Trento

Sister cities

• Resistencia
• Chieti
• San Sebastián
• Kempten
• Vladimir
• Prague
• Huatusco Municipality
• Prague 1
• Znojmo
• Sławno
• Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf

History

The origins of Trento are uncertain. It lies on the river-route to Bolzano and the low Alpine passes of Brenner and the Reschen Pass through the Alps. Some scholars maintain it was a Rhaetian settlement: the Adige area was however influenced by neighbouring populations, including the (Adriatic) Veneti, the Etruscans and the Gauls (a Celtic population). According to other theories, the latter instead founded the city during the 4th century BC. Trento was conquered by the Romans in the 1st century BC, after several clashes with the Rhaetian tribes. Julius Caesar re-founded it as a Roman municipality when Rome extended citizenship to the part of Cisalpine Gaul north of the River Po. The Latin name given to the settlement was Tridentum, meaning "Three-tooth place" or "Trident-town" ( "three" + "tooth"). The reason for the name is uncertain: the new town may have been consecrated to the god Neptune, or possibly named after the three hills that surround the city (known in Italian as Doss Trento, Doss di Sant'Agata and Doss di San Rocco). The Latin name is the source of the adjective "tridentine". On the old city hall, a Latin inscription is still visible: "Montes argentum mihi dant nomenque Tridentum" ("Mountains give me silver and the name of Trento"), attributed to Fra' Bartolomeo da Trento (died in 1251). Tridentum became an important stop on the Roman road that led from Verona to Innsbruck. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the independent bishopric of Trento was conquered by Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Lombards and Franks, finally becoming part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1027, Emperor Conrad II created the Prince-Bishops of Trento, who wielded both temporal and religious powers. In the following centuries, however, the sovereignty was divided between the…

Geography

The township of Trento encompasses the city centre as well as many suburbs of extremely varied geographical and population conditions (from the industrial suburb of Gardolo, just north of the city, to tiny mountain hamlets on Monte Bondone). Various distinctive suburbs still retain their traditional identity of rural or mountain villages. Trento lies in a wide glacial valley known as the Adige valley, just south of the Dolomite Mountains, where the Fersina River and Avisio rivers join the Adige River (the second longest river in Italy). River Adige is one of the three primary south-flowing Alpine rivers; its broadly curving course alongside Trento was straightened in 1850. The valley is surrounded by mountains, including Vigolana (), Monte Bondone (), Paganella (), Marzola () and Monte Calisio (). Nearby lakes include Lake Caldonazzo, Lake Levico, Lake Garda and Lake Toblino. Frazioni, or subdivisions of Trento: * Povo * Villazzano * Gardolo * Roncafort * Mattarello * Martignano * Cognola * Ravina * Romagnano * Montevaccino * Vela * Meano * Sardagna * * Vigo Meano * Cortesano * Gazzadina * Candriai * Vaneze * Cadine * Vigolo Baselga The municipality of Trento stretches across a wide range of altitude levels, going from just under 200 m above sea level at the city centre, to 400 m in Povo and Cognola, to 2000 m above sea level at Monte Bondone, boroughs at higher elevation, for instance Viote, have a colder alpine climate (Dw). Urban Trento has a humid subtropical-continental climate (Cfa-Dfa) according to the Köppen climate classification. Monthly average temperatures range between 1.6 °C (January) and 23.4 °C (July). Average annual precipitation exceeds 900 mm spread out on an average of 87 days, with peaks in late spring (May–June, 90 mm…