.8)	5.4 (41.7)	1.1 (34)	11.67 (53)
Average low °C (°F)	−5.4 (22.3)	−2.4 (27.7)	1.5 (34.7)	5.3 (41.5)	9.2 (48.6)	12.7 (54.9)	14.8 (58.6)	14.5 (58.1)	11.2 (52.2)	5.5 (41.9)	−0.3 (31.5)	−4.4 (24.1)	5.18 (41.34)
Precipitation mm (inches)	25.6 (1.008)	26.4 (1.039)	44.6 (1.756)	52.6 (2.071)	82.2 (3.236)	80.6 (3.173)	92.5 (3.642)	92.0 (3.622)	67.3 (2.65)	56.5 (2.224)	54.7 (2.154)	26.6 (1.047)	701.6 (27.622)
Avg. rainy days	4.1	4.1	5.5	7.1	9.5	8.6	9.2	8.6	6.4	5.4	5.9	3.9	78.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours	102.3	120.4	148.8	159.0	176.7	201.0	232.5	213.9	180.0	151.9	102.0	96.1	1,884.6
Source: Hong Kong Observatory

Main sights

Bolzano Cathedral.

Its mediaeval city centre, Gothic and Romanesque churches and bilingual signage give it the flavour of a city at the crossroads of Italian and Austrian cultures. This and its natural and cultural attractions make it a popular tourist destination.

Among the major monuments and sights are:

• Walther Square, with a statue of Walther von der Vogelweide, a German minstrel (minnesinger)
• the Lauben, a mile-long street in the city centre with mediaeval arcades along its entire course, now housing countless high-street shops
• the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, which has the mummy of Ötzi the Iceman
• the Gothic Cathedral, started in 1184, expanded in the 14th century by architects Martin and Peter Schiche (completed in 1382)
• the old parish church of Gries, with an altarpiece by Michael Pacher
• the benedictine monastery of Muri-Gries, with baroque paintings by Martin Knoller
• The Chiesa dei Domenicani/Dominikanerkirche (13th century), with a series of 14th century Gothic paintings
• various castles, including Castle Maretsch, Runkelstein Castle and Firmian/Sigmundskron Castle
• Victory Monument, a triumphal arch built on the order of Benito Mussolini in 1928
• Messner Mountain Museum of Reinhold Messner

For more historical and geographical information see South Tyrol.

City districts and neighbouring communities

Location of Bolzano.

Aerial view of Bolzano.

City districts:

• Centro-Piani-Rencio (German: Zentrum-Bozner Boden-Rentsch)
• Don Bosco
• Europa-Novacella (German: Europa-Neustift)
• Gries-San Quirino (German: Gries-Quirein)
• Oltrisarco-Aslago (German: Oberau-Haslach)

Neighbouring communities are: Eppan, Karneid, Laives, Deutschnofen, Ritten, Jenesien, Terlan and Vadena.

Transport

Bolzano is connected to the motorway network A22-E45 to Trento and Verona and to Innsbruck (Austria) and Munich (Germany).

The city is also connected to the Italian railway system. Bolzano railway station, opened in 1859, forms part of the Brenner railway (Verona–Innsbruck), which is part of the main railway route between Italy and Germany. The station is also a junction of two branch lines, to Merano and Mals.

There is a 50-kilometer network of cycle paths and about 30% of journeys in Bolzano are made by bicycle.

Various airlines fly from Bolzano Airport (IATA: BZO) to Rome, Vienna, Milan and other destinations.

Sport

The town is host to an annual road running competition – the BOclassic – which features an elite men's 10K and women's 5K races. The event, first held in 1975, takes place on New Year's Eve and is broadcast live on television by Rai Sport Più.

Bolzano is also the host city to the Giro delle Dolomiti annual road bike event.

Local teams

Football

• F.C. Südtirol plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione
• F.C. Bolzano 1996 played 2011/12 in Eccellenza
• F.C. Neugries played 2011/12 in Promozione
• Bozner F.C. played 2011/12 in Promozione
• Virtus Don Bosco played 2011/12 in Promozione

Handball

• Loacker Bozen Handball Handball A-Elite Liga

Ice hockey

• HC Bolzano Bozen Foxes plays in Serie A1
• EV Bozen 96 plays in Serie A2

Rugby

• Sudtirolo Rugby Cavaliers The Cavaliers play in the Italian Serie C

American Football

• Giants Bolzano The Giants plays in IFL (Italian Football League), the first league of the FIDAF

Softball and Baseball

• Softball Club Dolomiti
• Pool 77
• Adler

Fistball

• SSV Bozen plays in the FBL (Austrian Fistball League), the first Austrian league.

Twin cities

• Sopron, Hungary

See also

• Italianization of South Tyrol
• Radio Tandem

External links

Media related to Bolzano at Wikimedia Commons

• Bolzano City Hall Official website (in Italian and German)
• Bolzano Tourist Board Official website
• Bolzano travel guide from Wikivoyage