Sondrio
Encyclopedia
Sondrio is an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 town and comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

located in the heart of the Valtellina
Valtellina
Valtellina or the Valtelline valley ; is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its skiing, its hot spring spas, its cheeses and its wines...

. Sondrio counts approximately 22,000 inhabitants and it is the administrative centre for the Lombard
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

 Province of Sondrio
Province of Sondrio
The Province of Sondrio is in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the town of Sondrio.It has an area of 3,212 km², and a total population of 176,856...

.

History

The area of Sondrio was populated in ancient times by the Ligures
Ligures
The Ligures were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, a region of north-western Italy.-Classical sources:...

 and, from the 5th century BC, by the Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....

s.
Formerly an Ancient Roman military camp, today's Sondrio was founded by the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...

: in their language Sundrium meant "Exclusive property", referring to the status of free men (arimanni) of the holders of the city and the surrounding land.

After the fall of the Lombard Kingdom in Italy, Sondrio became part of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

. The Capitanei of Vizzola, who controlled much of the Valtellina, had it in 1040 from the emperor Henry II
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...

. From 1310 to 1335 the city was involved in the war between the Guelph and Ghibelline factions of the nearby Como
Como
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....

, and its war against Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

. After having resisted several attacks by the Comaschi, in 1335 Sondrio and Valtellina became part of the Visconti
House of Visconti
Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...

 Milanese dominions.

From the second half of the 16th Century to the 18th Century, Sondrio was governed by the Tre Leghe Grigie ("Three Grey Leagues") of the Grisons, as the capital city of Valtellina
Valtellina
Valtellina or the Valtelline valley ; is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its skiing, its hot spring spas, its cheeses and its wines...

. After the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

, Sondrio was the centre of heavy struggles between the Catholic Valtellinesi and the Protestant Grisons. In 1620 the citizens, led by Giacomo Robustelli, killed 180 Protestants and declared the independence of the Valtellina.

After the Napoleonic
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

 parenthesis, in which it was annexed to 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...

, Sondrio fought gallantly with the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia for its independence.

Bounding communes

  • Albosaggia
    Albosaggia
    Albosaggia is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 90 km northeast of Milan and about 2 km southwest of Sondrio...

  • Caiolo
    Caiolo
    Caiolo is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 90 km northeast of Milan and about 5 km southwest of Sondrio...

  • Castione Andevenno
    Castione Andevenno
    Castione Andevenno is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 90 km northeast of Milan and about 5 km west of Sondrio...

  • Faedo Valtellino
    Faedo Valtellino
    Faedo Valtellino is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 90 km northeast of Milan and about 3 km southeast of Sondrio...

  • Montagna in Valtellina
    Montagna in Valtellina
    Montagna in Valtellina is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 100 km northeast of Milan and about 3 km northeast of Sondrio...

  • Spriana
    Spriana
    Spriana is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 100 km northeast of Milan and about 6 km north of Sondrio. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 101 and an area of 8.2 km²....

  • Torre di Santa Maria
    Torre di Santa Maria
    Torre di Santa Maria is a comune in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 100 km northeast of Milan and about 8 km north of Sondrio...


Economy

The territory of Sondrio is famous for its vineyards, the most famous quality of wines being the Sassella and Grumello. Wine represents one of the main resources of this region, together with tourism, especially in winter.

Another important piece of Sondrio's economy is its banking industry, with the Banca Popolare di Sondrio and the Credito Valtellinese  both headquartered in Sondrio and listed on the Milan Stock Exchange
Borsa Italiana
The Borsa Italiana S.p.A., based in Milan, is Italy's main stock exchange. It was privatised in 1997 and is a part of the London Stock Exchange Group plc since 2007. In 2005, the companies listed on the Borsa were worth US$890 billion...

.

Main sights

The heart of Sondrio is its central Garibaldi Square. Not far from it is the Palazzo Sassi, that is home of the Art and History Museum of Valtellina. In a dominant position, near the ancient road to the Valmalenco, linking the town to Switzerland, there is the Masegra Castle, where it is the Historical Museum of the Grisons Domination.

Sister cities

Sindelfingen
Sindelfingen
Sindelfingen is a German town near Stuttgart at the headwaters of the Schwippe that is the site of a Mercedes-Benz assembly plant.-History:* 1155 First documented mention of Sindelfingen...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Radovljca, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

 São Mateus
São Mateus
The name São Mateus is Portuguese for Saint Matthew, and may refer to one of the following:=*São Mateus , a municipality and a city in the state of Espírito Santo...

, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...


External links

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