Department of Alto Adige
Encyclopedia
The Department of Alto Adige was a northern department of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy
. The name previously had been used for a district
of the Cisalpine Republic
. Its name, in typical Napoleonic fashion of naming departments after geographic features, derived from the river Adige
(Etsch) which flowed through it.
Neither the Cisalpine district nor the department of the Kingdom of Italy correspond precisely to the modern Italian province of South Tyrol
(also known as Alto Adige
), although there is some geographical overlap.
, and included the municipality of Zevio
, which is now in the Province of Verona
. The department of Benaco, which was created in 1797, was disbanded in 1798 after a structural reorganization of the republic.
and the Bishopric of Trent
. Whereas the Cisalpine district was located to the south of the County of Tyrol
, the new department comprised the southern part of Tyrol downstream of Barbian
(south of Klausen) and Gargazon
/Lana and Trentino, southern Tyrol and its surroundings including the South Tyrolean Unterland
and the Fascia Valley
.
The remaining northern part of the ancient county of Tyrol was divided between the Kingdom of Bavaria as part of the Confederation of the Rhine
, in addition to Innsbruck and the Inn valley including Meran, Sterzing, Brixen, Klausen, Bruneck, the northern Eisack, Vinschgau and Puster valleys up to Welsberg-Taisten. The Illyrian provinces
were extended to Lienz
and East Tyrol, the eastern part of the Pustertal and the Piave department (which included Livinallongo del Col di Lana and Ampezzo).
Its capital was Trent
and the administrative language Italian, but the German-speaking areas temporarily adopted bilingualism in the public notices and used German in city government. The department was known in German as "Ober-Etsch".
The department was disbanded after the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. Its territory is presently divided over the Italian autonomous provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol
.
, its geographic definition yet again shifting to the north, by the Fascist
Ettore Tolomei
in his Italianization
campaign. He purposely left out the Trentino and only applied the term to South Tyrol. When southern Tyrol was annexed after the end of World War I from Austria to Italy in 1919, the term "Alto Adige" was applied instead of the proposed "Italian Tyrol" (Tirolo Italiano) or "Tridentine Tyrol" (Tirolo trentino), and made official by the fascist regime in 1923.
Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...
. The name previously had been used for a district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
of the Cisalpine Republic
Cisalpine Republic
The Cisalpine Republic was a French client republic in Northern Italy that lasted from 1797 to 1802.-Birth:After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte proceeded to organize two states: one to the south of the Po River, the Cispadane Republic, and one to the north, the Transpadane...
. Its name, in typical Napoleonic fashion of naming departments after geographic features, derived from the river Adige
Adige
The Adige is a river with its source in the Alpine province of South Tyrol near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland. At in length, it is the second longest river in Italy, after the River Po with ....
(Etsch) which flowed through it.
Neither the Cisalpine district nor the department of the Kingdom of Italy correspond precisely to the modern Italian province of South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
(also known as Alto Adige
Alto Adige
Alto Adige is another name in Italian for the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. Named after the province are:* Alto Adige * F.C. Südtirol-Alto Adige, association football club* Democratic Union of Alto Adige, former political party...
), although there is some geographical overlap.
Cisalpine Republic
The district of Alto Adige was created as a part of the short-lived Department of Benaco in the Cisalpine RepublicCisalpine Republic
The Cisalpine Republic was a French client republic in Northern Italy that lasted from 1797 to 1802.-Birth:After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte proceeded to organize two states: one to the south of the Po River, the Cispadane Republic, and one to the north, the Transpadane...
, and included the municipality of Zevio
Zevio
Zevio is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 90 km west of Venice and about 14 km southeast of Verona...
, which is now in the Province of Verona
Province of Verona
The Province of Verona is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Verona.-Overview:The province has an area of 3,109 km², and a total population of 912,981...
. The department of Benaco, which was created in 1797, was disbanded in 1798 after a structural reorganization of the republic.
Kingdom of Italy
The department of Alto Adige was created after the partition of the County of Tyrol between Bavaria and the Kingdom of Italy on 9 June 1810 by Napoleon Bonaparte. At this point the county already included the Bishopric of BrixenBishopric of Brixen
The Bishopric of Brixen is a former Roman Catholic diocese and also a former ecclesiastical state of the Holy Roman Empire in the present province of South Tyrol. The bishopric in the Eisack/Isarco valley was established in the 6th century and gradually received more secular powers...
and the Bishopric of Trent
Bishopric of Trent
The Bishopric of Trent is a former ecclesiastical territory roughly corresponding to the present-day Northern Italian autonomous province of Trentino. It was created in 1027 and existed until 1802, when it was secularised and absorbed into the County of Tyrol held by the House of Habsburg...
. Whereas the Cisalpine district was located to the south of the County of Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
, the new department comprised the southern part of Tyrol downstream of Barbian
Barbian
Barbian is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 70 km northeast of Trento and about 15 km northeast of Bolzano...
(south of Klausen) and Gargazon
Gargazon
Gargazon is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 60 km north of Trento and about 15 km northwest of Bolzano .-Geography:...
/Lana and Trentino, southern Tyrol and its surroundings including the South Tyrolean Unterland
South Tyrolean Unterland
The South Tyrolean Unterland or Bozen Unterland is a section of the Etschtal between Bolzano , Salorno and Tramin. It is known internationally for its wine and the South Tyrolean Wine Road runs through the valley...
and the Fascia Valley
Fascia Valley
The Fascia Valley is a valley in the Dolomites in Trentino, northern Italy. As an administrative valley community of Trentino it is called Region Comun General de Fascia.The valley is the home of the Ladin community in Trentino, which make up the majority of the population...
.
The remaining northern part of the ancient county of Tyrol was divided between the Kingdom of Bavaria as part of the Confederation of the Rhine
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the...
, in addition to Innsbruck and the Inn valley including Meran, Sterzing, Brixen, Klausen, Bruneck, the northern Eisack, Vinschgau and Puster valleys up to Welsberg-Taisten. The Illyrian provinces
Illyrian provinces
The Illyrian Provinces was an autonomous province of the Napoleonic French Empire on the north and east coasts of the Adriatic Sea between 1809 and 1816. Its capital was established at Laybach...
were extended to Lienz
Lienz
Lienz is a medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality also includes the cadastral subdivision of Patriasdorf.-Geography:...
and East Tyrol, the eastern part of the Pustertal and the Piave department (which included Livinallongo del Col di Lana and Ampezzo).
Its capital was Trent
Trent
-Places:* Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent* Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom* Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen* Trent, California, USA* Trent, Kentucky, USA* Trent, South Dakota, USA* Trent, Texas, USA...
and the administrative language Italian, but the German-speaking areas temporarily adopted bilingualism in the public notices and used German in city government. The department was known in German as "Ober-Etsch".
The department was disbanded after the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. Its territory is presently divided over the Italian autonomous provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
.
Reuse of name
The name "Alto Adige" had no historical antecedent nor the region it denoted, but merely described the geographic area of the upper reaches of the Adige river. This was something that was commonly done during the Napoleonic period when naming departments, ignoring any historical names or connotations. The name was dropped after the end of the Napoleonic period. The term "Alto Adige" was later used as the Italian name of the province of South TyrolSouth Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
, its geographic definition yet again shifting to the north, by the Fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
Ettore Tolomei
Ettore Tolomei
Ettore Tolomei was an Italian nationalist and fascist. He was designated a Member of the Italian Senate in 1923, and ennobled in 1937.- Pre-World War I activism :...
in his Italianization
Italianization
Italianization or Italianisation is a term used to describe a process of cultural assimilation in which ethnically non or partially Italian people or territory become Italian. The process can be voluntary or forced...
campaign. He purposely left out the Trentino and only applied the term to South Tyrol. When southern Tyrol was annexed after the end of World War I from Austria to Italy in 1919, the term "Alto Adige" was applied instead of the proposed "Italian Tyrol" (Tirolo Italiano) or "Tridentine Tyrol" (Tirolo trentino), and made official by the fascist regime in 1923.
Further reading
- Reinhard Stauber, Der Zentralstaat an seinen Grenzen. Administrative Integration, Herrschaftswechsel und politische Kultur im südlichen Alpenraum 1750-1820 (Schriftenreihe der Historischen Kommission der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 64), Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2001. ISBN 978-3-525-36057-6