The Torre Velasca (Velasca Tower, in English) is a skyscraper built in the 1950s by the BBPR architectural partnership, in Milan, Italy. The tower is part of the first generation of Italian modern architecture, while still being part of the Milanese context in which it was born, to which also belongs the Milan Cathedral and the Sforza Castle.

 

The tower, 98 metres (322 ft) tall antenna spire 23 m the heightroof is 75 metres, has a peculiar and characteristic mushroom-like shape. It stands out in the city skyline, made of domes, buildings and other towers. Its structure recalls the Lombard tradition, made of medieval fortresses and towers, each having a massive profile. In such fortresses, the lower parts were always narrower, while the higher parts propped up by wood or stone beams. As a consequence, the shape of this building is the result of a modern interpretation of the typical Italian medieval castle. At the same time, BBPR in this building satisfied the functional needs of space: narrower surfaces on the ground, wider and more spacious ones on the top floors. The town planning laws, then, imposed specific volumes (depending on the buildings' purpose); in this tower, the latter being the mixed functions of residential and commercial use.

 

The tower is located in the city centre of Milan, Italy, near the Duomo (Milan Cathedral) and the headquarters of the University of Milan, between the streets "corso di Porta Romana" and "via Larga". One of the exits of the Missori metro station is located right in front of it.

 

In 2011, the tower was placed under protection as a historic building.

 

Milan is a city in Northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has 3.22 million residents The urban area of Milan is the fourth largest in the EU with 5.27 million inhabitants. According to national sources, the population within the wider Milan metropolitan area (also known as Greater Milan), is estimated between 4.9 million and 7.4 million making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and one of the largest in the EU. Milan is the economic capital of Italy and is a global financial centre. Milan is, together with London, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Paris, one of the six European economic capitals.

 

Milan is a leading alpha global city, with strengths in the fields of art, chemicals, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media (communication), services, research and tourism. Its business district hosts Italy's stock exchange (Italian: Borsa Italiana), and the headquarters of national and international banks and companies. In terms of GDP, Milan is the wealthiest city in Italy, has the third-largest economy among EU cities after Paris and Madrid, and is the wealthiest among EU non-capital cities. Milan is viewed along with Turin as the southernmost part of the Blue Banana urban development corridor (also known as the "European Megalopolis"), and one of the Four Motors for Europe. Milan is one of the international tourism destinations, appearing among the forty most visited cities in the world, ranking second in Italy after Rome, fifth in Europe and sixteenth in the world. Milan is a major cultural centre, with museums and art galleries that include some of the most important collections in the world, such as major works by Leonardo da Vinci. It also hosts numerous educational institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total of enrolled students.

 

Founded around 590 BC under the name Medhelanon by a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture, it was conquered by the ancient Romans in 222 BC, who latinized the name of the city into Mediolanum. The city's role as a major political centre dates back to the late antiquity, when it served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire. From the 12th century until the 16th century, Milan was one of the largest European cities and a major trade and commercial centre; consequently, it became the capital of the Duchy of Milan, one of the greatest political, artistic and fashion forces in the Renaissance. Having become one of the main centres of the Italian Enlightenment during the early modern period, the city subsequently became the industrial and financial capital of modern Italy. Capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, after the Restoration it was among the most active centres of the Risorgimento, until its entry into the unified Kingdom of Italy.

 

Milan has been recognized as one of the world's four fashion capitals. Many of the most famous luxury fashion brands in the world have their headquarters in the city, including: Armani, Prada, Versace, Moschino, Valentino and Zegna. It also hosts several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair, which are among the world's biggest in terms of revenue, visitors and growth. The city is served by many luxury hotels and is the fifth-most starred in the world by Michelin Guide. It hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. In the field of sports, Milan is home to two of Europe's most successful football teams, AC Milan and Inter Milan, and one of Europe's main basketball teams, Olimpia Milano. Milan will host the Winter Olympic and Paralympic games for the first time in 2026, together with Cortina d'Ampezzo.

 

Milan, Italy is an ancient city in northern Italy first settled under the name Medhelanon in about 590 BC by a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture.[1][2] The settlement was conquered by the Romans in 222 BC and renamed it Mediolanum. Diocletian divided the Roman Empire, choosing the eastern half for himself, making Milan the seat of the western half of the empire, from which Maximian ruled, in the late 3rd and early 4th century AD. In 313 AD Emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, which officially ended the persecution of Christians. In 774 AD, Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks.

 

During the Middle Ages, the city's history was the story of the struggle between two political factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Finally the Visconti family took power (signoria) in Milan. In 1395 Emperor Wenceslas made Milan a duchy, thus raising the dignity of the city's citizens. In the mid-15th century the Ambrosian Republic was established, taking its name from St. Ambrose, a beloved patron saint of the city. The two rival factions worked together to create the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. However, the republic fell apart in 1450 when Milan was conquered by Francesco Sforza of the House of Sforza, which ushered Milan into becoming one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

 

From the late 15th century until the mid 16th century, Milan was involved in The Italian Wars, a series of conflicts, along with most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice and later most of Western Europe. In 1629 The Great Plague of Milan killed about 60,000 people out of a total population of about 130,000, by 1631 when the plague subsided. This event is considered one of the last great outbreaks of what was a pandemic that ravaged Europe for several centuries, beginning with the Black Death. In 1713-1714 treaties gave sovereignty to Austria over most of Spain's Italian possessions, including Lombardy and its capital, Milan. Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and later declared Milan the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. After Napoleon's occupation ended the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy and Milan to Austrian control in 1815. This is the period when Milan became a center for lyric opera.

 

The Milanese staged a rebellion against Austrian rule on March 18, 1848. The Kingdom of Sardinia joined the rebels, and a vote was held in Lombardy which voted to unify with Sardinia. The Austrians defeated the Sardinians on 24 July and reasserted their domination over Milan and northern Italy. Just a few years later another insurgency by Italian nationalists succeeded in ousting the Austrians with the help of Sardinia and France in 1859. Following the Battle of Solferino Milan and the rest of Lombardy joined the Kingdom of Sardinia, which soon achieved control of most of Italy. In 1861 the re-unified city-states and kingdoms became the Kingdom of Italy once again.

 

With the unification of the country, Milan became the dominant commercial center of northern Italy. In 1919 Benito Mussolini rallied the Blackshirts for the first time in Milan, and later they began their March on Rome from Milan. During World War II Milan was extensively damaged by Allied bombings. Upon the surrender of Italy in 1943 German forces occupied northern Italy until the end of the war in 1945. Members of the Italian resistance in Milan took control of the city and executed Mussolini, his mistress, and other leaders of his Fascist government by hanging in Piazzale Loreto, Milan.

 

Since the end of World War II, Italy experienced an economic boom. From 1951 until 1967 the population of Milan grew from 1.3 million to 1.7 million. The city was reconstructed, but in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the city suffered from a huge wave of street violence, labor strikes and political terrorism during so called Years of Lead. During the 1980s, Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The rise of financial services and the service economy during the late 20th century further strengthened Milan’s position as the Italian economic capital. The city’s renewal in the 21st century was marked, among others, by hosting of the World Expo 2015 or big redevelopment projects such as Puorta Nuova or CityLife.

 

Antiquity

Around 590 BC, a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture settled the city under the name Medhelanon. According to Titus Livy's comments, the city was founded around 600 B.C. by Belloveso, chief of the Insubres. Legend has it that Belloveso found a mythological animal known as the scrofa semilanuta (in Italian: "half-woollen boar") which became the ancient emblem of the city of Milan (from semi-lanuta or medio-lanum). Several ancient sources (including Sidonius Apollinaris, Datius, and, more recently, Andrea Alciato) have argued that the scrofa semilanuta is connected to the etymology of the ancient name of Milan, "Mediolanum", and this is still occasionally mentioned in modern sources, although this interpretation has long been dismissed by scholars. Nonetheless, wool production became a key industry in this area, as recorded during the early Middle Ages (see below).

 

Milan was conquered by the Romans in 222 B.C. due to its strategic position on the northern borders of the Empire and was renamed Mediolanum. When Diocletian decided to divide the Empire in half choosing the Eastern half for himself, Milan became the residence of Maximian, ruler of the Western Roman Empire. The construction of the second city walls, roughly four and a half kilometers long and unfurling at today's Foro Bonaparte, date back to his reign. After the abdication of Maximian (in 305 A.D.) on the same day on which Diocletian also abdicated, there were a series of wars of succession, during which there was a succession of three emperors in just a few short years: first Severus, who prepared the expedition against Maxentius, then Maxentius himself in a war against Constantine, and finally Constantine himself, victor of the war against Maxentius. In 313 A.D. the Emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan (Edict of Constantine), ending the persecutions against Christians.

 

The beginning of the 5th century was the start of a tortuous period of barbarian invasions for Milan. After the city was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence was moved to Ravenna. An age of decadence began which worsened when Attila, King of the Huns, sacked and devastated the city in 452 A.D.

 

Middle Ages

In 539, the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569, a Germanic tribe, the Lombards (from which the name of the Italian region Lombardy derives), conquered Milan, overpowering the small Byzantine army left for its defense. Some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule, but the city was eclipsed by the nearby Lombard capital of Pavia during the next two centuries.

 

Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks in 774. The aristocracy and majority of the clergy had taken refuge in Genoa. In 774, when Charlemagne took the title of "King of the Lombards", he established his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. Before then the Germanic kingdoms had frequently conquered each other, but none had adopted the title of King of another people. The Iron Crown of Lombardy (i.e. referring to Charlemagne's kingdom and not to the Italian region), which was worn by Charlemagne, dates from this period. Milan's domination under the Franks led by Charlemagne did nothing to improve the city's fortune, and the city's impoverishment increased and Milan became a county seat.

 

The 11th century saw a reaction against the control of the Holy Roman Emperors. The city-state was born, an expression of the new political power of the city and its will to fight against feudal overlords. Milan was no exception. It did not take long, however, for the city states to begin fighting each other to try to limit neighbouring powers. The Milanese destroyed Lodi and continuously warred with Pavia, Cremona and Como, who in turn asked Frederick I Barbarossa for help. In a sally, they captured Empress Beatrice and forced her to ride a donkey backwards out through the city. These acts brought the destruction of much of Milan in 1162. A fire destroyed the storehouses containing the entire food supply: and within just a few days Milan was forced to surrender.

 

A period of peace followed and Milan prospered as a centre of trade due to its position. As a result of the independence that the Lombard cities gained in the Peace of Constance in 1183, Milan returned to the commune form of local government first established in the 11th century. In 1208 Rambertino Buvalelli served a term as podestà of the city, in 1242 Luca Grimaldi, and in 1282 Luchetto Gattilusio. The position was a dangerous one: in 1252 Milanese heretics assassinated the Church's Inquisitor, later known as Saint Peter Martyr, at a ford in the nearby contado; the killers bribed their way to freedom, and in the ensuing riot the podestà was almost lynched. In 1256 the archbishop and leading nobles were expelled from the city. In 1259 Martino della Torre was elected Capitano del Popolo by members of the guilds; he took the city by force, expelled his enemies, and ruled by dictatorial powers, paving streets, digging canals, and taxing the countryside. He also brought the Milanese treasury to collapse; the use of often reckless mercenary units further angered the population, granting an increasing support for the della Torre's traditional enemies, the Visconti. The most important industries in this period were armaments and wool production, a whole catalogue of activities and trades is given in Bonvesin della Riva's "de Magnalibus Urbis Mediolani".

 

On 22 July 1262, Ottone Visconti was made archbishop of Milan by Pope Urban IV, against the candidacy of Raimondo della Torre, Bishop of Como. The latter started to publicise allegations that the Visconti had ties to the heretic Cathars and charged them with high treason: the Visconti, who accused the della Torre of the same crimes, were then banned from Milan and their properties confiscated. The ensuing civil war caused more damage to Milan's population and economy, lasting for more than a decade. Ottone Visconti unsuccessfully led a group of exiles against the city in 1263, but after years of escalating violence on all sides, in the Battle of Desio (1277) he won the city for his family. The Visconti succeeded in ousting the della Torre permanently, and proceeded to rule Milan and its possessions until the 15th century.

 

Much of the prior history of Milan was the tale of the struggle between two political factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Most of the time the Guelphs were successful in the city of Milan. Eventually, however, the Visconti family were able to seize power (signoria) in Milan, based on their "Ghibelline" friendship with the Holy Roman Emperors. In 1395, one of these emperors, Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (1378–1400), raised Milan to the dignity of a duchy. Also in 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti became Duke of Milan. The Ghibelline Visconti family was to retain power in Milan for a century and a half from the early 14th century until the middle of the 15th century.

 

In 1447 Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, died without a male heir; following the end of the Visconti line, the Ambrosian Republic was enacted. The Ambrosian Republic took its name from St. Ambrose, popular patron saint of the city of Milan. Both the Guelph and the Ghibelline factions worked together to bring about the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. Nonetheless, the Republic collapsed when, in 1450, Milan was conquered by Francesco Sforza, of the House of Sforza, who made Milan one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

 

Early modern

The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, and later most of the major states of Western Europe. Milan's last independent ruler, Lodovico Sforza, called French king Charles VIII into Italy in the expectation that France might be an ally in inter-Italian wars. The future King of France, Louis of Orléans, took part in the expedition and realised Italy was virtually defenceless. This prompted him to return a few years later in 1500, and claim the Duchy of Milan for himself, his grandmother having been a member of the ruling Visconti family. At that time, Milan was also defended by Swiss mercenaries. After the victory of Louis's successor Francis I over the Swiss at the Battle of Marignan, the duchy was promised to the French king. When the Habsburg Emperor Charles V defeated Francis I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, northern Italy, including Milan, returned to Francesco II Sforza, passing to Habsburg Spain ten years later on his death and the extinction of the Sforza line.

 

In 1556, Charles V abdicated in favour of his son Philip II and his brother Ferdinand I. Charles's Italian possessions, including Milan, passed to Philip II and remained with the Spanish line of Habsburgs, while Ferdinand's Austrian line of Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire.

 

Great Plague of Milan

The Great Plague of Milan in 1629–31 killed an estimated 60,000 people out of a population of 130,000. This episode is considered one of the last outbreaks of the centuries-long pandemic of plague that began with the Black Death.

 

War of the Spanish Succession

In 1700 the Spanish line of Habsburgs was extinguished with the death of Charles II. After his death, the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1701 with the occupation of all Spanish possessions by French troops backing the claim of the French Philippe of Anjou to the Spanish throne. In 1706, the French were defeated at the Battle of Turin and were forced to yield northern Italy to the Austrian Habsburgs. In 1713–1714 the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt formally confirmed Austrian sovereignty over most of Spain's Italian possessions including Lombardy and its capital, Milan.

 

Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and Milan was declared the capital of the Cisalpine Republic. Later, he declared Milan the capital of the Kingdom of Italy and was crowned in the Duomo. Once Napoleon's occupation ended, the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy, and Milan, along with Veneto, to Austrian control in 1814. During this period, Milan became a centre of lyric opera. Here in the 1770s Mozart had premiered three operas at the Teatro Regio Ducale. Later La Scala became the reference theatre in the world, with its premières of Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi. Verdi himself is interred in the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, his present to Milan. In the 19th century, other important theatres were La Cannobiana and the Teatro Carcano.

 

Wars of the 19th century

On 18 March 1848, the Milanese rebelled against Austrian rule, during the so-called "Five Days" (Italian: Le Cinque Giornate), and Field Marshal Radetzky was forced to withdraw from the city temporarily. The Kingdom of Sardinia stepped in to help the insurgents; a plebiscite held in Lombardy decided in favour of unification with Sardinia. However, after defeating the Sardinian forces at Custoza on 24 July, Radetzky was able to reassert Austrian control over Milan and northern Italy. A few years on, however, Italian nationalists again called for the removal of Austria and Italian unification, with riots consuming the city in 1853. In 1859 Sardinia and France formed an alliance and defeated Austria at the Battle of Solferino. Following this battle, Milan and the rest of Lombardy were incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia, which soon gained control of most of Italy and in 1861 was rechristened as the Kingdom of Italy.

 

Early industrialization

The political unification of Italy cemented Milan's commercial dominance over northern Italy. It also led to a flurry of railway construction that had started under Austrian patronage (Venice–Milan; Milan–Monza) that made Milan the rail hub of northern Italy. Thereafter with the opening of the Gotthard (1881) and Simplon (1906) railway tunnels, Milan became the major South European rail focus for business and passenger movements e.g. the Simplon Orient Express. Rapid industrialization and market expansion put Milan at the centre of Italy's leading industrial region, including extensive stone quarries that have led to much of the air pollution we see today in the region. In the 1890s, Milan was shaken by the Bava-Beccaris massacre, a riot related to a high inflation rate. Meanwhile, as Milanese banks dominated Italy's financial sphere, the city became the country's leading financial centre.

 

Late modern and contemporary

In 1919, Benito Mussolini's Blackshirts rallied for the first time in Piazza San Sepolcro and later began their March on Rome in Milan. During the Second World War Milan suffered extensive damage from Allied bombings.[18] When Italy surrendered in 1943, German forces occupied most of Northern Italy until 1945. As a result, resistance groups formed. As the war came to an end, the American 1st Armored Division advanced on Milan – but before they arrived, the resistance seized control of the city and executed Mussolini along with several members of his government. On 29 April 1945, the corpses of Mussolini, his mistress Clara Petacci and other Fascist leaders were hanged in Piazzale Loreto.

 

During the post-war economic boom, a large wave of internal migration (especially from rural areas of Southern Italy), moved to Milan. The population grew from 1.3 million in 1951 to 1.7 million in 1967. During this period, Milan was largely reconstructed, with the building of several innovative and modernist skyscrapers, such as the Torre Velasca and the Pirelli Tower. The economic prosperity was however overshadowed in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the so-called Years of Lead, when Milan witnessed an unprecedented wave of street violence, labour strikes and political terrorism. The apex of this period of turmoil occurred on 12 December 1969, when a bomb exploded at the National Agrarian Bank in Piazza Fontana, killing seventeen people and injuring eighty-eight.

 

In the 1980s, with the international success of Milanese houses (like Armani, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana), Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The city saw also a marked rise in international tourism, notably from America and Japan, while the stock exchange increased its market capitalisation more than five-fold. This period led the mass media to nickname the metropolis "Milano da bere", literally "Milan to drink". However, in the 1990s, Milan was badly affected by Tangentopoli, a political scandal in which many politicians and businessmen were tried for corruption. The city was also affected by a severe financial crisis and a steady decline in textiles, automobile, and steel production.

 

In the early 21st century, Milan underwent a series of sweeping redevelopments. Its exhibition centre moved to a much larger site in Rho. New business districts such as Porta Nuova and CityLife were constructed. With the decline in manufacturing, the city has sought to develop on its other sources of revenue, including publishing, finance, banking, fashion design, information technology, logistics, transport, and tourism. In addition, the city's decades-long population decline seems to have come to an end in recent years, with signs of recovery as it grew by seven percent since the last census.

HISTORY OF OUR METROPOLIA OF AQUILEIA

 

February 19, 2016

Our Metropolis of Aquiliea was born from the Greek Church as a movement in favor of the purity of Tradition in the 1920s, when Greek orthodoxy was in crisis due to the introduction of modernisms into ecclesial life, above all when, in 1923, Patriarch Meletios introduced the civil calendar, called Gregorian, in the Greek Church, without consulting the clergy and the people. One million faithful, most of the clergy and many monasteries joined this resistance movement against all forms of modernism.

We propose below the chronological sequence of the most significant events in our history.

 

1935 Three bishops of the official Greek Church join the movement, the Metropolitans Germanos of Dimetrias, Crisostomo of Zakintos and Crisostomos of Florina (later elected primate of the nascent Church).

 

1937. The Church suffers the first schism, by Metropolitan Matthew. For twenty years the Church was persecuted by the Greek authorities, at the instigation of the State Church.

 

1955 . Primate Crisostomos of Florina dies, leaving a strong Church - even if tested - with about 800,000 /1,000,000 faithful and hundreds of priests. The absence of an episcopate pushes the representatives of the clergy to turn to other Orthodox Churches to ask for the necessary consecration of bishops, indispensable for the life and future of the Church.

 

1960. The Russian Orthodox Archbishop of Chicago, Vladyka Serafim Ivanov, together with the Romanian Archbishop Teofil Ionescu, then belonging to the Russian Synod in exile – ROCOR , now recognized as a canon, consecrate the archimandrite bishop, in accordance with the 1st Apostolic Canon Greek Akakios on December 19, the feast of St. Nicholas.

 

1961. Archbishop Leonti Filipovitch of Chile, of the Russian Church in Exile (ROCOR), who had been archimandrite of the famous Ukrainian Pochaev monastery, consecrated bishop of Zitomir in 1941 in the patriarchal Church, consecrates, together with Bishop Akakios, several Greek bishops , including Metropolitan Avxentios, who in 1963 became the third primate of the Greek Church of the Old Calendar. He will die in 1994. Both bishops, Archbishop Leontij Filipovitch and Primate His Beatitude Avxentios, become figures of historical significance for the Greek Church. The Russian Church in Exile, through the episcopal consecrations of its bishops, becomes a second mother for the Paleo-Himerological Church. Without it, the Greek Church would have had no future…

 

1969. The Russian Church in Exile completes its mission concerning the rebirth of the Greek Church by establishing Eucharistic communion between the Russian Church in Exile and the Old Calendarist Greek Church – the traditional Greek Church. The Russian Church then recognizes expressis verbis the sacraments of its sister Greek Church, also (an aspect to underline) the consecrations of its bishops made in 1960 and 1962. The Metropolia of Milan is in possession of this document, authenticated by the secretary of the Russian Synod, Archbishop Ilarion, now primate of the Russian Church abroad and in communion with Moscow.

It is emphasized that the Greek government recognizes the sacraments of the traditional Greek Church: its sacraments of baptism and marriage are in fact officially registered by the Greek state.

 

1978. On May 19, His Beatitude Avxentios I, primate of the traditional Greek Church, consecrates in the name of the Holy Synod, together with his metropolitans Gerondius of Piraeus, Callistos of Corinth and Anthony of Attica, the first Western bishop, Vladyka Gabriel, bishop of Portugal and Spain which, later, will be the first primate of the Metropolia of Portugal, Spain and Western Europe. 1978 is therefore the year of the foundation of the Western Metropolis.

 

1984. It is an equally important year for the Greek Church: on March 17, His Beatitude Avxentios, on behalf of the Holy Synod, together with the Metropolitans Gabriel of Portugal, Maximus of Kefalonia, Gerasimos of Boitias and Kallinico consecrates Archimandrite Tiago bishop of Coimbra in Portugal.

The Holy Synod of Athens of the traditionalist Greek Church charges the bishops in Portugal, Gabriel of Lisbon and Tiago of Coimbra, to consecrate Archimandrite Evloghios bishop of Milan (9 September) and Gregory bishop of Turin (22 September).

 

On September 27, the historical date of our Metropolis, His Beatitude Avxentios I, in the name of the Holy Synod, confers on the new Metropolis the Tomos of Autonomy, giving it complete autonomy and the right to have its own Synod. His Beatitude Gabriel I becomes the first primate of the Orthodox Metropolitan Church in the West.

Even if later schisms arise in the traditional Greek Church, no negative element in history can touch the seriousness and authenticity of the mother Church in its direct lineage of the three Greek primates Chrysostomos, Akakios and Avxentios. Our Metropolis is proud to descend from the Greek Church which constitutes the historical trunk, from which, unfortunately, other jurisdictions have subsequently separated.

 

1989. Primate Gabriel, together with his two Portuguese bishops, Tiago of Coimbra and Theodore of Evora, take leave of our Holy Synod and are incardinated in the autocephalous Polish Church. The Polish Church, in a letter to Archbishop Evloghios of Milan, insists on the fact that no form of "reordering" ("bez ponownych swiecen biskupich") has been practiced.

 

Metropolitan Gabriel of Portugal Metropolitan Vasily of Warsaw (Poland) Primate of the Polish Orthodox Church (Canonical Church) Metropolitan Vasily of Poland of the Polish Autocephalous Church and Metropolitan Evloghios Letter from Metropolitan Gabriel to HE Bishop Virgile demonstrating Apostolic Succession Letter from

the Polish Church attesting the Apostolic Succession of our Metropolia Letter from Metropolitan Gabriel sent to Metropolitan Evloghios

Also in 1989 Archbishop Evloghios of Milan receives an official acknowledgment of full communion with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America led by Metropolia Mstyslav I. (Today Ukrainian Orthodox Church officially recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate)

1990 VACANT SEE

 

1990 On September 27, the Holy Synod, now without the brothers of Portugal, meets in the Monastery of San Michele in the South of France (Flayosc). Their Em. Gregory of Turin, Vigile of Paris, Evloghios of Milan and the bishop-elect Lazar (Puhalo) of Vancouver (Canada), consecrated the day after (September 28) today retired Archbishop in the Orthodox Church of America, were present. . Archbishop Evloghios of Milan is elected second Primate of the Metropolis, under whose leadership the Metropolis of Aquileia is elected.

 

In 1992 the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, uniting with a part of the Ukrainian Church of Kiev, led by Metropolitan Philaret, assumed the name of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate.

 

In 1993, Patriarch Mstyslav I of Kiev (Consecrated Bishop by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) died. In October, during the All-Ukrainian Council, Patriarch Volodymir (Romanyuk) is elected. He is a character endowed with strong charisma, a confessor of the faith, a patriot of his land who, out of fidelity to his religious and political beliefs, spent twenty long years in concentration camps in Siberia.

 

In 1994 Patriarch Volodymir I recognized the Holy Synod of the Metropolis of Milan and Aquileia as a Church in communion but in Autonomy also giving it a TOMOS OF AUTONOMY. The Patriarch recognized the importance and the need for an Autonomous reality in the West to be able to create a real Orthodox presence. This unlike the deafness shown over the years by the other Patriarchates too frightened by the Latin Church.

 

The Holy Synod of Milan has one Synod:

 

His Beatitude Evloghios of Milan

 

His Honorific Metropolitan Eminence Avondios of Brescia, Vicar General

 

His Eminence Archbishop Victrice (retired)

 

A deanery in Great Britain , parishes in Spain , Italy and Germany and a vicariate in Eastern Europe .

 

Milan is a city in Northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has 3.22 million residents The urban area of Milan is the fourth largest in the EU with 5.27 million inhabitants. According to national sources, the population within the wider Milan metropolitan area (also known as Greater Milan), is estimated between 4.9 million and 7.4 million making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and one of the largest in the EU. Milan is the economic capital of Italy and is a global financial centre. Milan is, together with London, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Paris, one of the six European economic capitals.

 

Milan is a leading alpha global city, with strengths in the fields of art, chemicals, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media (communication), services, research and tourism. Its business district hosts Italy's stock exchange (Italian: Borsa Italiana), and the headquarters of national and international banks and companies. In terms of GDP, Milan is the wealthiest city in Italy, has the third-largest economy among EU cities after Paris and Madrid, and is the wealthiest among EU non-capital cities. Milan is viewed along with Turin as the southernmost part of the Blue Banana urban development corridor (also known as the "European Megalopolis"), and one of the Four Motors for Europe. Milan is one of the international tourism destinations, appearing among the forty most visited cities in the world, ranking second in Italy after Rome, fifth in Europe and sixteenth in the world. Milan is a major cultural centre, with museums and art galleries that include some of the most important collections in the world, such as major works by Leonardo da Vinci. It also hosts numerous educational institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total of enrolled students.

 

Founded around 590 BC under the name Medhelanon by a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture, it was conquered by the ancient Romans in 222 BC, who latinized the name of the city into Mediolanum. The city's role as a major political centre dates back to the late antiquity, when it served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire. From the 12th century until the 16th century, Milan was one of the largest European cities and a major trade and commercial centre; consequently, it became the capital of the Duchy of Milan, one of the greatest political, artistic and fashion forces in the Renaissance. Having become one of the main centres of the Italian Enlightenment during the early modern period, the city subsequently became the industrial and financial capital of modern Italy. Capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, after the Restoration it was among the most active centres of the Risorgimento, until its entry into the unified Kingdom of Italy.

 

Milan has been recognized as one of the world's four fashion capitals. Many of the most famous luxury fashion brands in the world have their headquarters in the city, including: Armani, Prada, Versace, Moschino, Valentino and Zegna. It also hosts several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair, which are among the world's biggest in terms of revenue, visitors and growth. The city is served by many luxury hotels and is the fifth-most starred in the world by Michelin Guide. It hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. In the field of sports, Milan is home to two of Europe's most successful football teams, AC Milan and Inter Milan, and one of Europe's main basketball teams, Olimpia Milano. Milan will host the Winter Olympic and Paralympic games for the first time in 2026, together with Cortina d'Ampezzo.

 

Milan, Italy is an ancient city in northern Italy first settled under the name Medhelanon in about 590 BC by a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture.[1][2] The settlement was conquered by the Romans in 222 BC and renamed it Mediolanum. Diocletian divided the Roman Empire, choosing the eastern half for himself, making Milan the seat of the western half of the empire, from which Maximian ruled, in the late 3rd and early 4th century AD. In 313 AD Emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, which officially ended the persecution of Christians. In 774 AD, Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks.

 

During the Middle Ages, the city's history was the story of the struggle between two political factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Finally the Visconti family took power (signoria) in Milan. In 1395 Emperor Wenceslas made Milan a duchy, thus raising the dignity of the city's citizens. In the mid-15th century the Ambrosian Republic was established, taking its name from St. Ambrose, a beloved patron saint of the city. The two rival factions worked together to create the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. However, the republic fell apart in 1450 when Milan was conquered by Francesco Sforza of the House of Sforza, which ushered Milan into becoming one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

 

From the late 15th century until the mid 16th century, Milan was involved in The Italian Wars, a series of conflicts, along with most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice and later most of Western Europe. In 1629 The Great Plague of Milan killed about 60,000 people out of a total population of about 130,000, by 1631 when the plague subsided. This event is considered one of the last great outbreaks of what was a pandemic that ravaged Europe for several centuries, beginning with the Black Death. In 1713-1714 treaties gave sovereignty to Austria over most of Spain's Italian possessions, including Lombardy and its capital, Milan. Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and later declared Milan the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. After Napoleon's occupation ended the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy and Milan to Austrian control in 1815. This is the period when Milan became a center for lyric opera.

 

The Milanese staged a rebellion against Austrian rule on March 18, 1848. The Kingdom of Sardinia joined the rebels, and a vote was held in Lombardy which voted to unify with Sardinia. The Austrians defeated the Sardinians on 24 July and reasserted their domination over Milan and northern Italy. Just a few years later another insurgency by Italian nationalists succeeded in ousting the Austrians with the help of Sardinia and France in 1859. Following the Battle of Solferino Milan and the rest of Lombardy joined the Kingdom of Sardinia, which soon achieved control of most of Italy. In 1861 the re-unified city-states and kingdoms became the Kingdom of Italy once again.

 

With the unification of the country, Milan became the dominant commercial center of northern Italy. In 1919 Benito Mussolini rallied the Blackshirts for the first time in Milan, and later they began their March on Rome from Milan. During World War II Milan was extensively damaged by Allied bombings. Upon the surrender of Italy in 1943 German forces occupied northern Italy until the end of the war in 1945. Members of the Italian resistance in Milan took control of the city and executed Mussolini, his mistress, and other leaders of his Fascist government by hanging in Piazzale Loreto, Milan.

 

Since the end of World War II, Italy experienced an economic boom. From 1951 until 1967 the population of Milan grew from 1.3 million to 1.7 million. The city was reconstructed, but in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the city suffered from a huge wave of street violence, labor strikes and political terrorism during so called Years of Lead. During the 1980s, Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The rise of financial services and the service economy during the late 20th century further strengthened Milan’s position as the Italian economic capital. The city’s renewal in the 21st century was marked, among others, by hosting of the World Expo 2015 or big redevelopment projects such as Puorta Nuova or CityLife.

 

Antiquity

Around 590 BC, a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture settled the city under the name Medhelanon. According to Titus Livy's comments, the city was founded around 600 B.C. by Belloveso, chief of the Insubres. Legend has it that Belloveso found a mythological animal known as the scrofa semilanuta (in Italian: "half-woollen boar") which became the ancient emblem of the city of Milan (from semi-lanuta or medio-lanum). Several ancient sources (including Sidonius Apollinaris, Datius, and, more recently, Andrea Alciato) have argued that the scrofa semilanuta is connected to the etymology of the ancient name of Milan, "Mediolanum", and this is still occasionally mentioned in modern sources, although this interpretation has long been dismissed by scholars. Nonetheless, wool production became a key industry in this area, as recorded during the early Middle Ages (see below).

 

Milan was conquered by the Romans in 222 B.C. due to its strategic position on the northern borders of the Empire and was renamed Mediolanum. When Diocletian decided to divide the Empire in half choosing the Eastern half for himself, Milan became the residence of Maximian, ruler of the Western Roman Empire. The construction of the second city walls, roughly four and a half kilometers long and unfurling at today's Foro Bonaparte, date back to his reign. After the abdication of Maximian (in 305 A.D.) on the same day on which Diocletian also abdicated, there were a series of wars of succession, during which there was a succession of three emperors in just a few short years: first Severus, who prepared the expedition against Maxentius, then Maxentius himself in a war against Constantine, and finally Constantine himself, victor of the war against Maxentius. In 313 A.D. the Emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan (Edict of Constantine), ending the persecutions against Christians.

 

The beginning of the 5th century was the start of a tortuous period of barbarian invasions for Milan. After the city was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence was moved to Ravenna. An age of decadence began which worsened when Attila, King of the Huns, sacked and devastated the city in 452 A.D.

 

Middle Ages

In 539, the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569, a Germanic tribe, the Lombards (from which the name of the Italian region Lombardy derives), conquered Milan, overpowering the small Byzantine army left for its defense. Some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule, but the city was eclipsed by the nearby Lombard capital of Pavia during the next two centuries.

 

Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks in 774. The aristocracy and majority of the clergy had taken refuge in Genoa. In 774, when Charlemagne took the title of "King of the Lombards", he established his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. Before then the Germanic kingdoms had frequently conquered each other, but none had adopted the title of King of another people. The Iron Crown of Lombardy (i.e. referring to Charlemagne's kingdom and not to the Italian region), which was worn by Charlemagne, dates from this period. Milan's domination under the Franks led by Charlemagne did nothing to improve the city's fortune, and the city's impoverishment increased and Milan became a county seat.

 

The 11th century saw a reaction against the control of the Holy Roman Emperors. The city-state was born, an expression of the new political power of the city and its will to fight against feudal overlords. Milan was no exception. It did not take long, however, for the city states to begin fighting each other to try to limit neighbouring powers. The Milanese destroyed Lodi and continuously warred with Pavia, Cremona and Como, who in turn asked Frederick I Barbarossa for help. In a sally, they captured Empress Beatrice and forced her to ride a donkey backwards out through the city. These acts brought the destruction of much of Milan in 1162. A fire destroyed the storehouses containing the entire food supply: and within just a few days Milan was forced to surrender.

 

A period of peace followed and Milan prospered as a centre of trade due to its position. As a result of the independence that the Lombard cities gained in the Peace of Constance in 1183, Milan returned to the commune form of local government first established in the 11th century. In 1208 Rambertino Buvalelli served a term as podestà of the city, in 1242 Luca Grimaldi, and in 1282 Luchetto Gattilusio. The position was a dangerous one: in 1252 Milanese heretics assassinated the Church's Inquisitor, later known as Saint Peter Martyr, at a ford in the nearby contado; the killers bribed their way to freedom, and in the ensuing riot the podestà was almost lynched. In 1256 the archbishop and leading nobles were expelled from the city. In 1259 Martino della Torre was elected Capitano del Popolo by members of the guilds; he took the city by force, expelled his enemies, and ruled by dictatorial powers, paving streets, digging canals, and taxing the countryside. He also brought the Milanese treasury to collapse; the use of often reckless mercenary units further angered the population, granting an increasing support for the della Torre's traditional enemies, the Visconti. The most important industries in this period were armaments and wool production, a whole catalogue of activities and trades is given in Bonvesin della Riva's "de Magnalibus Urbis Mediolani".

 

On 22 July 1262, Ottone Visconti was made archbishop of Milan by Pope Urban IV, against the candidacy of Raimondo della Torre, Bishop of Como. The latter started to publicise allegations that the Visconti had ties to the heretic Cathars and charged them with high treason: the Visconti, who accused the della Torre of the same crimes, were then banned from Milan and their properties confiscated. The ensuing civil war caused more damage to Milan's population and economy, lasting for more than a decade. Ottone Visconti unsuccessfully led a group of exiles against the city in 1263, but after years of escalating violence on all sides, in the Battle of Desio (1277) he won the city for his family. The Visconti succeeded in ousting the della Torre permanently, and proceeded to rule Milan and its possessions until the 15th century.

 

Much of the prior history of Milan was the tale of the struggle between two political factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Most of the time the Guelphs were successful in the city of Milan. Eventually, however, the Visconti family were able to seize power (signoria) in Milan, based on their "Ghibelline" friendship with the Holy Roman Emperors. In 1395, one of these emperors, Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (1378–1400), raised Milan to the dignity of a duchy. Also in 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti became Duke of Milan. The Ghibelline Visconti family was to retain power in Milan for a century and a half from the early 14th century until the middle of the 15th century.

 

In 1447 Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, died without a male heir; following the end of the Visconti line, the Ambrosian Republic was enacted. The Ambrosian Republic took its name from St. Ambrose, popular patron saint of the city of Milan. Both the Guelph and the Ghibelline factions worked together to bring about the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. Nonetheless, the Republic collapsed when, in 1450, Milan was conquered by Francesco Sforza, of the House of Sforza, who made Milan one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

 

Early modern

The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, and later most of the major states of Western Europe. Milan's last independent ruler, Lodovico Sforza, called French king Charles VIII into Italy in the expectation that France might be an ally in inter-Italian wars. The future King of France, Louis of Orléans, took part in the expedition and realised Italy was virtually defenceless. This prompted him to return a few years later in 1500, and claim the Duchy of Milan for himself, his grandmother having been a member of the ruling Visconti family. At that time, Milan was also defended by Swiss mercenaries. After the victory of Louis's successor Francis I over the Swiss at the Battle of Marignan, the duchy was promised to the French king. When the Habsburg Emperor Charles V defeated Francis I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, northern Italy, including Milan, returned to Francesco II Sforza, passing to Habsburg Spain ten years later on his death and the extinction of the Sforza line.

 

In 1556, Charles V abdicated in favour of his son Philip II and his brother Ferdinand I. Charles's Italian possessions, including Milan, passed to Philip II and remained with the Spanish line of Habsburgs, while Ferdinand's Austrian line of Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire.

 

Great Plague of Milan

The Great Plague of Milan in 1629–31 killed an estimated 60,000 people out of a population of 130,000. This episode is considered one of the last outbreaks of the centuries-long pandemic of plague that began with the Black Death.

 

War of the Spanish Succession

In 1700 the Spanish line of Habsburgs was extinguished with the death of Charles II. After his death, the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1701 with the occupation of all Spanish possessions by French troops backing the claim of the French Philippe of Anjou to the Spanish throne. In 1706, the French were defeated at the Battle of Turin and were forced to yield northern Italy to the Austrian Habsburgs. In 1713–1714 the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt formally confirmed Austrian sovereignty over most of Spain's Italian possessions including Lombardy and its capital, Milan.

 

Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and Milan was declared the capital of the Cisalpine Republic. Later, he declared Milan the capital of the Kingdom of Italy and was crowned in the Duomo. Once Napoleon's occupation ended, the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy, and Milan, along with Veneto, to Austrian control in 1814. During this period, Milan became a centre of lyric opera. Here in the 1770s Mozart had premiered three operas at the Teatro Regio Ducale. Later La Scala became the reference theatre in the world, with its premières of Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi. Verdi himself is interred in the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, his present to Milan. In the 19th century, other important theatres were La Cannobiana and the Teatro Carcano.

 

Wars of the 19th century

On 18 March 1848, the Milanese rebelled against Austrian rule, during the so-called "Five Days" (Italian: Le Cinque Giornate), and Field Marshal Radetzky was forced to withdraw from the city temporarily. The Kingdom of Sardinia stepped in to help the insurgents; a plebiscite held in Lombardy decided in favour of unification with Sardinia. However, after defeating the Sardinian forces at Custoza on 24 July, Radetzky was able to reassert Austrian control over Milan and northern Italy. A few years on, however, Italian nationalists again called for the removal of Austria and Italian unification, with riots consuming the city in 1853. In 1859 Sardinia and France formed an alliance and defeated Austria at the Battle of Solferino. Following this battle, Milan and the rest of Lombardy were incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia, which soon gained control of most of Italy and in 1861 was rechristened as the Kingdom of Italy.

 

Early industrialization

The political unification of Italy cemented Milan's commercial dominance over northern Italy. It also led to a flurry of railway construction that had started under Austrian patronage (Venice–Milan; Milan–Monza) that made Milan the rail hub of northern Italy. Thereafter with the opening of the Gotthard (1881) and Simplon (1906) railway tunnels, Milan became the major South European rail focus for business and passenger movements e.g. the Simplon Orient Express. Rapid industrialization and market expansion put Milan at the centre of Italy's leading industrial region, including extensive stone quarries that have led to much of the air pollution we see today in the region. In the 1890s, Milan was shaken by the Bava-Beccaris massacre, a riot related to a high inflation rate. Meanwhile, as Milanese banks dominated Italy's financial sphere, the city became the country's leading financial centre.

 

Late modern and contemporary

In 1919, Benito Mussolini's Blackshirts rallied for the first time in Piazza San Sepolcro and later began their March on Rome in Milan. During the Second World War Milan suffered extensive damage from Allied bombings.[18] When Italy surrendered in 1943, German forces occupied most of Northern Italy until 1945. As a result, resistance groups formed. As the war came to an end, the American 1st Armored Division advanced on Milan – but before they arrived, the resistance seized control of the city and executed Mussolini along with several members of his government. On 29 April 1945, the corpses of Mussolini, his mistress Clara Petacci and other Fascist leaders were hanged in Piazzale Loreto.

 

During the post-war economic boom, a large wave of internal migration (especially from rural areas of Southern Italy), moved to Milan. The population grew from 1.3 million in 1951 to 1.7 million in 1967. During this period, Milan was largely reconstructed, with the building of several innovative and modernist skyscrapers, such as the Torre Velasca and the Pirelli Tower. The economic prosperity was however overshadowed in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the so-called Years of Lead, when Milan witnessed an unprecedented wave of street violence, labour strikes and political terrorism. The apex of this period of turmoil occurred on 12 December 1969, when a bomb exploded at the National Agrarian Bank in Piazza Fontana, killing seventeen people and injuring eighty-eight.

 

In the 1980s, with the international success of Milanese houses (like Armani, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana), Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The city saw also a marked rise in international tourism, notably from America and Japan, while the stock exchange increased its market capitalisation more than five-fold. This period led the mass media to nickname the metropolis "Milano da bere", literally "Milan to drink". However, in the 1990s, Milan was badly affected by Tangentopoli, a political scandal in which many politicians and businessmen were tried for corruption. The city was also affected by a severe financial crisis and a steady decline in textiles, automobile, and steel production.

 

In the early 21st century, Milan underwent a series of sweeping redevelopments. Its exhibition centre moved to a much larger site in Rho. New business districts such as Porta Nuova and CityLife were constructed. With the decline in manufacturing, the city has sought to develop on its other sources of revenue, including publishing, finance, banking, fashion design, information technology, logistics, transport, and tourism. In addition, the city's decades-long population decline seems to have come to an end in recent years, with signs of recovery as it grew by seven percent since the last census.

L'Emblema

 

Il 5 maggio 1948 l'Italia repubblicana ha il suo emblema, al termine di un percorso creativo durato ventiquattro mesi, due pubblici concorsi e un totale di 800 bozzetti, presentati da circa 500 cittadini, fra artisti e dilettanti.

 

***** I simboli della Repubblica: l' Emblema ****

www.quirinale.it/qrnw/statico/simboli/emblema/emblema.htm

Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano (ACTV) Linea / Line 2 Vaporetto Ride - Linee / Lines 2, 5.1, 6, 10 & N Fermata Vaporetto Zattere criss-cross Canale della Giudecca / Canal de ła Zueca / Giudecca Canal tow. San Marco-San Zaccaria 21/41

w. Campanile pendente e Cupola di San Giorgio dei Greci / Church of St. George of the Greeks lean Tower and Dome, Campanile della Chiesa di San Francesco della Vigna / Bell Tower of Church of St. Francis at the Vineyard, Chiesa di Santa Maria della Pietà / Church of St. Mary of Piety, Tower of Chiesa di Sant'Antonino Martire / Church of St. Antoninus Martyr

Milan is a city in Northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has 3.22 million residents The urban area of Milan is the fourth largest in the EU with 5.27 million inhabitants. According to national sources, the population within the wider Milan metropolitan area (also known as Greater Milan), is estimated between 4.9 million and 7.4 million making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and one of the largest in the EU. Milan is the economic capital of Italy and is a global financial centre. Milan is, together with London, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Paris, one of the six European economic capitals.

 

Milan is a leading alpha global city, with strengths in the fields of art, chemicals, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media (communication), services, research and tourism. Its business district hosts Italy's stock exchange (Italian: Borsa Italiana), and the headquarters of national and international banks and companies. In terms of GDP, Milan is the wealthiest city in Italy, has the third-largest economy among EU cities after Paris and Madrid, and is the wealthiest among EU non-capital cities. Milan is viewed along with Turin as the southernmost part of the Blue Banana urban development corridor (also known as the "European Megalopolis"), and one of the Four Motors for Europe. Milan is one of the international tourism destinations, appearing among the forty most visited cities in the world, ranking second in Italy after Rome, fifth in Europe and sixteenth in the world. Milan is a major cultural centre, with museums and art galleries that include some of the most important collections in the world, such as major works by Leonardo da Vinci. It also hosts numerous educational institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total of enrolled students.

 

Founded around 590 BC under the name Medhelanon by a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture, it was conquered by the ancient Romans in 222 BC, who latinized the name of the city into Mediolanum. The city's role as a major political centre dates back to the late antiquity, when it served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire. From the 12th century until the 16th century, Milan was one of the largest European cities and a major trade and commercial centre; consequently, it became the capital of the Duchy of Milan, one of the greatest political, artistic and fashion forces in the Renaissance. Having become one of the main centres of the Italian Enlightenment during the early modern period, the city subsequently became the industrial and financial capital of modern Italy. Capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, after the Restoration it was among the most active centres of the Risorgimento, until its entry into the unified Kingdom of Italy.

 

Milan has been recognized as one of the world's four fashion capitals. Many of the most famous luxury fashion brands in the world have their headquarters in the city, including: Armani, Prada, Versace, Moschino, Valentino and Zegna. It also hosts several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair, which are among the world's biggest in terms of revenue, visitors and growth. The city is served by many luxury hotels and is the fifth-most starred in the world by Michelin Guide. It hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. In the field of sports, Milan is home to two of Europe's most successful football teams, AC Milan and Inter Milan, and one of Europe's main basketball teams, Olimpia Milano. Milan will host the Winter Olympic and Paralympic games for the first time in 2026, together with Cortina d'Ampezzo.

 

Milan, Italy is an ancient city in northern Italy first settled under the name Medhelanon in about 590 BC by a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture.[1][2] The settlement was conquered by the Romans in 222 BC and renamed it Mediolanum. Diocletian divided the Roman Empire, choosing the eastern half for himself, making Milan the seat of the western half of the empire, from which Maximian ruled, in the late 3rd and early 4th century AD. In 313 AD Emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, which officially ended the persecution of Christians. In 774 AD, Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks.

 

During the Middle Ages, the city's history was the story of the struggle between two political factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Finally the Visconti family took power (signoria) in Milan. In 1395 Emperor Wenceslas made Milan a duchy, thus raising the dignity of the city's citizens. In the mid-15th century the Ambrosian Republic was established, taking its name from St. Ambrose, a beloved patron saint of the city. The two rival factions worked together to create the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. However, the republic fell apart in 1450 when Milan was conquered by Francesco Sforza of the House of Sforza, which ushered Milan into becoming one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

 

From the late 15th century until the mid 16th century, Milan was involved in The Italian Wars, a series of conflicts, along with most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice and later most of Western Europe. In 1629 The Great Plague of Milan killed about 60,000 people out of a total population of about 130,000, by 1631 when the plague subsided. This event is considered one of the last great outbreaks of what was a pandemic that ravaged Europe for several centuries, beginning with the Black Death. In 1713-1714 treaties gave sovereignty to Austria over most of Spain's Italian possessions, including Lombardy and its capital, Milan. Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and later declared Milan the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. After Napoleon's occupation ended the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy and Milan to Austrian control in 1815. This is the period when Milan became a center for lyric opera.

 

The Milanese staged a rebellion against Austrian rule on March 18, 1848. The Kingdom of Sardinia joined the rebels, and a vote was held in Lombardy which voted to unify with Sardinia. The Austrians defeated the Sardinians on 24 July and reasserted their domination over Milan and northern Italy. Just a few years later another insurgency by Italian nationalists succeeded in ousting the Austrians with the help of Sardinia and France in 1859. Following the Battle of Solferino Milan and the rest of Lombardy joined the Kingdom of Sardinia, which soon achieved control of most of Italy. In 1861 the re-unified city-states and kingdoms became the Kingdom of Italy once again.

 

With the unification of the country, Milan became the dominant commercial center of northern Italy. In 1919 Benito Mussolini rallied the Blackshirts for the first time in Milan, and later they began their March on Rome from Milan. During World War II Milan was extensively damaged by Allied bombings. Upon the surrender of Italy in 1943 German forces occupied northern Italy until the end of the war in 1945. Members of the Italian resistance in Milan took control of the city and executed Mussolini, his mistress, and other leaders of his Fascist government by hanging in Piazzale Loreto, Milan.

 

Since the end of World War II, Italy experienced an economic boom. From 1951 until 1967 the population of Milan grew from 1.3 million to 1.7 million. The city was reconstructed, but in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the city suffered from a huge wave of street violence, labor strikes and political terrorism during so called Years of Lead. During the 1980s, Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The rise of financial services and the service economy during the late 20th century further strengthened Milan’s position as the Italian economic capital. The city’s renewal in the 21st century was marked, among others, by hosting of the World Expo 2015 or big redevelopment projects such as Puorta Nuova or CityLife.

 

Antiquity

Around 590 BC, a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture settled the city under the name Medhelanon. According to Titus Livy's comments, the city was founded around 600 B.C. by Belloveso, chief of the Insubres. Legend has it that Belloveso found a mythological animal known as the scrofa semilanuta (in Italian: "half-woollen boar") which became the ancient emblem of the city of Milan (from semi-lanuta or medio-lanum). Several ancient sources (including Sidonius Apollinaris, Datius, and, more recently, Andrea Alciato) have argued that the scrofa semilanuta is connected to the etymology of the ancient name of Milan, "Mediolanum", and this is still occasionally mentioned in modern sources, although this interpretation has long been dismissed by scholars. Nonetheless, wool production became a key industry in this area, as recorded during the early Middle Ages (see below).

 

Milan was conquered by the Romans in 222 B.C. due to its strategic position on the northern borders of the Empire and was renamed Mediolanum. When Diocletian decided to divide the Empire in half choosing the Eastern half for himself, Milan became the residence of Maximian, ruler of the Western Roman Empire. The construction of the second city walls, roughly four and a half kilometers long and unfurling at today's Foro Bonaparte, date back to his reign. After the abdication of Maximian (in 305 A.D.) on the same day on which Diocletian also abdicated, there were a series of wars of succession, during which there was a succession of three emperors in just a few short years: first Severus, who prepared the expedition against Maxentius, then Maxentius himself in a war against Constantine, and finally Constantine himself, victor of the war against Maxentius. In 313 A.D. the Emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan (Edict of Constantine), ending the persecutions against Christians.

 

The beginning of the 5th century was the start of a tortuous period of barbarian invasions for Milan. After the city was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence was moved to Ravenna. An age of decadence began which worsened when Attila, King of the Huns, sacked and devastated the city in 452 A.D.

 

Middle Ages

In 539, the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569, a Germanic tribe, the Lombards (from which the name of the Italian region Lombardy derives), conquered Milan, overpowering the small Byzantine army left for its defense. Some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule, but the city was eclipsed by the nearby Lombard capital of Pavia during the next two centuries.

 

Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks in 774. The aristocracy and majority of the clergy had taken refuge in Genoa. In 774, when Charlemagne took the title of "King of the Lombards", he established his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. Before then the Germanic kingdoms had frequently conquered each other, but none had adopted the title of King of another people. The Iron Crown of Lombardy (i.e. referring to Charlemagne's kingdom and not to the Italian region), which was worn by Charlemagne, dates from this period. Milan's domination under the Franks led by Charlemagne did nothing to improve the city's fortune, and the city's impoverishment increased and Milan became a county seat.

 

The 11th century saw a reaction against the control of the Holy Roman Emperors. The city-state was born, an expression of the new political power of the city and its will to fight against feudal overlords. Milan was no exception. It did not take long, however, for the city states to begin fighting each other to try to limit neighbouring powers. The Milanese destroyed Lodi and continuously warred with Pavia, Cremona and Como, who in turn asked Frederick I Barbarossa for help. In a sally, they captured Empress Beatrice and forced her to ride a donkey backwards out through the city. These acts brought the destruction of much of Milan in 1162. A fire destroyed the storehouses containing the entire food supply: and within just a few days Milan was forced to surrender.

 

A period of peace followed and Milan prospered as a centre of trade due to its position. As a result of the independence that the Lombard cities gained in the Peace of Constance in 1183, Milan returned to the commune form of local government first established in the 11th century. In 1208 Rambertino Buvalelli served a term as podestà of the city, in 1242 Luca Grimaldi, and in 1282 Luchetto Gattilusio. The position was a dangerous one: in 1252 Milanese heretics assassinated the Church's Inquisitor, later known as Saint Peter Martyr, at a ford in the nearby contado; the killers bribed their way to freedom, and in the ensuing riot the podestà was almost lynched. In 1256 the archbishop and leading nobles were expelled from the city. In 1259 Martino della Torre was elected Capitano del Popolo by members of the guilds; he took the city by force, expelled his enemies, and ruled by dictatorial powers, paving streets, digging canals, and taxing the countryside. He also brought the Milanese treasury to collapse; the use of often reckless mercenary units further angered the population, granting an increasing support for the della Torre's traditional enemies, the Visconti. The most important industries in this period were armaments and wool production, a whole catalogue of activities and trades is given in Bonvesin della Riva's "de Magnalibus Urbis Mediolani".

 

On 22 July 1262, Ottone Visconti was made archbishop of Milan by Pope Urban IV, against the candidacy of Raimondo della Torre, Bishop of Como. The latter started to publicise allegations that the Visconti had ties to the heretic Cathars and charged them with high treason: the Visconti, who accused the della Torre of the same crimes, were then banned from Milan and their properties confiscated. The ensuing civil war caused more damage to Milan's population and economy, lasting for more than a decade. Ottone Visconti unsuccessfully led a group of exiles against the city in 1263, but after years of escalating violence on all sides, in the Battle of Desio (1277) he won the city for his family. The Visconti succeeded in ousting the della Torre permanently, and proceeded to rule Milan and its possessions until the 15th century.

 

Much of the prior history of Milan was the tale of the struggle between two political factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Most of the time the Guelphs were successful in the city of Milan. Eventually, however, the Visconti family were able to seize power (signoria) in Milan, based on their "Ghibelline" friendship with the Holy Roman Emperors. In 1395, one of these emperors, Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (1378–1400), raised Milan to the dignity of a duchy. Also in 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti became Duke of Milan. The Ghibelline Visconti family was to retain power in Milan for a century and a half from the early 14th century until the middle of the 15th century.

 

In 1447 Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, died without a male heir; following the end of the Visconti line, the Ambrosian Republic was enacted. The Ambrosian Republic took its name from St. Ambrose, popular patron saint of the city of Milan. Both the Guelph and the Ghibelline factions worked together to bring about the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. Nonetheless, the Republic collapsed when, in 1450, Milan was conquered by Francesco Sforza, of the House of Sforza, who made Milan one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

 

Early modern

The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, and later most of the major states of Western Europe. Milan's last independent ruler, Lodovico Sforza, called French king Charles VIII into Italy in the expectation that France might be an ally in inter-Italian wars. The future King of France, Louis of Orléans, took part in the expedition and realised Italy was virtually defenceless. This prompted him to return a few years later in 1500, and claim the Duchy of Milan for himself, his grandmother having been a member of the ruling Visconti family. At that time, Milan was also defended by Swiss mercenaries. After the victory of Louis's successor Francis I over the Swiss at the Battle of Marignan, the duchy was promised to the French king. When the Habsburg Emperor Charles V defeated Francis I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, northern Italy, including Milan, returned to Francesco II Sforza, passing to Habsburg Spain ten years later on his death and the extinction of the Sforza line.

 

In 1556, Charles V abdicated in favour of his son Philip II and his brother Ferdinand I. Charles's Italian possessions, including Milan, passed to Philip II and remained with the Spanish line of Habsburgs, while Ferdinand's Austrian line of Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire.

 

Great Plague of Milan

The Great Plague of Milan in 1629–31 killed an estimated 60,000 people out of a population of 130,000. This episode is considered one of the last outbreaks of the centuries-long pandemic of plague that began with the Black Death.

 

War of the Spanish Succession

In 1700 the Spanish line of Habsburgs was extinguished with the death of Charles II. After his death, the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1701 with the occupation of all Spanish possessions by French troops backing the claim of the French Philippe of Anjou to the Spanish throne. In 1706, the French were defeated at the Battle of Turin and were forced to yield northern Italy to the Austrian Habsburgs. In 1713–1714 the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt formally confirmed Austrian sovereignty over most of Spain's Italian possessions including Lombardy and its capital, Milan.

 

Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and Milan was declared the capital of the Cisalpine Republic. Later, he declared Milan the capital of the Kingdom of Italy and was crowned in the Duomo. Once Napoleon's occupation ended, the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy, and Milan, along with Veneto, to Austrian control in 1814. During this period, Milan became a centre of lyric opera. Here in the 1770s Mozart had premiered three operas at the Teatro Regio Ducale. Later La Scala became the reference theatre in the world, with its premières of Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi. Verdi himself is interred in the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, his present to Milan. In the 19th century, other important theatres were La Cannobiana and the Teatro Carcano.

 

Wars of the 19th century

On 18 March 1848, the Milanese rebelled against Austrian rule, during the so-called "Five Days" (Italian: Le Cinque Giornate), and Field Marshal Radetzky was forced to withdraw from the city temporarily. The Kingdom of Sardinia stepped in to help the insurgents; a plebiscite held in Lombardy decided in favour of unification with Sardinia. However, after defeating the Sardinian forces at Custoza on 24 July, Radetzky was able to reassert Austrian control over Milan and northern Italy. A few years on, however, Italian nationalists again called for the removal of Austria and Italian unification, with riots consuming the city in 1853. In 1859 Sardinia and France formed an alliance and defeated Austria at the Battle of Solferino. Following this battle, Milan and the rest of Lombardy were incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia, which soon gained control of most of Italy and in 1861 was rechristened as the Kingdom of Italy.

 

Early industrialization

The political unification of Italy cemented Milan's commercial dominance over northern Italy. It also led to a flurry of railway construction that had started under Austrian patronage (Venice–Milan; Milan–Monza) that made Milan the rail hub of northern Italy. Thereafter with the opening of the Gotthard (1881) and Simplon (1906) railway tunnels, Milan became the major South European rail focus for business and passenger movements e.g. the Simplon Orient Express. Rapid industrialization and market expansion put Milan at the centre of Italy's leading industrial region, including extensive stone quarries that have led to much of the air pollution we see today in the region. In the 1890s, Milan was shaken by the Bava-Beccaris massacre, a riot related to a high inflation rate. Meanwhile, as Milanese banks dominated Italy's financial sphere, the city became the country's leading financial centre.

 

Late modern and contemporary

In 1919, Benito Mussolini's Blackshirts rallied for the first time in Piazza San Sepolcro and later began their March on Rome in Milan. During the Second World War Milan suffered extensive damage from Allied bombings.[18] When Italy surrendered in 1943, German forces occupied most of Northern Italy until 1945. As a result, resistance groups formed. As the war came to an end, the American 1st Armored Division advanced on Milan – but before they arrived, the resistance seized control of the city and executed Mussolini along with several members of his government. On 29 April 1945, the corpses of Mussolini, his mistress Clara Petacci and other Fascist leaders were hanged in Piazzale Loreto.

 

During the post-war economic boom, a large wave of internal migration (especially from rural areas of Southern Italy), moved to Milan. The population grew from 1.3 million in 1951 to 1.7 million in 1967. During this period, Milan was largely reconstructed, with the building of several innovative and modernist skyscrapers, such as the Torre Velasca and the Pirelli Tower. The economic prosperity was however overshadowed in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the so-called Years of Lead, when Milan witnessed an unprecedented wave of street violence, labour strikes and political terrorism. The apex of this period of turmoil occurred on 12 December 1969, when a bomb exploded at the National Agrarian Bank in Piazza Fontana, killing seventeen people and injuring eighty-eight.

 

In the 1980s, with the international success of Milanese houses (like Armani, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana), Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The city saw also a marked rise in international tourism, notably from America and Japan, while the stock exchange increased its market capitalisation more than five-fold. This period led the mass media to nickname the metropolis "Milano da bere", literally "Milan to drink". However, in the 1990s, Milan was badly affected by Tangentopoli, a political scandal in which many politicians and businessmen were tried for corruption. The city was also affected by a severe financial crisis and a steady decline in textiles, automobile, and steel production.

 

In the early 21st century, Milan underwent a series of sweeping redevelopments. Its exhibition centre moved to a much larger site in Rho. New business districts such as Porta Nuova and CityLife were constructed. With the decline in manufacturing, the city has sought to develop on its other sources of revenue, including publishing, finance, banking, fashion design, information technology, logistics, transport, and tourism. In addition, the city's decades-long population decline seems to have come to an end in recent years, with signs of recovery as it grew by seven percent since the last census.

Torre dell'Orologio di San Marco / St. Mark's Clocktower, Piazza San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, IT 50/51

Quadrante Nord / Norhern Clock Face w. 24hrs. Roman Numerals (Using IIII, XIIII and XXIIII instead of IV, XIV and XXIV)

The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range that is entirely in Europe, stretching approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.

 

The Alpine arch extends from Nice on the western Mediterranean to Trieste on the Adriatic and Vienna at the beginning of the Pannonian Basin. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.

 

Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,809 m (15,778 ft) is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains 128 peaks higher than 4,000 m (13,000 ft).

 

The altitude and size of the range affect the climate in Europe; in the mountains, precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones. Wildlife such as ibex live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3,400 m (11,155 ft), and plants such as edelweiss grow in rocky areas in lower elevations as well as in higher elevations.

 

Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era. A mummified man ("Ötzi"), determined to be 5,000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian–Italian border in 1991.

 

By the 6th century BC, the Celtic La Tène culture was well established. Hannibal notably crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants, and the Romans had settlements in the region. In 1800, Napoleon crossed one of the mountain passes with an army of 40,000. The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists, writers, and artists, in particular, the Romantics, followed by the golden age of alpinism as mountaineers began to ascend the peaks of the Alps.

 

The Alpine region has a strong cultural identity. Traditional practices such as farming, cheesemaking, and woodworking still thrive in Alpine villages. However, the tourist industry began to grow early in the 20th century and expanded significantly after World War II, eventually becoming the dominant industry by the end of the century.

 

The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss, French, Italian, Austrian and German Alps. As of 2010, the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors.

 

The valleys of the Alps have been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Alpine culture, which developed there, centers on transhumance.

 

Currently the Alps are divided among eight countries: France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Slovenia. In 1991 the Alpine Convention was established to regulate this transnational area, whose area measures about 190,000 square kilometres (73,000 sq mi).

 

Early history (before 1200)

The Wildkirchli caves in the Appenzell Alps show traces of Neanderthal habitation (about 40,000 BCE). During the Würm glaciation (up to c. 11700 BP), the entire Alps were covered in ice. Anatomically modern humans reach the Alpine region by c. 30,000 years ago. MtDNA Haplogroup K (believed to have originated in the mid-Upper Paleolithic, between about 30,000 and 22,000 years ago, with an estimated age here of c. 12,000 years BP), is a genetic marker associated with southeastern Alpine region.

 

Traces of transhumance appear in the neolithic. In the Bronze Age, the Alps formed the boundary of the Urnfield and Terramare cultures. The mummy found on the Ötztal Alps, known as "Ötzi the Iceman", lived c. 3200 BC. At that stage the population in its majority had already changed from an economy based on hunting and gathering to one based on agriculture and animal husbandry. It is still an open question whether forms of pastoral mobility, such as transhumance (alpiculture), already existed in prehistory.

 

The earliest historical accounts date to the Roman period, mostly due to Greco-Roman ethnography, with some epigraphic evidence due to the Raetians, Lepontii and Gauls, with Ligurians and Venetii occupying the fringes in the south-west and south-east, respectively (Cisalpine Gaul) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. The Rock Drawings in Valcamonica date to this period. A few details have come down to modern scholars of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by Augustus, as well as Hannibal's battles across the Alps. Most of the local Gallic tribes allied themselves with the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War, for the duration of which Rome lost control over most of Northern Italy. The Roman conquest of Italy was only complete after the Roman victory over Carthage, by the 190s BC.

 

Between 35 and 6 BC, the Alpine region was gradually integrated into the expanding Roman Empire. The contemporary monument Tropaeum Alpium in La Turbie celebrates the victory won by the Romans over 46 tribes in these mountains. The subsequent construction of roads over the Alpine passes first permitted southern and northern Roman settlements in the Alps to be connected, and eventually integrated the inhabitants of the Alps into the culture of the Empire. The upper Rhône Valley or Vallis Poenina fell to the Romans after a battle at Octodurus (Martigny) in 57 BC. Aosta was founded in 25 BC as Augusta Praetoria Salassorum in the former territory of the Salassi. Raetia was conquered in 15 BC.

 

With the division of the Roman Empire and the collapse of its Western part in the fourth and fifth centuries, power relations in the Alpine region reverted to their local dimensions. Often dioceses became important centres. While in Italy and Southern France, dioceses in the Western Alps were established early (beginning in the fourth century) and resulted in numerous small sees, in the Eastern Alps such foundations continued into the thirteenth century and the dioceses were usually larger. New monasteries in the mountain valleys also promoted the Christianisation of the population.[3] In that period the core area of supra-regional political powers was mainly situated north of the Alps, first in the Carolingian Empire and later, after its division, in France and the Holy Roman Empire. The German emperors, who received the imperial investiture from the Pope in Rome between the ninth and the fifteenth centuries, had to cross the Alps along with their entourages.

 

In the 7th century, much of the Eastern Alps were settled by Slavs. Between the 7th and 9th century, the Slavic principality of Carantania existed as one of the few non-Germanic polities in the Alps. The Alpine Slavs, who inhabited the majority of present-day Austria and Slovenia, were gradually Germanized from the 9th to the 14th century. The modern Slovenes are their southernmost descendants.

 

The successive emigration and occupation of the Alpine region by the Alemanni from the 6th to the 8th centuries are, too, known only in outline. For "mainstream" history, the Frankish and later the Habsburg empire, the Alps had strategic importance as an obstacle, not as a landscape, and the Alpine passes have consequently had great significance militarily.

 

Between 889 and 973, a community of Muslim raiders operating from their base of Fraxinetum, on the coast of Provence, blocked the Alpine passes to Christian travellers until their expulsion by Christian forces led by Arduin Glaber in 973, at which point transalpine trade was able to resume.

 

Not until the final breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 10th and 11th centuries is it possible to trace out the local history of different parts of the Alps, notably with the High Medieval Walser migrations.

 

Later Medieval to Early Modern Era (1200 to 1900)

The French historian Fernand Braudel, in his famous volume on Mediterranean civilisation, describes the Alps as "an exceptional range of mountains from the point of view of resources, collective disciplines, the quality of its human population and the number of good roads." This remarkable human presence in the Alpine region came into being with the population growth and agrarian expansion of the High Middle Ages. At first a mixed form of agriculture and animal husbandry dominated the economy. Then, from the Late Middle Ages onwards, cattle tended to replace sheep as the dominant animals. In a few regions of the northern slope of the Alps, cattle farming became increasingly oriented toward long-range markets and substituted agriculture completely. At the same time other types of interregional and transalpine exchange were growing in significance. The most important pass was the Brenner, which could accommodate cart traffic beginning in the fifteenth century. In the Western and Central Alps, the passes were practicable only by pack animals up to the period around 1800.

 

The process of state formation in the Alps was driven by the proximity to focal areas of European conflicts such as in the Italian wars of 1494–1559. In that period the socio-political structures of Alpine regions drifted apart. One can identify three different developmental models: one of princely centralization (Western Alps), a local-communal one (Switzerland) and an intermediate one, characterised by a powerful nobility (Eastern Alps).

 

Until the late nineteenth century many Alpine valleys remained mainly shaped by agrarian and pastoral activities. Population growth favoured the intensification of land use and the spread of corn, potato and cheese production. The shorter growing season at higher altitudes did not seem to be an impediment until around 1700. Later, however, it became a major obstacle to the further intensification of agriculture, especially in comparison to the surrounding lowlands where land productivity increased rapidly. Inside the Alpine region there was a striking difference between the western and central parts, which were dominated by small farming establishments, and the eastern part, which were characterised by medium or big farms. Migration to the urbanised zones of the surrounding areas was already apparent before 1500 and was often temporary. In the Alps themselves, urbanisation was slow.

 

Central Alps

In the Central Alps the chief event, on the northern side of the chain, is the gradual formation from 1291 to 1516 of the Swiss Confederacy, at least so far as regards the mountain cantons, and with especial reference to the independent confederations of the Grisons and the Valais, which only became full members of the Confederation in 1803 and 1815 respectively. The attraction of the south was too strong for both the Forest Cantons and the Grisons, so that both tried to secure, and actually did secure, various bits of the Milanese.

 

The Gotthard Pass was known in antiquity as Adula Mons, but it was not one of the important Alpine passes due to the impassability of the Schöllenen Gorge north of the pass. This changed dramatically with the construction of the so-called Devil's Bridge by the year 1230. Almost immediately, in 1231, the formerly unimportant valley of Uri was granted imperial immediacy and became the main route connecting Germany and Italy. Also in 1230, a hospice dedicated to Gotthard of Hildesheim was built on the pass to accommodate the pilgrims to Rome which now took this route. The sudden strategical importance for the European powers gained by what is now Central Switzerland was an important factor in the formation of the Old Swiss Confederacy beginning in the late 13th century.

 

In the 15th century, the Forest Cantons won the Valle Leventina as well as Bellinzona and the Valle di Blenio (though the Valle d'Ossola was held for a time only). Blenio was added to the Val Bregaglia (which had been given to the bishop of Coire in 960 by the emperor Otto I), along with the valleys of Valle Mesolcina and of Val Poschiavo.

 

Western Alps

Further information: County of Savoy and Duchy of Savoy

In the case of the Western Alps (excluding the part from the chain of Mont Blanc to the Simplon Pass, which followed the fortunes of the Valais), a prolonged struggle for control took place between the feudal lords of Savoy, the Dauphiné and Provence. In 1349 the Dauphiné fell to France, while in 1388 the county of Nice passed from Provence to the house of Savoy, which also then held Piedmont as well as other lands on the Italian side of the Alps. The struggle henceforth was limited to France and the house of Savoy, but little by little France succeeded in pushing back the house of Savoy across the Alps, forcing it to become a purely Italian power.

 

One turning-point in the rivalry was the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), by which France ceded to Savoy the Alpine districts of Exilles, Bardonnèche (Bardonecchia), Oulx, Fenestrelles, and Châtean Dauphin, while Savoy handed over to France the valley of Barcelonnette, situated on the western slope of the Alps and forming part of the county of Nice. The final act in this long-continued struggle took place in 1860, when France obtained by cession the rest of the county of Nice and also Savoy, thus remaining sole ruler on the western slope of the Alps.

 

Eastern Alps

The Eastern Alps had been included in the Frankish Empire since the 9th century. From the High Middle Ages and throughout the Early Modern era, the political history of the Eastern Alps can be considered almost totally in terms of the advance or retreat of the house of Habsburg. The Habsburgers' original home was in the lower valley of the Aar, at Habsburg castle. They lost that district to the Swiss in 1415, as they had previously lost various other sections of what is now Switzerland. But they built an impressive empire in the Eastern Alps, where they defeated numerous minor dynasties. They won the duchy of Austria with Styria in 1282, Carinthia and Carniola in 1335, Tirol in 1363, and the Vorarlberg in bits from 1375 to 1523, not to speak of minor "rectifications" of frontiers on the northern slope of the Alps. But on the other slope their progress was slower, and finally less successful. It is true that they won Primiero quite early (1373), as well as (1517) the Ampezzo Valley and several towns to the south of Trento. In 1797 they obtained Venetia proper, in 1803 the secularized bishoprics of Trento and Brixen (as well as that of Salzburg, more to the north), besides the Valtellina region, and in 1815 the Bergamasque valleys, while the Milanese had belonged to them since 1535. But in 1859 they lost to the house of Savoy both the Milanese and the Bergamasca, and in 1866 Venetia proper also, so that the Trentino was then their chief possession on the southern slope of the Alps. The gain of the Milanese in 1859 by the future king of Italy (1861) meant that Italy then won the valley of Livigno (between the Upper Engadine and Bormio), which is the only important bit it holds on the non-Italian slope of the Alps, besides the county of Tenda (obtained in 1575, and not lost in 1860), with the heads of certain glens in the Maritime Alps, reserved in 1860 for reasons connected with hunting. Following World War I and the demise of Austria-Hungary, there were important territorial changes in the Eastern Alps.

 

Modern history (1900 to present)

Population

For the modern era it is possible to offer a quantitative estimate of the population of the Alpine region. Within the area delimited by the Alpine Convention, there were about 3.1 million inhabitants in 1500, 5.8 in 1800, 8.5 in 1900 and 13.9 in 2000.

 

Sixteenth-century scholars, especially those from cities near the Alps, began to show a greater interest for the mountain phenomena. Their curiosity was also aroused by important questions of the genesis of the earth and the interpretation of the Bible. By the eighteenth century, a distinctive enthusiasm for nature and the Alps spread in European society. An example thereof is the famous multi-volume work "Voyages dans les Alpes" (1779–1796) by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure. In his work the naturalist from Geneva described, among other things, his 1787 ascent of Mont Blanc at 4800 metres above sea level. This new interest is also reflected in literature, most notably by Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s best-selling romantic novel "Julie, ou la nouvelle Heloise" (1761). These cultural developments resulted in a growth of interest in the Alps as a travel destination and laid the foundation for modern tourism. As Europe was getting increasingly more urbanised, the Alps distinguished themselves as a place of nature. During the colonial expansion many mountains in Asia, Australia and America were now named after the Alps as well.

 

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries several important changes occurred. First, the Alpine population was now characterised by a particular growth rate, which was increasingly differentiated from that of the more dynamic non-mountain areas. Second, the migratory fluxes became ever more important and ever more directed toward extra-European destinations. Beginning in the early twentieth century, several regions were affected by depopulation. This process amplified the imbalanced distribution of the population within the Alps, because the urban centres at lower altitudes experienced strong growth and clearly became the most important dynamic localities during the twentieth century.

 

Economy

The economy showed many signs of change too. First of all, the agriculture sector started to lose importance, and sought to survive by introducing specialised crops in valley bottoms and reinforcing cattle-raising at higher altitudes. This profound transformation was obviously due to the spread of industrialisation in Europe during the nineteenth century, which had its impact on the Alps, directly or indirectly. On the one hand, activities such as iron manufacturing, which had become prominent during the early modern era, reached their limits due to transportation costs and the increasing scale of business operations. On the other hand, at the turn of the twentieth century, new opportunities emerged for the manufacturing sector, due largely to electric power, one among the main innovations of the second industrial revolution. Abundant water and steep slopes made the Alps an ideal environment for the production of hydroelectric power. Hence many industrial sites appeared there.

 

However, it was undoubtedly the service sector that experienced the most important new development within the Alpine economy: the rapid rise of tourism. The first phase was dominated by summertime visits and, by about 1850, the expansion of Alpine health resorts and spas. Later, tourism started to shift to the winter season, particularly after the introduction of ski-lifts in early twentieth century. For a long time, transit traffic and trade had been an essential part of the service sector in the Alps. The traditional routes and activities began to face strong competition from the construction of railway lines and tunnels such as the Semmering (1854), the Brenner (1867), the Fréjus/Mont-Cenis (1871), the Gotthard (1882), the Simplon (1906) and the Tauern (1909). In 2016 opened the 57 km long Gotthard Base Tunnel. With a maximum elevation of only 549 metres above sea level, it is the first flat direct route through the Alpine barrier.

 

In general, it is noteworthy that even if modern industry – tourism, the railway and later the highway system – represented opportunities for the Alps, complementing its traditional openness to new challenges, it also produced negative consequences, such as the human impact on the environment.

 

Political history

Like other parts of Europe, the Alpine region was affected by the formation of the nation states that produced tensions between various groups and had consequences for border areas. In these regions, the coercive power of the state was felt much more strongly that it had been before. Borders lost their permeability and now bisected areas formerly characterised by a shared sense of community and ongoing exchanges. During World War I the eastern Alpine region was one of the epicentres of the conflict.

 

After World War II, the Alps entered a new phase. At one and the same time, regional identities were reinforced and a common Alpine identity was constructed. A remarkable step was made in 1991 with the signing of the Alpine Convention between all Alpine countries and the European Union. This process was strengthened by the appearance of a new set of cultural values for the Alps. In the nineteenth century, there had been a tension between the romantic advocates of the "sacredness" of the Alpine peaks (such as John Ruskin), and modern mountain climbers (such as Leslie Stephen), who promoted the notion of the Alps as the "playground of Europe". In the twentieth century, the mountains acquired a clearly positive, iconic, status as places unsullied by undesirable urban influences such as pollution, noise and so on.

 

Tourism and alpinism

The fascination that the Alps exerted on the British has to be related to the general increase in charm and appeal of this mountain range during the eighteenth century. Yet British particularities were involved as well. Traditionally, many Englishmen felt the attraction of the Mediterranean, which was associated with the practice of the Grand Tour, and thus had to cross Europe and the Alps to reach it. From a place of transit, the Alps turned into a tourist destination as the flow of people and means of transport increased. Moreover, with the invention of new sports the Alps became an area of experimental training. The Alps offered many mountain climbers a degree of difficulty that fit their expectations.

 

The convergence of these phenomena granted to Alpine tourism a central position. It intensified from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards and, in spite of fluctuations, would never lose its importance. Railway companies, travel guides, travelogues and travel agents joined forces to make the Alps a prestigious tourist destination. With Thomas Cook in particular, the Alps appeared, as early as 1861, in the catalog of tourist offers and were instrumental in the establishment of a "truly international industry" of tourism. This industry developed the infrastructure: railway lines, hotels and other services such as casinos, promenades, improvements, and funiculars.

 

The conquest of the Alps by British tourists was achieved along with their domestication and with the passionate participation of local, regional and national élites, be they political, economic or cultural. Leslie Stephen, in a best-selling book first published in 1871, defined the Alps as "the Playground of Europe". The book highlights the incredible success of the mountains but it also reflects the tensions that emerged among their visitors. There was a clash between the "real enthusiasts", sensitive to beauty, and the "flock of ordinary tourists" sticking to their customs and comforts.

 

During the twentieth century, then, the Alps were involved in the globalisation of tourism, a process that caused the multiplication of its destinations. However, in the British population these mountains retained an undeniable attraction. In fact, the British continued to view winter sports in particular (such as skiing, skating, bobsleigh, curling) as significant grounds for justifying their travel and their perpetuation of a unique culture. The personalities of Gavin de Beer and Arnold Lunn represent this attitude through a prolific interpretation of this mountain range from every possible perspective. Indeed, the British have never ceased to love and be attracted to the Alps. This is not likely to end soon, if the advertisements and presentations of the major Alpine resorts that intersperse the Sunday editions of the major newspapers are any indicator.

 

Linguistic history

Further information: Linguistic geography of Switzerland

The Alps are at the crossroads of the French, Italian, German and South Slavic linguistic sprachraums. They also act as a linguistic refugium, preserving archaic dialects such as Romansh, Walser German or Romance Lombardic. Extinct languages known to have been spoken in the Alpine region include Rhaetic, Lepontic, Ligurian and Langobardic.

 

As a result of the complicated history of the Alpine region, the native language and the national feelings of the inhabitants do not always correspond to the current international borders. The Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, which was annexed by Italy after World War I, has a German-speaking majority in the northern province of South Tyrol. There are Walser German speakers to found in northern Italy near the Swiss border. There are some French and Franco-Provencal-speaking districts in the Italian Aosta Valley, while there are clusters of Slovene-speakers in the Italian portion of the Julian Alps, in the Resia Valley (where the archaic Resian dialect of Slovene is still spoken) and in the mountain district known as Venetian Slovenia.

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy.

 

It has an area of 146 square kilometres (56 sq mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, it is the fifth deepest lake in Europe and the deepest outside Norway; the bottom of the lake is 227 metres (745 ft) below sea level.

 

Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta. Many famous people have owned homes on the shores of Lake Como.

 

One of its particularities is its "Y" shape, which forms the "Larian Triangle", with the little town of Canzo as its capital.

 

In 2014, The Huffington Post described it as the most beautiful lake in the world for its microclimate and environment with prestigious villas and villages.

 

Etymology

The lake's name in Latin is Larius, Italianized as Lario, but this name is rarely used; it is usually called Lago di Como (literally "lake of Como"). Its name comes from the city of Como, known to the Romans as Comum.

 

Geography

The lake is shaped much like an inverted letter "Y". The northern branch begins at the town of Colico, while the towns of Como and Lecco sit at the ends of the southwestern and southeastern branches respectively. The small towns of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna are situated at the intersection of the three branches of the lake: a boat service operates a triangular route between them.

 

Lake Como is fed primarily by the Adda, which enters the lake near Colico and flows out at Lecco. This geological conformation makes the southwestern branch a dead end, and so Como, unlike Lecco, is often flooded.

 

The mountainous pre-alpine territory between the two southern arms of the lake (between Como, Bellagio, and Lecco) is known as the Larian Triangle, or Triangolo lariano. The source of the river Lambro is here. At the centre of the triangle, the town of Canzo is the seat of the Comunità Montana del Triangolo lariano, an association of the 31 municipalities that represent the 71,000 inhabitants of the area.

 

Como lake in Italy

Lake Como's climate is humid subtropical (Cfa under the Köppen climate classification system). In winter, the lake helps to maintain a higher temperature in the surrounding region. Average daily temperatures range from ~3.7 °C (39 °F) in January to 23.4 °C (74 °F) in July, according to historical weather data from Como. Water temperatures can reach an average of 24 °C (75 °F) in July. Snowfall is erratic and occurs mainly at higher elevations. Rainfall is heaviest in May and lowest during the winter months.

 

History

At the beginning of the first millennium B.C. during the Iron Age, the Comum oppidum was born and the civilization of Como developed, inserted in the broader Golasecca culture. In 196 B.C. the army of the consul Claudius Marcellus defeats the Celts tribe of the Comenses and conquers the city. Comum was then strengthened and rebuilt after a raid by Rhaetian and repopulated with 3,000 settlers in 77 BC. Finally, after having reclaimed the marshy area, in 59 B.C. it was re-founded with the name of Novum Comun in its current location on the lake shore at the behest of Gaius Julius Caesar.[6] Pliny the Younger, in one of his Epistulae, describes the lake and its surrounding area as providing plentiful opportunities for fishing and hunting. According to the Notitia Dignitatum, at least since the 4th century, a Praefectus commanding a Roman military fleet was present on the lake.

 

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the waters of the lake were the scene of military clashes, such as in the 12th century during the war of Milan against Como, which saw the Como fleet in action against the ships of the Milanese and their allies or between 1525 and 1532 due to the Musso war unleashed by Gian Giacomo Medici

 

On 28 April 1945, deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was executed in the lakeside village of Giulino, about 180 metres (590 ft) from the waterfront.

 

Tourism and Economy

As a tourist destination, Lake Como is popular for its landscapes, wildlife, and spas. It is a venue for sailing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing.

 

Although generally considered safe, bathers aiming to find relief from the heat and swimming enthusiasts alike should exercise caution, as a prevailing regulation prohibits diving and swimming both in the city of Como and in the various small villages along the lake. Exceptions are found only in privately managed lidos or designated public beaches where explicit signage permits swimming activities. This prohibition stems from the danger posed by the lake's waters that swiftly transition from shallow to deep near the shoreline and from unpredictable aquatic conditions, which have led to numerous incidents, including drowning cases attributed to sudden thermal shock.

 

In the area surrounding Lake Como, there are several farms which produce goods such as honey, olive oil, cheese, milk, eggs and salamis. Visitors can find lists of these farms and typically visit the farm itself in person to make their purchases.

 

Lakeside villas

The lake is well known for the attractive villas that have been built there since Roman times when Pliny the Younger built the Comedia and the Tragedia resorts. Many villas on the lake shores have admirable gardens that benefit from the mild climate induced by the stabilizing presence of 22.5 cubic kilometres (5.4 cu mi) of lake water and can sustain many subtropical and Mediterranean plants.

 

Villa Carlotta was built for the Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici in 1690 and occupies a site of over 7 hectares (17 acres) at Tremezzo, facing the Bellagio peninsula. An Italian garden (with steps, fountains, and sculptures) was laid out at the same time. The villa was later sold to powerful banker and Napoleonic politician Giovanni Battista Sommariva. Stendhal was his guest in 1818, and his visit is recalled at the start of La Chartreuse de Parme. In 1843 it was purchased by Princess Marianne of Nassau as a wedding present for her daughter Carlotta, after whom the villa is now named. The latter, together with her husband Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen, laid out the woodland landscape park in Romantic style. The villa today includes a museum of agricultural implements as well as important works of sculpture by Sommariva's friend Antonio Canova and by Luigi Acquisti.

 

Villa d'Este, in Cernobbio, was built in 1568 by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, a native of the town. In 1816–1817 the villa was home to Caroline of Brunswick, estranged wife of the Prince of Wales and shortly to become Queen Consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom. The landscaped gardens in the English style are a product of this period. Later in the century, it was turned into a luxury hotel. Today the Villa d'Este is known for attracting celebrity guests.[citation needed]

 

Villa del Balbianello, famous for its elaborate terraced gardens, lies on a promontory of the western shore of the lake near Isola Comacina. Built-in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery, it was the final home of the explorer Guido Monzino and today houses a museum devoted to his work.[citation needed]

 

Villa Melzi d'Eril in Bellagio was built in neo-classical style by architect Giocondo Albertolli in 1808–1810 as the summer residence of Duke Francesco Melzi d'Eril, who was vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic. The park includes an orangery, a private chapel, fine statues, and a Japanese garden, and is planted, as often on Lake Como, with huge rhododendrons. 19th-century guests at the Villa included Stendhal and Franz Liszt.

 

Villa Serbelloni, also in Bellagio, hosts the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, a 50-acre (200,000 m2) international conference centre set up and managed by the Rockefeller Foundation since 1959, which also operates a "scholar-in-residence" program for scholars from around the world. This is believed to have been the site of Pliny the Younger's villa "Tragedia". Its well-known park was created at the end of the 18th century by Alessandro Serbelloni.[citation needed]

 

Many famous people have or have had homes on the shores of Lake Como, such as Matthew Bellamy, John Kerry, Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Julian Lennon, Richard Branson, Ben Spies, Pierina Legnani, Lionel Messi and José Mourinho.

 

Ferries

The Lake Como ferry service is a highly developed public transport system linking the many small towns around the Lake. A motorized service began in 1826 when a steamship with sails, the Lario, was launched by the newly established Società privilegiata per l'impresa dei battelli a vapore nel Regno Lombardo Veneto. Since 1952 the system has been run under the auspices of a government organization called first the Gestione Commissariale Governativa and subsequently the Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi, which is also responsible for services on Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda.

 

Today there are three main services:

Motorship services along the western branch and northern end of the Lake (between Colico or Piona and Como town), with additional shuttles to the mid-lake area.

Fast services that follow broadly the same route, but use faster hydrofoils, stop less frequently, and cost extra.

Ferries that run only between the popular mid-lake villages of Menaggio, Bellagio, and Varenna, plus Cadenabbia. Some of these boats carry vehicles as well as passengers.

 

Sacro Monte di Ossuccio

The Sacro Monte di Ossuccio ("Holy Mount of Ossuccio") is a sanctuary located on a hillside slope between olive groves and woods along the western edge of Lake Como facing Isola Comacina. Fifteen Baroque-inspiredchapels, built between 1635 and 1710, and dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary are dotted along the way that leads to the Monastery. This building is the last in the chain and is dedicated to the Coronation of the Virgin.

 

In 2003, the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, including that of Ossuccio, were added by UNESCO to the World Heritage List.

 

Villages, resorts, and other notable localities near the lake

Cities and villages on Lake Como

Western shore

from North to SouthSouth shore

from West to EastEastern shore

from North to South

Domaso

Gravedona

Dongo

Musso

Menaggio

Cadenabbia

Griante

Tremezzo

Mezzegra

Lenno

Ossuccio

Sala Comacina

Colonno

Argegno

Brienno

Moltrasio

Cernobbio

Como

Como

Blevio

Brunate

Torno

Nesso

Bellagio

Malgrate

Lecco

Colico

Dorio

Dervio

Bellano

Varenna

Lierna

Mandello del Lario

Lecco

 

In literature and the arts

Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The Lake of Como was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, in 1837. It illustrates a painting by Samuel Prout, engraved by William Miller.

 

In 1818 Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Thomas Love Peacock: "This lake exceeds anything I ever beheld in beauty, except the arbutus islands of Killarney. It is long and narrow, and has the appearance of a mighty river winding among the mountains and the forests."

The province of Como, located in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, has a rich and storied history that spans thousands of years. Its history is closely tied to the city of Como, which serves as its capital and is one of the most prominent cities in the province. In this 5000-word exploration, we will delve into the historical evolution of Como, its people, and the significant events that have shaped this region.

 

Prehistoric and Ancient Times

The history of Como province can be traced back to prehistoric times, with evidence of human settlements dating as far back as the Bronze Age. The natural beauty of the region, nestled between the stunning Lake Como and the surrounding Alps, made it an attractive location for early settlers. These ancient people left behind artifacts, such as tools and pottery, that offer insights into their way of life.

 

By the 4th century BC, the region was inhabited by Celtic tribes known as the Insubres. They established a settlement on the shores of Lake Como, which they called "Novum Comum" (New Como). This settlement would eventually become the city of Como.

 

During the 2nd Punic War (218-201 BC), Novum Comum came under Roman control. The Romans recognized the strategic importance of the area, as it served as a vital link between the Po Valley and the Alpine passes. Como became a Roman municipium and prospered as a center for trade and commerce. The Romans built roads and fortifications in the region, leaving a lasting mark on its infrastructure.

 

The Middle Ages and Lombard Rule

The fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD led to a period of instability in Como. The region was invaded by various barbarian tribes, including the Visigoths and Ostrogoths, who sacked and plundered the city. However, in the 6th century, Como came under the rule of the Lombards, a Germanic people who established the Lombard Kingdom in northern Italy.

 

Under Lombard rule, Como continued to be an important center of trade, and the city expanded both economically and culturally. The Lombards left their mark on the local language, as elements of their dialect influenced the development of the Lombard language spoken in the region.

 

In the 8th century, Charlemagne, the Frankish king and Holy Roman Emperor, conquered the Lombard Kingdom, including Como. The city and its surrounding region became part of the Carolingian Empire and were ruled by various feudal lords.

 

The Rise of the Medieval Communes

By the 12th century, Como, like many other Italian cities, experienced a period of significant transformation with the rise of medieval communes. These were self-governing city-states that sought independence from feudal lords and external rulers. Como was no exception and established its own commune, which allowed it to assert greater control over its affairs.

 

The city's prosperity continued to grow, fueled by trade, manufacturing, and banking. Como became renowned for its silk production, a tradition that would endure for centuries and contribute to the city's wealth. The construction of the city's iconic cathedral, the Como Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta), began in this period and would span several centuries.

 

During this time, the city also saw conflicts and rivalries with neighboring city-states, particularly Milan. These power struggles would continue for centuries and shape the political landscape of the region.

 

The Renaissance and Spanish Domination

The Renaissance, a period of great cultural and artistic flourishing, reached Como in the 15th century. The city attracted prominent artists, architects, and thinkers, contributing to its reputation as a hub of intellectual and artistic activity. The Renaissance brought new architectural marvels to Como, including the Villa Olmo and the Villa del Grumello, both overlooking Lake Como.

 

However, the region's history took a darker turn in the 16th century when it came under Spanish domination. The Spanish Habsburgs, who ruled much of Italy at the time, imposed their authority on Como and its surrounding territory. This period was marked by heavy taxation, military conscription, and a decline in the city's economic prosperity.

 

Enlightenment and the Napoleonic Era

The late 18th century brought significant changes to Como and the broader Italian peninsula. The Enlightenment ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity began to influence the region. In 1797, the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, invaded northern Italy, including Como. Under French rule, the region saw administrative reforms, including the abolition of feudal privileges and the introduction of a more modern legal system.

 

Napoleon's conquests would ultimately lead to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the emergence of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, of which Como was a part. However, this period of French rule was relatively short-lived, as Napoleon's empire eventually fell.

 

The Unification of Italy

The mid-19th century marked a pivotal moment in Italian history—the movement for Italian unification, known as the Risorgimento. Como played a role in this struggle for independence and unity. In 1859, during the Second Italian War of Independence, the forces of the Kingdom of Sardinia, led by King Victor Emmanuel II and his prime minister Count Camillo di Cavour, clashed with the Austrian army in the Battle of Solferino and San Martino, which was fought in the province of Como.

 

The victory at Solferino was a significant step toward the unification of Italy, and Como, like other Italian cities, celebrated the newfound hope for a unified nation. In 1859, following the war, Como joined the newly formed Kingdom of Italy, which was officially proclaimed in 1861 under King Victor Emmanuel II. This marked the end of foreign domination and the establishment of a united Italian state.

 

20th Century and Contemporary Times

The 20th century brought both progress and challenges to Como province. Like the rest of Italy, the region experienced the turbulence of two world wars. During World War I, Como contributed soldiers to the Italian army, and the region saw its share of wartime hardships.

 

World War II had a more profound impact on Como. The province was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1943, leading to a period of resistance and partisan warfare. The city of Como and its surrounding areas suffered from bombings and reprisals. Liberation came in 1945, as Allied forces pushed back the German occupiers.

 

After the war, Como, like other parts of Italy, underwent a process of post-war reconstruction and economic development. The region's textile industry, particularly its silk production, played a significant role in the post-war economic recovery.

 

Today, Como is known for its stunning natural beauty, historic architecture, and cultural heritage. It has become a popular tourist destination, attracting visitors from around the world who come to explore its picturesque lakeside towns, visit its historic sites, and enjoy the tranquility of Lake Como.

 

Conclusion

The province of Como has a long and fascinating history that reflects the broader historical currents of Italy. From its ancient Celtic origins to its role in the Roman Empire, from the struggles for independence during the Middle Ages to its place in the Italian unification, Como has witnessed and participated in key moments of Italian history.

 

Throughout its history, Como has been a center of commerce, culture, and art. Its silk industry, architectural marvels, and natural beauty continue to captivate visitors. As we look back on the province's rich past, we can appreciate how it has evolved over millennia to become the vibrant and culturally significant region it is today. Como's history is a testament to the enduring spirit of its people and their determination to overcome the challenges of the past while preserving their heritage for future generations.

The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range that is entirely in Europe, stretching approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.

 

The Alpine arch extends from Nice on the western Mediterranean to Trieste on the Adriatic and Vienna at the beginning of the Pannonian Basin. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.

 

Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,809 m (15,778 ft) is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains 128 peaks higher than 4,000 m (13,000 ft).

 

The altitude and size of the range affect the climate in Europe; in the mountains, precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones. Wildlife such as ibex live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3,400 m (11,155 ft), and plants such as edelweiss grow in rocky areas in lower elevations as well as in higher elevations.

 

Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era. A mummified man ("Ötzi"), determined to be 5,000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian–Italian border in 1991.

 

By the 6th century BC, the Celtic La Tène culture was well established. Hannibal notably crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants, and the Romans had settlements in the region. In 1800, Napoleon crossed one of the mountain passes with an army of 40,000. The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists, writers, and artists, in particular, the Romantics, followed by the golden age of alpinism as mountaineers began to ascend the peaks of the Alps.

 

The Alpine region has a strong cultural identity. Traditional practices such as farming, cheesemaking, and woodworking still thrive in Alpine villages. However, the tourist industry began to grow early in the 20th century and expanded significantly after World War II, eventually becoming the dominant industry by the end of the century.

 

The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss, French, Italian, Austrian and German Alps. As of 2010, the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors.

 

The valleys of the Alps have been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Alpine culture, which developed there, centers on transhumance.

 

Currently the Alps are divided among eight countries: France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Slovenia. In 1991 the Alpine Convention was established to regulate this transnational area, whose area measures about 190,000 square kilometres (73,000 sq mi).

 

Early history (before 1200)

The Wildkirchli caves in the Appenzell Alps show traces of Neanderthal habitation (about 40,000 BCE). During the Würm glaciation (up to c. 11700 BP), the entire Alps were covered in ice. Anatomically modern humans reach the Alpine region by c. 30,000 years ago. MtDNA Haplogroup K (believed to have originated in the mid-Upper Paleolithic, between about 30,000 and 22,000 years ago, with an estimated age here of c. 12,000 years BP), is a genetic marker associated with southeastern Alpine region.

 

Traces of transhumance appear in the neolithic. In the Bronze Age, the Alps formed the boundary of the Urnfield and Terramare cultures. The mummy found on the Ötztal Alps, known as "Ötzi the Iceman", lived c. 3200 BC. At that stage the population in its majority had already changed from an economy based on hunting and gathering to one based on agriculture and animal husbandry. It is still an open question whether forms of pastoral mobility, such as transhumance (alpiculture), already existed in prehistory.

 

The earliest historical accounts date to the Roman period, mostly due to Greco-Roman ethnography, with some epigraphic evidence due to the Raetians, Lepontii and Gauls, with Ligurians and Venetii occupying the fringes in the south-west and south-east, respectively (Cisalpine Gaul) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. The Rock Drawings in Valcamonica date to this period. A few details have come down to modern scholars of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by Augustus, as well as Hannibal's battles across the Alps. Most of the local Gallic tribes allied themselves with the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War, for the duration of which Rome lost control over most of Northern Italy. The Roman conquest of Italy was only complete after the Roman victory over Carthage, by the 190s BC.

 

Between 35 and 6 BC, the Alpine region was gradually integrated into the expanding Roman Empire. The contemporary monument Tropaeum Alpium in La Turbie celebrates the victory won by the Romans over 46 tribes in these mountains. The subsequent construction of roads over the Alpine passes first permitted southern and northern Roman settlements in the Alps to be connected, and eventually integrated the inhabitants of the Alps into the culture of the Empire. The upper Rhône Valley or Vallis Poenina fell to the Romans after a battle at Octodurus (Martigny) in 57 BC. Aosta was founded in 25 BC as Augusta Praetoria Salassorum in the former territory of the Salassi. Raetia was conquered in 15 BC.

 

With the division of the Roman Empire and the collapse of its Western part in the fourth and fifth centuries, power relations in the Alpine region reverted to their local dimensions. Often dioceses became important centres. While in Italy and Southern France, dioceses in the Western Alps were established early (beginning in the fourth century) and resulted in numerous small sees, in the Eastern Alps such foundations continued into the thirteenth century and the dioceses were usually larger. New monasteries in the mountain valleys also promoted the Christianisation of the population.[3] In that period the core area of supra-regional political powers was mainly situated north of the Alps, first in the Carolingian Empire and later, after its division, in France and the Holy Roman Empire. The German emperors, who received the imperial investiture from the Pope in Rome between the ninth and the fifteenth centuries, had to cross the Alps along with their entourages.

 

In the 7th century, much of the Eastern Alps were settled by Slavs. Between the 7th and 9th century, the Slavic principality of Carantania existed as one of the few non-Germanic polities in the Alps. The Alpine Slavs, who inhabited the majority of present-day Austria and Slovenia, were gradually Germanized from the 9th to the 14th century. The modern Slovenes are their southernmost descendants.

 

The successive emigration and occupation of the Alpine region by the Alemanni from the 6th to the 8th centuries are, too, known only in outline. For "mainstream" history, the Frankish and later the Habsburg empire, the Alps had strategic importance as an obstacle, not as a landscape, and the Alpine passes have consequently had great significance militarily.

 

Between 889 and 973, a community of Muslim raiders operating from their base of Fraxinetum, on the coast of Provence, blocked the Alpine passes to Christian travellers until their expulsion by Christian forces led by Arduin Glaber in 973, at which point transalpine trade was able to resume.

 

Not until the final breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 10th and 11th centuries is it possible to trace out the local history of different parts of the Alps, notably with the High Medieval Walser migrations.

 

Later Medieval to Early Modern Era (1200 to 1900)

The French historian Fernand Braudel, in his famous volume on Mediterranean civilisation, describes the Alps as "an exceptional range of mountains from the point of view of resources, collective disciplines, the quality of its human population and the number of good roads." This remarkable human presence in the Alpine region came into being with the population growth and agrarian expansion of the High Middle Ages. At first a mixed form of agriculture and animal husbandry dominated the economy. Then, from the Late Middle Ages onwards, cattle tended to replace sheep as the dominant animals. In a few regions of the northern slope of the Alps, cattle farming became increasingly oriented toward long-range markets and substituted agriculture completely. At the same time other types of interregional and transalpine exchange were growing in significance. The most important pass was the Brenner, which could accommodate cart traffic beginning in the fifteenth century. In the Western and Central Alps, the passes were practicable only by pack animals up to the period around 1800.

 

The process of state formation in the Alps was driven by the proximity to focal areas of European conflicts such as in the Italian wars of 1494–1559. In that period the socio-political structures of Alpine regions drifted apart. One can identify three different developmental models: one of princely centralization (Western Alps), a local-communal one (Switzerland) and an intermediate one, characterised by a powerful nobility (Eastern Alps).

 

Until the late nineteenth century many Alpine valleys remained mainly shaped by agrarian and pastoral activities. Population growth favoured the intensification of land use and the spread of corn, potato and cheese production. The shorter growing season at higher altitudes did not seem to be an impediment until around 1700. Later, however, it became a major obstacle to the further intensification of agriculture, especially in comparison to the surrounding lowlands where land productivity increased rapidly. Inside the Alpine region there was a striking difference between the western and central parts, which were dominated by small farming establishments, and the eastern part, which were characterised by medium or big farms. Migration to the urbanised zones of the surrounding areas was already apparent before 1500 and was often temporary. In the Alps themselves, urbanisation was slow.

 

Central Alps

In the Central Alps the chief event, on the northern side of the chain, is the gradual formation from 1291 to 1516 of the Swiss Confederacy, at least so far as regards the mountain cantons, and with especial reference to the independent confederations of the Grisons and the Valais, which only became full members of the Confederation in 1803 and 1815 respectively. The attraction of the south was too strong for both the Forest Cantons and the Grisons, so that both tried to secure, and actually did secure, various bits of the Milanese.

 

The Gotthard Pass was known in antiquity as Adula Mons, but it was not one of the important Alpine passes due to the impassability of the Schöllenen Gorge north of the pass. This changed dramatically with the construction of the so-called Devil's Bridge by the year 1230. Almost immediately, in 1231, the formerly unimportant valley of Uri was granted imperial immediacy and became the main route connecting Germany and Italy. Also in 1230, a hospice dedicated to Gotthard of Hildesheim was built on the pass to accommodate the pilgrims to Rome which now took this route. The sudden strategical importance for the European powers gained by what is now Central Switzerland was an important factor in the formation of the Old Swiss Confederacy beginning in the late 13th century.

 

In the 15th century, the Forest Cantons won the Valle Leventina as well as Bellinzona and the Valle di Blenio (though the Valle d'Ossola was held for a time only). Blenio was added to the Val Bregaglia (which had been given to the bishop of Coire in 960 by the emperor Otto I), along with the valleys of Valle Mesolcina and of Val Poschiavo.

 

Western Alps

Further information: County of Savoy and Duchy of Savoy

In the case of the Western Alps (excluding the part from the chain of Mont Blanc to the Simplon Pass, which followed the fortunes of the Valais), a prolonged struggle for control took place between the feudal lords of Savoy, the Dauphiné and Provence. In 1349 the Dauphiné fell to France, while in 1388 the county of Nice passed from Provence to the house of Savoy, which also then held Piedmont as well as other lands on the Italian side of the Alps. The struggle henceforth was limited to France and the house of Savoy, but little by little France succeeded in pushing back the house of Savoy across the Alps, forcing it to become a purely Italian power.

 

One turning-point in the rivalry was the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), by which France ceded to Savoy the Alpine districts of Exilles, Bardonnèche (Bardonecchia), Oulx, Fenestrelles, and Châtean Dauphin, while Savoy handed over to France the valley of Barcelonnette, situated on the western slope of the Alps and forming part of the county of Nice. The final act in this long-continued struggle took place in 1860, when France obtained by cession the rest of the county of Nice and also Savoy, thus remaining sole ruler on the western slope of the Alps.

 

Eastern Alps

The Eastern Alps had been included in the Frankish Empire since the 9th century. From the High Middle Ages and throughout the Early Modern era, the political history of the Eastern Alps can be considered almost totally in terms of the advance or retreat of the house of Habsburg. The Habsburgers' original home was in the lower valley of the Aar, at Habsburg castle. They lost that district to the Swiss in 1415, as they had previously lost various other sections of what is now Switzerland. But they built an impressive empire in the Eastern Alps, where they defeated numerous minor dynasties. They won the duchy of Austria with Styria in 1282, Carinthia and Carniola in 1335, Tirol in 1363, and the Vorarlberg in bits from 1375 to 1523, not to speak of minor "rectifications" of frontiers on the northern slope of the Alps. But on the other slope their progress was slower, and finally less successful. It is true that they won Primiero quite early (1373), as well as (1517) the Ampezzo Valley and several towns to the south of Trento. In 1797 they obtained Venetia proper, in 1803 the secularized bishoprics of Trento and Brixen (as well as that of Salzburg, more to the north), besides the Valtellina region, and in 1815 the Bergamasque valleys, while the Milanese had belonged to them since 1535. But in 1859 they lost to the house of Savoy both the Milanese and the Bergamasca, and in 1866 Venetia proper also, so that the Trentino was then their chief possession on the southern slope of the Alps. The gain of the Milanese in 1859 by the future king of Italy (1861) meant that Italy then won the valley of Livigno (between the Upper Engadine and Bormio), which is the only important bit it holds on the non-Italian slope of the Alps, besides the county of Tenda (obtained in 1575, and not lost in 1860), with the heads of certain glens in the Maritime Alps, reserved in 1860 for reasons connected with hunting. Following World War I and the demise of Austria-Hungary, there were important territorial changes in the Eastern Alps.

 

Modern history (1900 to present)

Population

For the modern era it is possible to offer a quantitative estimate of the population of the Alpine region. Within the area delimited by the Alpine Convention, there were about 3.1 million inhabitants in 1500, 5.8 in 1800, 8.5 in 1900 and 13.9 in 2000.

 

Sixteenth-century scholars, especially those from cities near the Alps, began to show a greater interest for the mountain phenomena. Their curiosity was also aroused by important questions of the genesis of the earth and the interpretation of the Bible. By the eighteenth century, a distinctive enthusiasm for nature and the Alps spread in European society. An example thereof is the famous multi-volume work "Voyages dans les Alpes" (1779–1796) by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure. In his work the naturalist from Geneva described, among other things, his 1787 ascent of Mont Blanc at 4800 metres above sea level. This new interest is also reflected in literature, most notably by Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s best-selling romantic novel "Julie, ou la nouvelle Heloise" (1761). These cultural developments resulted in a growth of interest in the Alps as a travel destination and laid the foundation for modern tourism. As Europe was getting increasingly more urbanised, the Alps distinguished themselves as a place of nature. During the colonial expansion many mountains in Asia, Australia and America were now named after the Alps as well.

 

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries several important changes occurred. First, the Alpine population was now characterised by a particular growth rate, which was increasingly differentiated from that of the more dynamic non-mountain areas. Second, the migratory fluxes became ever more important and ever more directed toward extra-European destinations. Beginning in the early twentieth century, several regions were affected by depopulation. This process amplified the imbalanced distribution of the population within the Alps, because the urban centres at lower altitudes experienced strong growth and clearly became the most important dynamic localities during the twentieth century.

 

Economy

The economy showed many signs of change too. First of all, the agriculture sector started to lose importance, and sought to survive by introducing specialised crops in valley bottoms and reinforcing cattle-raising at higher altitudes. This profound transformation was obviously due to the spread of industrialisation in Europe during the nineteenth century, which had its impact on the Alps, directly or indirectly. On the one hand, activities such as iron manufacturing, which had become prominent during the early modern era, reached their limits due to transportation costs and the increasing scale of business operations. On the other hand, at the turn of the twentieth century, new opportunities emerged for the manufacturing sector, due largely to electric power, one among the main innovations of the second industrial revolution. Abundant water and steep slopes made the Alps an ideal environment for the production of hydroelectric power. Hence many industrial sites appeared there.

 

However, it was undoubtedly the service sector that experienced the most important new development within the Alpine economy: the rapid rise of tourism. The first phase was dominated by summertime visits and, by about 1850, the expansion of Alpine health resorts and spas. Later, tourism started to shift to the winter season, particularly after the introduction of ski-lifts in early twentieth century. For a long time, transit traffic and trade had been an essential part of the service sector in the Alps. The traditional routes and activities began to face strong competition from the construction of railway lines and tunnels such as the Semmering (1854), the Brenner (1867), the Fréjus/Mont-Cenis (1871), the Gotthard (1882), the Simplon (1906) and the Tauern (1909). In 2016 opened the 57 km long Gotthard Base Tunnel. With a maximum elevation of only 549 metres above sea level, it is the first flat direct route through the Alpine barrier.

 

In general, it is noteworthy that even if modern industry – tourism, the railway and later the highway system – represented opportunities for the Alps, complementing its traditional openness to new challenges, it also produced negative consequences, such as the human impact on the environment.

 

Political history

Like other parts of Europe, the Alpine region was affected by the formation of the nation states that produced tensions between various groups and had consequences for border areas. In these regions, the coercive power of the state was felt much more strongly that it had been before. Borders lost their permeability and now bisected areas formerly characterised by a shared sense of community and ongoing exchanges. During World War I the eastern Alpine region was one of the epicentres of the conflict.

 

After World War II, the Alps entered a new phase. At one and the same time, regional identities were reinforced and a common Alpine identity was constructed. A remarkable step was made in 1991 with the signing of the Alpine Convention between all Alpine countries and the European Union. This process was strengthened by the appearance of a new set of cultural values for the Alps. In the nineteenth century, there had been a tension between the romantic advocates of the "sacredness" of the Alpine peaks (such as John Ruskin), and modern mountain climbers (such as Leslie Stephen), who promoted the notion of the Alps as the "playground of Europe". In the twentieth century, the mountains acquired a clearly positive, iconic, status as places unsullied by undesirable urban influences such as pollution, noise and so on.

 

Tourism and alpinism

The fascination that the Alps exerted on the British has to be related to the general increase in charm and appeal of this mountain range during the eighteenth century. Yet British particularities were involved as well. Traditionally, many Englishmen felt the attraction of the Mediterranean, which was associated with the practice of the Grand Tour, and thus had to cross Europe and the Alps to reach it. From a place of transit, the Alps turned into a tourist destination as the flow of people and means of transport increased. Moreover, with the invention of new sports the Alps became an area of experimental training. The Alps offered many mountain climbers a degree of difficulty that fit their expectations.

 

The convergence of these phenomena granted to Alpine tourism a central position. It intensified from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards and, in spite of fluctuations, would never lose its importance. Railway companies, travel guides, travelogues and travel agents joined forces to make the Alps a prestigious tourist destination. With Thomas Cook in particular, the Alps appeared, as early as 1861, in the catalog of tourist offers and were instrumental in the establishment of a "truly international industry" of tourism. This industry developed the infrastructure: railway lines, hotels and other services such as casinos, promenades, improvements, and funiculars.

 

The conquest of the Alps by British tourists was achieved along with their domestication and with the passionate participation of local, regional and national élites, be they political, economic or cultural. Leslie Stephen, in a best-selling book first published in 1871, defined the Alps as "the Playground of Europe". The book highlights the incredible success of the mountains but it also reflects the tensions that emerged among their visitors. There was a clash between the "real enthusiasts", sensitive to beauty, and the "flock of ordinary tourists" sticking to their customs and comforts.

 

During the twentieth century, then, the Alps were involved in the globalisation of tourism, a process that caused the multiplication of its destinations. However, in the British population these mountains retained an undeniable attraction. In fact, the British continued to view winter sports in particular (such as skiing, skating, bobsleigh, curling) as significant grounds for justifying their travel and their perpetuation of a unique culture. The personalities of Gavin de Beer and Arnold Lunn represent this attitude through a prolific interpretation of this mountain range from every possible perspective. Indeed, the British have never ceased to love and be attracted to the Alps. This is not likely to end soon, if the advertisements and presentations of the major Alpine resorts that intersperse the Sunday editions of the major newspapers are any indicator.

 

Linguistic history

Further information: Linguistic geography of Switzerland

The Alps are at the crossroads of the French, Italian, German and South Slavic linguistic sprachraums. They also act as a linguistic refugium, preserving archaic dialects such as Romansh, Walser German or Romance Lombardic. Extinct languages known to have been spoken in the Alpine region include Rhaetic, Lepontic, Ligurian and Langobardic.

 

As a result of the complicated history of the Alpine region, the native language and the national feelings of the inhabitants do not always correspond to the current international borders. The Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, which was annexed by Italy after World War I, has a German-speaking majority in the northern province of South Tyrol. There are Walser German speakers to found in northern Italy near the Swiss border. There are some French and Franco-Provencal-speaking districts in the Italian Aosta Valley, while there are clusters of Slovene-speakers in the Italian portion of the Julian Alps, in the Resia Valley (where the archaic Resian dialect of Slovene is still spoken) and in the mountain district known as Venetian Slovenia.

Marciano Pub Venezia, Calle Loredan 1863, Cannaregio 30121 Venezia, VE, IT 06/06

Plzeňský Prazdroj / Pilsner Urquell 0,5 l € 6.5

www.pilsner-urquell.cz

Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti - Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (IVSLA) / Veneto Institute of Sciences, Letters & Arts, Campo San Vidal 2847, San Marco, 30124 Venezia, VE, IT 03/35

Lee Miller - Man Ray. Moda, Amore, Guerra / Fashion, Love, War - Nov. 5th 2022 - Apr. 10th 2023 03/20

Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; Aug. 27th 1890 - Nov. 18th 1976) - Quattro Ritratti di Mirò / Four Portraits of Mirò (1934), Giorgio De Chirico (1925), Max Ernst (1935), Pablo Picasso (1932)

Campo San Maurizio, San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, IT 01/02

Palazzo Zaguri aka Palazzo Pasqualini, Campo San Maurizio 2668, San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, IT 01/02

w. Well

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy.

 

It has an area of 146 square kilometres (56 sq mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, it is the fifth deepest lake in Europe and the deepest outside Norway; the bottom of the lake is 227 metres (745 ft) below sea level.

 

Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta. Many famous people have owned homes on the shores of Lake Como.

 

One of its particularities is its "Y" shape, which forms the "Larian Triangle", with the little town of Canzo as its capital.

 

In 2014, The Huffington Post described it as the most beautiful lake in the world for its microclimate and environment with prestigious villas and villages.

 

Etymology

The lake's name in Latin is Larius, Italianized as Lario, but this name is rarely used; it is usually called Lago di Como (literally "lake of Como"). Its name comes from the city of Como, known to the Romans as Comum.

 

Geography

The lake is shaped much like an inverted letter "Y". The northern branch begins at the town of Colico, while the towns of Como and Lecco sit at the ends of the southwestern and southeastern branches respectively. The small towns of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna are situated at the intersection of the three branches of the lake: a boat service operates a triangular route between them.

 

Lake Como is fed primarily by the Adda, which enters the lake near Colico and flows out at Lecco. This geological conformation makes the southwestern branch a dead end, and so Como, unlike Lecco, is often flooded.

 

The mountainous pre-alpine territory between the two southern arms of the lake (between Como, Bellagio, and Lecco) is known as the Larian Triangle, or Triangolo lariano. The source of the river Lambro is here. At the centre of the triangle, the town of Canzo is the seat of the Comunità Montana del Triangolo lariano, an association of the 31 municipalities that represent the 71,000 inhabitants of the area.

 

Como lake in Italy

Lake Como's climate is humid subtropical (Cfa under the Köppen climate classification system). In winter, the lake helps to maintain a higher temperature in the surrounding region. Average daily temperatures range from ~3.7 °C (39 °F) in January to 23.4 °C (74 °F) in July, according to historical weather data from Como. Water temperatures can reach an average of 24 °C (75 °F) in July. Snowfall is erratic and occurs mainly at higher elevations. Rainfall is heaviest in May and lowest during the winter months.

 

History

At the beginning of the first millennium B.C. during the Iron Age, the Comum oppidum was born and the civilization of Como developed, inserted in the broader Golasecca culture. In 196 B.C. the army of the consul Claudius Marcellus defeats the Celts tribe of the Comenses and conquers the city. Comum was then strengthened and rebuilt after a raid by Rhaetian and repopulated with 3,000 settlers in 77 BC. Finally, after having reclaimed the marshy area, in 59 B.C. it was re-founded with the name of Novum Comun in its current location on the lake shore at the behest of Gaius Julius Caesar.[6] Pliny the Younger, in one of his Epistulae, describes the lake and its surrounding area as providing plentiful opportunities for fishing and hunting. According to the Notitia Dignitatum, at least since the 4th century, a Praefectus commanding a Roman military fleet was present on the lake.

 

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the waters of the lake were the scene of military clashes, such as in the 12th century during the war of Milan against Como, which saw the Como fleet in action against the ships of the Milanese and their allies or between 1525 and 1532 due to the Musso war unleashed by Gian Giacomo Medici

 

On 28 April 1945, deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was executed in the lakeside village of Giulino, about 180 metres (590 ft) from the waterfront.

 

Tourism and Economy

As a tourist destination, Lake Como is popular for its landscapes, wildlife, and spas. It is a venue for sailing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing.

 

Although generally considered safe, bathers aiming to find relief from the heat and swimming enthusiasts alike should exercise caution, as a prevailing regulation prohibits diving and swimming both in the city of Como and in the various small villages along the lake. Exceptions are found only in privately managed lidos or designated public beaches where explicit signage permits swimming activities. This prohibition stems from the danger posed by the lake's waters that swiftly transition from shallow to deep near the shoreline and from unpredictable aquatic conditions, which have led to numerous incidents, including drowning cases attributed to sudden thermal shock.

 

In the area surrounding Lake Como, there are several farms which produce goods such as honey, olive oil, cheese, milk, eggs and salamis. Visitors can find lists of these farms and typically visit the farm itself in person to make their purchases.

 

Lakeside villas

The lake is well known for the attractive villas that have been built there since Roman times when Pliny the Younger built the Comedia and the Tragedia resorts. Many villas on the lake shores have admirable gardens that benefit from the mild climate induced by the stabilizing presence of 22.5 cubic kilometres (5.4 cu mi) of lake water and can sustain many subtropical and Mediterranean plants.

 

Villa Carlotta was built for the Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici in 1690 and occupies a site of over 7 hectares (17 acres) at Tremezzo, facing the Bellagio peninsula. An Italian garden (with steps, fountains, and sculptures) was laid out at the same time. The villa was later sold to powerful banker and Napoleonic politician Giovanni Battista Sommariva. Stendhal was his guest in 1818, and his visit is recalled at the start of La Chartreuse de Parme. In 1843 it was purchased by Princess Marianne of Nassau as a wedding present for her daughter Carlotta, after whom the villa is now named. The latter, together with her husband Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen, laid out the woodland landscape park in Romantic style. The villa today includes a museum of agricultural implements as well as important works of sculpture by Sommariva's friend Antonio Canova and by Luigi Acquisti.

 

Villa d'Este, in Cernobbio, was built in 1568 by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, a native of the town. In 1816–1817 the villa was home to Caroline of Brunswick, estranged wife of the Prince of Wales and shortly to become Queen Consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom. The landscaped gardens in the English style are a product of this period. Later in the century, it was turned into a luxury hotel. Today the Villa d'Este is known for attracting celebrity guests.[citation needed]

 

Villa del Balbianello, famous for its elaborate terraced gardens, lies on a promontory of the western shore of the lake near Isola Comacina. Built-in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery, it was the final home of the explorer Guido Monzino and today houses a museum devoted to his work.[citation needed]

 

Villa Melzi d'Eril in Bellagio was built in neo-classical style by architect Giocondo Albertolli in 1808–1810 as the summer residence of Duke Francesco Melzi d'Eril, who was vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic. The park includes an orangery, a private chapel, fine statues, and a Japanese garden, and is planted, as often on Lake Como, with huge rhododendrons. 19th-century guests at the Villa included Stendhal and Franz Liszt.

 

Villa Serbelloni, also in Bellagio, hosts the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, a 50-acre (200,000 m2) international conference centre set up and managed by the Rockefeller Foundation since 1959, which also operates a "scholar-in-residence" program for scholars from around the world. This is believed to have been the site of Pliny the Younger's villa "Tragedia". Its well-known park was created at the end of the 18th century by Alessandro Serbelloni.[citation needed]

 

Many famous people have or have had homes on the shores of Lake Como, such as Matthew Bellamy, John Kerry, Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Julian Lennon, Richard Branson, Ben Spies, Pierina Legnani, Lionel Messi and José Mourinho.

 

Ferries

The Lake Como ferry service is a highly developed public transport system linking the many small towns around the Lake. A motorized service began in 1826 when a steamship with sails, the Lario, was launched by the newly established Società privilegiata per l'impresa dei battelli a vapore nel Regno Lombardo Veneto. Since 1952 the system has been run under the auspices of a government organization called first the Gestione Commissariale Governativa and subsequently the Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi, which is also responsible for services on Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda.

 

Today there are three main services:

Motorship services along the western branch and northern end of the Lake (between Colico or Piona and Como town), with additional shuttles to the mid-lake area.

Fast services that follow broadly the same route, but use faster hydrofoils, stop less frequently, and cost extra.

Ferries that run only between the popular mid-lake villages of Menaggio, Bellagio, and Varenna, plus Cadenabbia. Some of these boats carry vehicles as well as passengers.

 

Sacro Monte di Ossuccio

The Sacro Monte di Ossuccio ("Holy Mount of Ossuccio") is a sanctuary located on a hillside slope between olive groves and woods along the western edge of Lake Como facing Isola Comacina. Fifteen Baroque-inspiredchapels, built between 1635 and 1710, and dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary are dotted along the way that leads to the Monastery. This building is the last in the chain and is dedicated to the Coronation of the Virgin.

 

In 2003, the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, including that of Ossuccio, were added by UNESCO to the World Heritage List.

 

Villages, resorts, and other notable localities near the lake

Cities and villages on Lake Como

Western shore

from North to SouthSouth shore

from West to EastEastern shore

from North to South

Domaso

Gravedona

Dongo

Musso

Menaggio

Cadenabbia

Griante

Tremezzo

Mezzegra

Lenno

Ossuccio

Sala Comacina

Colonno

Argegno

Brienno

Moltrasio

Cernobbio

Como

Como

Blevio

Brunate

Torno

Nesso

Bellagio

Malgrate

Lecco

Colico

Dorio

Dervio

Bellano

Varenna

Lierna

Mandello del Lario

Lecco

 

In literature and the arts

Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The Lake of Como was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, in 1837. It illustrates a painting by Samuel Prout, engraved by William Miller.

 

In 1818 Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Thomas Love Peacock: "This lake exceeds anything I ever beheld in beauty, except the arbutus islands of Killarney. It is long and narrow, and has the appearance of a mighty river winding among the mountains and the forests."

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy.

 

It has an area of 146 square kilometres (56 sq mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, it is the fifth deepest lake in Europe and the deepest outside Norway; the bottom of the lake is 227 metres (745 ft) below sea level.

 

Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta. Many famous people have owned homes on the shores of Lake Como.

 

One of its particularities is its "Y" shape, which forms the "Larian Triangle", with the little town of Canzo as its capital.

 

In 2014, The Huffington Post described it as the most beautiful lake in the world for its microclimate and environment with prestigious villas and villages.

 

Etymology

The lake's name in Latin is Larius, Italianized as Lario, but this name is rarely used; it is usually called Lago di Como (literally "lake of Como"). Its name comes from the city of Como, known to the Romans as Comum.

 

Geography

The lake is shaped much like an inverted letter "Y". The northern branch begins at the town of Colico, while the towns of Como and Lecco sit at the ends of the southwestern and southeastern branches respectively. The small towns of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna are situated at the intersection of the three branches of the lake: a boat service operates a triangular route between them.

 

Lake Como is fed primarily by the Adda, which enters the lake near Colico and flows out at Lecco. This geological conformation makes the southwestern branch a dead end, and so Como, unlike Lecco, is often flooded.

 

The mountainous pre-alpine territory between the two southern arms of the lake (between Como, Bellagio, and Lecco) is known as the Larian Triangle, or Triangolo lariano. The source of the river Lambro is here. At the centre of the triangle, the town of Canzo is the seat of the Comunità Montana del Triangolo lariano, an association of the 31 municipalities that represent the 71,000 inhabitants of the area.

 

Como lake in Italy

Lake Como's climate is humid subtropical (Cfa under the Köppen climate classification system). In winter, the lake helps to maintain a higher temperature in the surrounding region. Average daily temperatures range from ~3.7 °C (39 °F) in January to 23.4 °C (74 °F) in July, according to historical weather data from Como. Water temperatures can reach an average of 24 °C (75 °F) in July. Snowfall is erratic and occurs mainly at higher elevations. Rainfall is heaviest in May and lowest during the winter months.

 

History

At the beginning of the first millennium B.C. during the Iron Age, the Comum oppidum was born and the civilization of Como developed, inserted in the broader Golasecca culture. In 196 B.C. the army of the consul Claudius Marcellus defeats the Celts tribe of the Comenses and conquers the city. Comum was then strengthened and rebuilt after a raid by Rhaetian and repopulated with 3,000 settlers in 77 BC. Finally, after having reclaimed the marshy area, in 59 B.C. it was re-founded with the name of Novum Comun in its current location on the lake shore at the behest of Gaius Julius Caesar.[6] Pliny the Younger, in one of his Epistulae, describes the lake and its surrounding area as providing plentiful opportunities for fishing and hunting. According to the Notitia Dignitatum, at least since the 4th century, a Praefectus commanding a Roman military fleet was present on the lake.

 

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the waters of the lake were the scene of military clashes, such as in the 12th century during the war of Milan against Como, which saw the Como fleet in action against the ships of the Milanese and their allies or between 1525 and 1532 due to the Musso war unleashed by Gian Giacomo Medici

 

On 28 April 1945, deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was executed in the lakeside village of Giulino, about 180 metres (590 ft) from the waterfront.

 

Tourism and Economy

As a tourist destination, Lake Como is popular for its landscapes, wildlife, and spas. It is a venue for sailing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing.

 

Although generally considered safe, bathers aiming to find relief from the heat and swimming enthusiasts alike should exercise caution, as a prevailing regulation prohibits diving and swimming both in the city of Como and in the various small villages along the lake. Exceptions are found only in privately managed lidos or designated public beaches where explicit signage permits swimming activities. This prohibition stems from the danger posed by the lake's waters that swiftly transition from shallow to deep near the shoreline and from unpredictable aquatic conditions, which have led to numerous incidents, including drowning cases attributed to sudden thermal shock.

 

In the area surrounding Lake Como, there are several farms which produce goods such as honey, olive oil, cheese, milk, eggs and salamis. Visitors can find lists of these farms and typically visit the farm itself in person to make their purchases.

 

Lakeside villas

The lake is well known for the attractive villas that have been built there since Roman times when Pliny the Younger built the Comedia and the Tragedia resorts. Many villas on the lake shores have admirable gardens that benefit from the mild climate induced by the stabilizing presence of 22.5 cubic kilometres (5.4 cu mi) of lake water and can sustain many subtropical and Mediterranean plants.

 

Villa Carlotta was built for the Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici in 1690 and occupies a site of over 7 hectares (17 acres) at Tremezzo, facing the Bellagio peninsula. An Italian garden (with steps, fountains, and sculptures) was laid out at the same time. The villa was later sold to powerful banker and Napoleonic politician Giovanni Battista Sommariva. Stendhal was his guest in 1818, and his visit is recalled at the start of La Chartreuse de Parme. In 1843 it was purchased by Princess Marianne of Nassau as a wedding present for her daughter Carlotta, after whom the villa is now named. The latter, together with her husband Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen, laid out the woodland landscape park in Romantic style. The villa today includes a museum of agricultural implements as well as important works of sculpture by Sommariva's friend Antonio Canova and by Luigi Acquisti.

 

Villa d'Este, in Cernobbio, was built in 1568 by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, a native of the town. In 1816–1817 the villa was home to Caroline of Brunswick, estranged wife of the Prince of Wales and shortly to become Queen Consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom. The landscaped gardens in the English style are a product of this period. Later in the century, it was turned into a luxury hotel. Today the Villa d'Este is known for attracting celebrity guests.[citation needed]

 

Villa del Balbianello, famous for its elaborate terraced gardens, lies on a promontory of the western shore of the lake near Isola Comacina. Built-in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery, it was the final home of the explorer Guido Monzino and today houses a museum devoted to his work.[citation needed]

 

Villa Melzi d'Eril in Bellagio was built in neo-classical style by architect Giocondo Albertolli in 1808–1810 as the summer residence of Duke Francesco Melzi d'Eril, who was vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic. The park includes an orangery, a private chapel, fine statues, and a Japanese garden, and is planted, as often on Lake Como, with huge rhododendrons. 19th-century guests at the Villa included Stendhal and Franz Liszt.

 

Villa Serbelloni, also in Bellagio, hosts the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, a 50-acre (200,000 m2) international conference centre set up and managed by the Rockefeller Foundation since 1959, which also operates a "scholar-in-residence" program for scholars from around the world. This is believed to have been the site of Pliny the Younger's villa "Tragedia". Its well-known park was created at the end of the 18th century by Alessandro Serbelloni.[citation needed]

 

Many famous people have or have had homes on the shores of Lake Como, such as Matthew Bellamy, John Kerry, Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Julian Lennon, Richard Branson, Ben Spies, Pierina Legnani, Lionel Messi and José Mourinho.

 

Ferries

The Lake Como ferry service is a highly developed public transport system linking the many small towns around the Lake. A motorized service began in 1826 when a steamship with sails, the Lario, was launched by the newly established Società privilegiata per l'impresa dei battelli a vapore nel Regno Lombardo Veneto. Since 1952 the system has been run under the auspices of a government organization called first the Gestione Commissariale Governativa and subsequently the Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi, which is also responsible for services on Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda.

 

Today there are three main services:

Motorship services along the western branch and northern end of the Lake (between Colico or Piona and Como town), with additional shuttles to the mid-lake area.

Fast services that follow broadly the same route, but use faster hydrofoils, stop less frequently, and cost extra.

Ferries that run only between the popular mid-lake villages of Menaggio, Bellagio, and Varenna, plus Cadenabbia. Some of these boats carry vehicles as well as passengers.

 

Sacro Monte di Ossuccio

The Sacro Monte di Ossuccio ("Holy Mount of Ossuccio") is a sanctuary located on a hillside slope between olive groves and woods along the western edge of Lake Como facing Isola Comacina. Fifteen Baroque-inspiredchapels, built between 1635 and 1710, and dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary are dotted along the way that leads to the Monastery. This building is the last in the chain and is dedicated to the Coronation of the Virgin.

 

In 2003, the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, including that of Ossuccio, were added by UNESCO to the World Heritage List.

 

Villages, resorts, and other notable localities near the lake

Cities and villages on Lake Como

Western shore

from North to SouthSouth shore

from West to EastEastern shore

from North to South

Domaso

Gravedona

Dongo

Musso

Menaggio

Cadenabbia

Griante

Tremezzo

Mezzegra

Lenno

Ossuccio

Sala Comacina

Colonno

Argegno

Brienno

Moltrasio

Cernobbio

Como

Como

Blevio

Brunate

Torno

Nesso

Bellagio

Malgrate

Lecco

Colico

Dorio

Dervio

Bellano

Varenna

Lierna

Mandello del Lario

Lecco

 

In literature and the arts

Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The Lake of Como was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, in 1837. It illustrates a painting by Samuel Prout, engraved by William Miller.

 

In 1818 Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Thomas Love Peacock: "This lake exceeds anything I ever beheld in beauty, except the arbutus islands of Killarney. It is long and narrow, and has the appearance of a mighty river winding among the mountains and the forests."

The stone pine, botanical name Pinus pinea, also known as the Italian stone pine, Mediterranean stone pine, umbrella pine and parasol pine, is a tree from the pine family (Pinaceae). The tree is native to the Mediterranean region, occurring in Southern Europe and the Levant. The species was introduced into North Africa millennia ago, and is also naturalized in the Canary Islands, South Africa and New South Wales.

 

Stone pines have been used and cultivated for their edible pine nuts since prehistoric times. They are widespread in horticultural cultivation as ornamental trees, planted in gardens and parks around the world. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

 

Pinus pinea is a diagnostic species of the vegetation class Pinetea halepensis.

 

The prehistoric range of Pinus pinea included North Africa in the Sahara Desert and Maghreb regions during a more humid climate period, in present-day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Its contemporary natural range is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome ecoregions and countries, including the following:

 

The Iberian conifer forests ecoregion of the Iberian Peninsula in Spain and Portugal; the Italian sclerophyllous and semideciduous forests ecoregion in France and Italy; the Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests ecoregion of southern Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia; the Illyrian deciduous forests of the eastern coast of the Ionian and Adriatic Seas in Croatia and Albania; the Crimean Submediterranean forest complex ecoregion on Krasnodar Krai (Russia) and the Crimea Peninsula; and the Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests ecoregion of the southern Balkan Peninsula in Greece. In many parts of northern Italy, large parks with pine trees were laid out by the sea. Examples are the Pineta of Jesolo and Barcola, the Urban Beach of Trieste.

 

In Greece, although the species is not widely distributed,[4] an extensive stone pine forest exists in western Peloponnese at Strofylia on the peninsula separating the Kalogria Lagoon from the Mediterranean Sea. This coastal forest is at least 13 kilometres (8 miles) long, with dense and tall stands of Pinus pinea mixed with Pinus halepensis. Currently, Pinus halepensis is outcompeting stone pines in many locations of the forest. Another location in Greece is at Koukounaries on the northern Aegean island of Skiathos at the southwest corner of the island. This is a half-mile-long dense stand of stone and Aleppo pines that lies between a lagoon and the Aegean Sea:

 

In Western Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests ecoregion in Turkey; and the Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests ecoregion in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and in the Palestinian Territories.

 

The Mediterranean woodlands and forests ecoregion of North Africa, in Morocco and Algeria.

 

In the Western Cape Province, the pines were according to legend planted by the French Huguenot refugees who settled at the Cape of Good Hope during the late 17th century and who brought the seeds with them from France. The tree is known in the Afrikaans language as kroonden.

 

The stone pine is a coniferous evergreen tree that can exceed 25 metres (80 feet) in height, but 12–20 m (40–65 ft) is more typical. In youth, it is a bushy globe, in mid-age an umbrella canopy on a thick trunk, and, in maturity, a broad and flat crown over 8 m (26 ft) in width. The bark is thick, red-brown and deeply fissured into broad vertical plates.

 

The flexible mid-green leaves are needle-like, in bundles of two, and are 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long (exceptionally up to 30 cm or 12 in). Young trees up to 5–10 years old bear juvenile leaves, which are very different, single (not paired), 2–4 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) long, glaucous blue-green; the adult leaves appear mixed with juvenile leaves from the fourth or fifth year on, replacing it fully by around the tenth year. Juvenile leaves are also produced in regrowth following injury, such as a broken shoot, on older trees.

 

The cones are broad, ovoid, 8–15 cm (3–6 in) long, and take 36 months to mature, longer than any other pine. The seeds (pine nuts, piñones, pinhões, pinoli, or pignons) are large, 2 cm (3⁄4 in) long, and pale brown with a powdery black coating that rubs off easily, and have a rudimentary 4–8 mm (5⁄32–5⁄16 in) wing that falls off very easily. The wing is ineffective for wind dispersal, and the seeds are animal-dispersed, originally mainly by the Iberian magpie, but in recent history largely by humans.

 

Pinus pinea has been cultivated extensively for at least 6,000 years for its edible pine nuts, which have been trade items since early historic times. The tree has been cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region for so long that it has naturalized, and is often considered native beyond its natural range.

 

The tree is among the current symbols of Rome. It was first planted in Rome during the Roman Republic, where many historic Roman roads, such as the Via Appia, were (and still are) embellished with lines of stone pines. Stone pines were planted on the hills of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul for ornamental purposes during the Ottoman period. In Italy, the stone pine has been an aesthetic landscape element since the Italian Renaissance garden period. In the 1700s, P. pinea began being introduced as an ornamental tree to other Mediterranean climate regions of the world, and is now often found in gardens and parks in South Africa, California, and Australia. It has naturalized beyond cities in South Africa to the extent that it is listed as an invasive species there. It is also planted in western Europe up to southern Scotland, and on the East Coast of the United States up to New Jersey.

 

In the United Kingdom it has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

 

Small specimens are used for bonsai, and also grown in large pots and planters. The year-old seedlings are seasonally available as table-top Christmas trees 20–30 cm (8–12 in) tall.

 

Other products of economic value include resin, bark for tannin extraction, and empty pine cone shells for fuel. Pinus pinea is also currently widely cultivated around the Mediterranean for environmental protection such as consolidation of coastal dunes, soil conservation and protection of coastal agricultural crops.

 

The introduced western conifer seed beetle (Leptoglossus occidentalis) was accidentally imported with timber to northern Italy in the late 1990s from western USA, and has spread across Europe as an invasive pest species since then. It feeds on the sap of developing conifer cones throughout its life, and its sap-sucking causes the developing seeds to wither and misdevelop. It has destroyed most of the pine nut seeds in Italy, threatening P. pinea in its native habitats there.

 

Pestalotiopsis pini (a genus of ascomycete fungi), was found as an emerging pathogen on Pinus pinea in Portugal. Evidence of shoot blight and stem necrosis were found in stone pine orchards and urban areas in 2020. The edible pine nut production has been decreasing in the affected area due to several factors, including pests and diseases. The fungus was found on needles, shoots and trunks of Pinus pinea and also on Pinus pinaster. Pestalotiopsis fungal species could represent a threat to the health of pine forests in the Mediterranean basin.

 

Information supplied by: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_pine

Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, Scala Contarini del Bovolo 4303, San Marco, 30124 Venezia, VE, IT 56/56

Facciata su Corte del Maltese con Scala a chiocciola / Maltese Courtyard Facade w. Spiral Staircase / Scala Contarini del Bovolo 07/07

Theresa Irene Wolowski waving the The flag of Italy / bandiera d'Italia while traveling along the canals of Venice / Venezia, Italy / Italia, The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana, Europe

 

Venice / Venezia , Italy / Italia / The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana, Europe

 

Venice / Venezia is a city in northeastern Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline, between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture, and its artwork.The city in its entirety is listed as a World Heritage Site, along with its lagoon.

 

Venice is the capital of the Veneto region.

 

About this portion of the journey:

LUCERNE – VENICE

 

Traverse the Alps into Italy via the scenic St. Gotthard route and catch a glimpse of Lake Como. Skirt the sprawling commercial capital, Milan, arriving later in the region of Venice, a historically wealthy city built across 118 islands in a marshy lagoon.

 

VENICE ORIENTATION – FLORENCE

 

Cruise by private launch to St. Mark's Square and see the sumptuous Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. Watch the Venetian craftsmen at work creating local specialities at a glassblowing workshop. Afterwards, you might like to take an optional experience to Burano Island for a delightful lunch. Cross the Apennine Mountains, arriving later in Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance.

 

For more information on the city of Venice / Venezia visit:

www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/ID...

 

For more information on visiting Italy www.italia.it/en/home.html

 

Trafalgar Travel

London to Rome Highlights Tour

 

October 16th 2014 returning to New York City on Sunday October 26th 2014

 

Eleven day tour visiting four countries

 

London, England, UK United Kingdom (2 nights)

 

Paris, France (2 nights)

 

Lucerne, Switzerland (1 night)

 

Venice, Italy (1 night)

 

Florence, Italy (1 night)

 

Rome, Italy (2 nights)

 

costsaver.trafalgar.com/usa/tours/london-to-rome-highligh...

 

For more on Trafalgar Travel

866-513-1995

 

www.trafalgar.com/usa

 

Hashtag metadata tag

#Venice #VeniceItaly #VeniceItalia #Venezia #VeneziaItaly #VeneziaItalia #ItalianRepublic #RepubblicaItaliana #Europe #Italian #Italy #Italia #Europe #European #TiAmoItaly #TiAmoItalia #TiAmoVenice #TiAmoVenezia #Veneto #WorldHeritage #WorldHeritageSite #HeritageSite #Italiana

  

Photo

Venice / Venezia , Italy / Italia / The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana country, Europe continent

Rome / Roma city, Italy / Italia country, Europe continent

October 23rd 2014

Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti - Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (IVSLA) / Veneto Institute of Sciences, Letters & Arts, Campo San Vidal 2847, San Marco, 30124 Venezia, VE, IT 04/35

Lee Miller - Man Ray. Moda, Amore, Guerra / Fashion, Love, War - Nov. 5th 2022 - Apr. 10th 2023 04/20

Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; Aug. 27th 1890 - Nov. 18th 1976) - Salvador Dali (c. 1929), André Breton (c.1929)

Torre dell'Orologio di San Marco / St. Mark's Clocktower, Piazza San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE, IT 48/51

Basilica di San Marco / St. Mark's Basilica Details 04/04

w. Palazzo Ducale / Doge's Palace

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy.

 

It has an area of 146 square kilometres (56 sq mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, it is the fifth deepest lake in Europe and the deepest outside Norway; the bottom of the lake is 227 metres (745 ft) below sea level.

 

Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta. Many famous people have owned homes on the shores of Lake Como.

 

One of its particularities is its "Y" shape, which forms the "Larian Triangle", with the little town of Canzo as its capital.

 

In 2014, The Huffington Post described it as the most beautiful lake in the world for its microclimate and environment with prestigious villas and villages.

 

Etymology

The lake's name in Latin is Larius, Italianized as Lario, but this name is rarely used; it is usually called Lago di Como (literally "lake of Como"). Its name comes from the city of Como, known to the Romans as Comum.

 

Geography

The lake is shaped much like an inverted letter "Y". The northern branch begins at the town of Colico, while the towns of Como and Lecco sit at the ends of the southwestern and southeastern branches respectively. The small towns of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna are situated at the intersection of the three branches of the lake: a boat service operates a triangular route between them.

 

Lake Como is fed primarily by the Adda, which enters the lake near Colico and flows out at Lecco. This geological conformation makes the southwestern branch a dead end, and so Como, unlike Lecco, is often flooded.

 

The mountainous pre-alpine territory between the two southern arms of the lake (between Como, Bellagio, and Lecco) is known as the Larian Triangle, or Triangolo lariano. The source of the river Lambro is here. At the centre of the triangle, the town of Canzo is the seat of the Comunità Montana del Triangolo lariano, an association of the 31 municipalities that represent the 71,000 inhabitants of the area.

 

Como lake in Italy

Lake Como's climate is humid subtropical (Cfa under the Köppen climate classification system). In winter, the lake helps to maintain a higher temperature in the surrounding region. Average daily temperatures range from ~3.7 °C (39 °F) in January to 23.4 °C (74 °F) in July, according to historical weather data from Como. Water temperatures can reach an average of 24 °C (75 °F) in July. Snowfall is erratic and occurs mainly at higher elevations. Rainfall is heaviest in May and lowest during the winter months.

 

History

At the beginning of the first millennium B.C. during the Iron Age, the Comum oppidum was born and the civilization of Como developed, inserted in the broader Golasecca culture. In 196 B.C. the army of the consul Claudius Marcellus defeats the Celts tribe of the Comenses and conquers the city. Comum was then strengthened and rebuilt after a raid by Rhaetian and repopulated with 3,000 settlers in 77 BC. Finally, after having reclaimed the marshy area, in 59 B.C. it was re-founded with the name of Novum Comun in its current location on the lake shore at the behest of Gaius Julius Caesar.[6] Pliny the Younger, in one of his Epistulae, describes the lake and its surrounding area as providing plentiful opportunities for fishing and hunting. According to the Notitia Dignitatum, at least since the 4th century, a Praefectus commanding a Roman military fleet was present on the lake.

 

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the waters of the lake were the scene of military clashes, such as in the 12th century during the war of Milan against Como, which saw the Como fleet in action against the ships of the Milanese and their allies or between 1525 and 1532 due to the Musso war unleashed by Gian Giacomo Medici

 

On 28 April 1945, deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was executed in the lakeside village of Giulino, about 180 metres (590 ft) from the waterfront.

 

Tourism and Economy

As a tourist destination, Lake Como is popular for its landscapes, wildlife, and spas. It is a venue for sailing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing.

 

Although generally considered safe, bathers aiming to find relief from the heat and swimming enthusiasts alike should exercise caution, as a prevailing regulation prohibits diving and swimming both in the city of Como and in the various small villages along the lake. Exceptions are found only in privately managed lidos or designated public beaches where explicit signage permits swimming activities. This prohibition stems from the danger posed by the lake's waters that swiftly transition from shallow to deep near the shoreline and from unpredictable aquatic conditions, which have led to numerous incidents, including drowning cases attributed to sudden thermal shock.

 

In the area surrounding Lake Como, there are several farms which produce goods such as honey, olive oil, cheese, milk, eggs and salamis. Visitors can find lists of these farms and typically visit the farm itself in person to make their purchases.

 

Lakeside villas

The lake is well known for the attractive villas that have been built there since Roman times when Pliny the Younger built the Comedia and the Tragedia resorts. Many villas on the lake shores have admirable gardens that benefit from the mild climate induced by the stabilizing presence of 22.5 cubic kilometres (5.4 cu mi) of lake water and can sustain many subtropical and Mediterranean plants.

 

Villa Carlotta was built for the Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici in 1690 and occupies a site of over 7 hectares (17 acres) at Tremezzo, facing the Bellagio peninsula. An Italian garden (with steps, fountains, and sculptures) was laid out at the same time. The villa was later sold to powerful banker and Napoleonic politician Giovanni Battista Sommariva. Stendhal was his guest in 1818, and his visit is recalled at the start of La Chartreuse de Parme. In 1843 it was purchased by Princess Marianne of Nassau as a wedding present for her daughter Carlotta, after whom the villa is now named. The latter, together with her husband Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen, laid out the woodland landscape park in Romantic style. The villa today includes a museum of agricultural implements as well as important works of sculpture by Sommariva's friend Antonio Canova and by Luigi Acquisti.

 

Villa d'Este, in Cernobbio, was built in 1568 by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, a native of the town. In 1816–1817 the villa was home to Caroline of Brunswick, estranged wife of the Prince of Wales and shortly to become Queen Consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom. The landscaped gardens in the English style are a product of this period. Later in the century, it was turned into a luxury hotel. Today the Villa d'Este is known for attracting celebrity guests.[citation needed]

 

Villa del Balbianello, famous for its elaborate terraced gardens, lies on a promontory of the western shore of the lake near Isola Comacina. Built-in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery, it was the final home of the explorer Guido Monzino and today houses a museum devoted to his work.[citation needed]

 

Villa Melzi d'Eril in Bellagio was built in neo-classical style by architect Giocondo Albertolli in 1808–1810 as the summer residence of Duke Francesco Melzi d'Eril, who was vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic. The park includes an orangery, a private chapel, fine statues, and a Japanese garden, and is planted, as often on Lake Como, with huge rhododendrons. 19th-century guests at the Villa included Stendhal and Franz Liszt.

 

Villa Serbelloni, also in Bellagio, hosts the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, a 50-acre (200,000 m2) international conference centre set up and managed by the Rockefeller Foundation since 1959, which also operates a "scholar-in-residence" program for scholars from around the world. This is believed to have been the site of Pliny the Younger's villa "Tragedia". Its well-known park was created at the end of the 18th century by Alessandro Serbelloni.[citation needed]

 

Many famous people have or have had homes on the shores of Lake Como, such as Matthew Bellamy, John Kerry, Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Julian Lennon, Richard Branson, Ben Spies, Pierina Legnani, Lionel Messi and José Mourinho.

 

Ferries

The Lake Como ferry service is a highly developed public transport system linking the many small towns around the Lake. A motorized service began in 1826 when a steamship with sails, the Lario, was launched by the newly established Società privilegiata per l'impresa dei battelli a vapore nel Regno Lombardo Veneto. Since 1952 the system has been run under the auspices of a government organization called first the Gestione Commissariale Governativa and subsequently the Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi, which is also responsible for services on Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda.

 

Today there are three main services:

Motorship services along the western branch and northern end of the Lake (between Colico or Piona and Como town), with additional shuttles to the mid-lake area.

Fast services that follow broadly the same route, but use faster hydrofoils, stop less frequently, and cost extra.

Ferries that run only between the popular mid-lake villages of Menaggio, Bellagio, and Varenna, plus Cadenabbia. Some of these boats carry vehicles as well as passengers.

 

Sacro Monte di Ossuccio

The Sacro Monte di Ossuccio ("Holy Mount of Ossuccio") is a sanctuary located on a hillside slope between olive groves and woods along the western edge of Lake Como facing Isola Comacina. Fifteen Baroque-inspiredchapels, built between 1635 and 1710, and dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary are dotted along the way that leads to the Monastery. This building is the last in the chain and is dedicated to the Coronation of the Virgin.

 

In 2003, the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, including that of Ossuccio, were added by UNESCO to the World Heritage List.

 

Villages, resorts, and other notable localities near the lake

Cities and villages on Lake Como

Western shore

from North to SouthSouth shore

from West to EastEastern shore

from North to South

Domaso

Gravedona

Dongo

Musso

Menaggio

Cadenabbia

Griante

Tremezzo

Mezzegra

Lenno

Ossuccio

Sala Comacina

Colonno

Argegno

Brienno

Moltrasio

Cernobbio

Como

Como

Blevio

Brunate

Torno

Nesso

Bellagio

Malgrate

Lecco

Colico

Dorio

Dervio

Bellano

Varenna

Lierna

Mandello del Lario

Lecco

 

In literature and the arts

Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The Lake of Como was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, in 1837. It illustrates a painting by Samuel Prout, engraved by William Miller.

 

In 1818 Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Thomas Love Peacock: "This lake exceeds anything I ever beheld in beauty, except the arbutus islands of Killarney. It is long and narrow, and has the appearance of a mighty river winding among the mountains and the forests."

Palazzo Loredan - Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (IVSLA) / Veneto Institute of Sciences, Letters & Arts, Campo Santo Stefano 2945/2946, San Marco, 30124 Venezia, VE, IT - De' Visi mostruosi e Caricature - Da Leonardo da Vinci a Bacon / Of Monstrous Faces and Caricatures - From Leonardo da Vinci to Bacon, 28 Gennaio - 27 Aprile 2023 / Jan. 28th - Apr. 27th 2023 19/19

Francis Bacon (Oct. 28th 1909 - Apr. 28th 1992) - Tre Studi per il Ritratto di Isabel Rawsehorne / Three Studies for Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne (1965)

Palazzo Trevisan Cappello, Calle Seconda de la Fava 4301, 30122 Venezia VE, IT 01/03

w. Ponte dei Cappelli

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy.

 

It has an area of 146 square kilometres (56 sq mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, it is the fifth deepest lake in Europe and the deepest outside Norway; the bottom of the lake is 227 metres (745 ft) below sea level.

 

Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta. Many famous people have owned homes on the shores of Lake Como.

 

One of its particularities is its "Y" shape, which forms the "Larian Triangle", with the little town of Canzo as its capital.

 

In 2014, The Huffington Post described it as the most beautiful lake in the world for its microclimate and environment with prestigious villas and villages.

 

Etymology

The lake's name in Latin is Larius, Italianized as Lario, but this name is rarely used; it is usually called Lago di Como (literally "lake of Como"). Its name comes from the city of Como, known to the Romans as Comum.

 

Geography

The lake is shaped much like an inverted letter "Y". The northern branch begins at the town of Colico, while the towns of Como and Lecco sit at the ends of the southwestern and southeastern branches respectively. The small towns of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna are situated at the intersection of the three branches of the lake: a boat service operates a triangular route between them.

 

Lake Como is fed primarily by the Adda, which enters the lake near Colico and flows out at Lecco. This geological conformation makes the southwestern branch a dead end, and so Como, unlike Lecco, is often flooded.

 

The mountainous pre-alpine territory between the two southern arms of the lake (between Como, Bellagio, and Lecco) is known as the Larian Triangle, or Triangolo lariano. The source of the river Lambro is here. At the centre of the triangle, the town of Canzo is the seat of the Comunità Montana del Triangolo lariano, an association of the 31 municipalities that represent the 71,000 inhabitants of the area.

 

Como lake in Italy

Lake Como's climate is humid subtropical (Cfa under the Köppen climate classification system). In winter, the lake helps to maintain a higher temperature in the surrounding region. Average daily temperatures range from ~3.7 °C (39 °F) in January to 23.4 °C (74 °F) in July, according to historical weather data from Como. Water temperatures can reach an average of 24 °C (75 °F) in July. Snowfall is erratic and occurs mainly at higher elevations. Rainfall is heaviest in May and lowest during the winter months.

 

History

At the beginning of the first millennium B.C. during the Iron Age, the Comum oppidum was born and the civilization of Como developed, inserted in the broader Golasecca culture. In 196 B.C. the army of the consul Claudius Marcellus defeats the Celts tribe of the Comenses and conquers the city. Comum was then strengthened and rebuilt after a raid by Rhaetian and repopulated with 3,000 settlers in 77 BC. Finally, after having reclaimed the marshy area, in 59 B.C. it was re-founded with the name of Novum Comun in its current location on the lake shore at the behest of Gaius Julius Caesar.[6] Pliny the Younger, in one of his Epistulae, describes the lake and its surrounding area as providing plentiful opportunities for fishing and hunting. According to the Notitia Dignitatum, at least since the 4th century, a Praefectus commanding a Roman military fleet was present on the lake.

 

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the waters of the lake were the scene of military clashes, such as in the 12th century during the war of Milan against Como, which saw the Como fleet in action against the ships of the Milanese and their allies or between 1525 and 1532 due to the Musso war unleashed by Gian Giacomo Medici

 

On 28 April 1945, deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was executed in the lakeside village of Giulino, about 180 metres (590 ft) from the waterfront.

 

Tourism and Economy

As a tourist destination, Lake Como is popular for its landscapes, wildlife, and spas. It is a venue for sailing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing.

 

Although generally considered safe, bathers aiming to find relief from the heat and swimming enthusiasts alike should exercise caution, as a prevailing regulation prohibits diving and swimming both in the city of Como and in the various small villages along the lake. Exceptions are found only in privately managed lidos or designated public beaches where explicit signage permits swimming activities. This prohibition stems from the danger posed by the lake's waters that swiftly transition from shallow to deep near the shoreline and from unpredictable aquatic conditions, which have led to numerous incidents, including drowning cases attributed to sudden thermal shock.

 

In the area surrounding Lake Como, there are several farms which produce goods such as honey, olive oil, cheese, milk, eggs and salamis. Visitors can find lists of these farms and typically visit the farm itself in person to make their purchases.

 

Lakeside villas

The lake is well known for the attractive villas that have been built there since Roman times when Pliny the Younger built the Comedia and the Tragedia resorts. Many villas on the lake shores have admirable gardens that benefit from the mild climate induced by the stabilizing presence of 22.5 cubic kilometres (5.4 cu mi) of lake water and can sustain many subtropical and Mediterranean plants.

 

Villa Carlotta was built for the Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici in 1690 and occupies a site of over 7 hectares (17 acres) at Tremezzo, facing the Bellagio peninsula. An Italian garden (with steps, fountains, and sculptures) was laid out at the same time. The villa was later sold to powerful banker and Napoleonic politician Giovanni Battista Sommariva. Stendhal was his guest in 1818, and his visit is recalled at the start of La Chartreuse de Parme. In 1843 it was purchased by Princess Marianne of Nassau as a wedding present for her daughter Carlotta, after whom the villa is now named. The latter, together with her husband Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen, laid out the woodland landscape park in Romantic style. The villa today includes a museum of agricultural implements as well as important works of sculpture by Sommariva's friend Antonio Canova and by Luigi Acquisti.

 

Villa d'Este, in Cernobbio, was built in 1568 by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, a native of the town. In 1816–1817 the villa was home to Caroline of Brunswick, estranged wife of the Prince of Wales and shortly to become Queen Consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom. The landscaped gardens in the English style are a product of this period. Later in the century, it was turned into a luxury hotel. Today the Villa d'Este is known for attracting celebrity guests.[citation needed]

 

Villa del Balbianello, famous for its elaborate terraced gardens, lies on a promontory of the western shore of the lake near Isola Comacina. Built-in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery, it was the final home of the explorer Guido Monzino and today houses a museum devoted to his work.[citation needed]

 

Villa Melzi d'Eril in Bellagio was built in neo-classical style by architect Giocondo Albertolli in 1808–1810 as the summer residence of Duke Francesco Melzi d'Eril, who was vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic. The park includes an orangery, a private chapel, fine statues, and a Japanese garden, and is planted, as often on Lake Como, with huge rhododendrons. 19th-century guests at the Villa included Stendhal and Franz Liszt.

 

Villa Serbelloni, also in Bellagio, hosts the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, a 50-acre (200,000 m2) international conference centre set up and managed by the Rockefeller Foundation since 1959, which also operates a "scholar-in-residence" program for scholars from around the world. This is believed to have been the site of Pliny the Younger's villa "Tragedia". Its well-known park was created at the end of the 18th century by Alessandro Serbelloni.[citation needed]

 

Many famous people have or have had homes on the shores of Lake Como, such as Matthew Bellamy, John Kerry, Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Julian Lennon, Richard Branson, Ben Spies, Pierina Legnani, Lionel Messi and José Mourinho.

 

Ferries

The Lake Como ferry service is a highly developed public transport system linking the many small towns around the Lake. A motorized service began in 1826 when a steamship with sails, the Lario, was launched by the newly established Società privilegiata per l'impresa dei battelli a vapore nel Regno Lombardo Veneto. Since 1952 the system has been run under the auspices of a government organization called first the Gestione Commissariale Governativa and subsequently the Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi, which is also responsible for services on Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda.

 

Today there are three main services:

Motorship services along the western branch and northern end of the Lake (between Colico or Piona and Como town), with additional shuttles to the mid-lake area.

Fast services that follow broadly the same route, but use faster hydrofoils, stop less frequently, and cost extra.

Ferries that run only between the popular mid-lake villages of Menaggio, Bellagio, and Varenna, plus Cadenabbia. Some of these boats carry vehicles as well as passengers.

 

Sacro Monte di Ossuccio

The Sacro Monte di Ossuccio ("Holy Mount of Ossuccio") is a sanctuary located on a hillside slope between olive groves and woods along the western edge of Lake Como facing Isola Comacina. Fifteen Baroque-inspiredchapels, built between 1635 and 1710, and dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary are dotted along the way that leads to the Monastery. This building is the last in the chain and is dedicated to the Coronation of the Virgin.

 

In 2003, the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, including that of Ossuccio, were added by UNESCO to the World Heritage List.

 

Villages, resorts, and other notable localities near the lake

Cities and villages on Lake Como

Western shore

from North to SouthSouth shore

from West to EastEastern shore

from North to South

Domaso

Gravedona

Dongo

Musso

Menaggio

Cadenabbia

Griante

Tremezzo

Mezzegra

Lenno

Ossuccio

Sala Comacina

Colonno

Argegno

Brienno

Moltrasio

Cernobbio

Como

Como

Blevio

Brunate

Torno

Nesso

Bellagio

Malgrate

Lecco

Colico

Dorio

Dervio

Bellano

Varenna

Lierna

Mandello del Lario

Lecco

 

In literature and the arts

Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The Lake of Como was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, in 1837. It illustrates a painting by Samuel Prout, engraved by William Miller.

 

In 1818 Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Thomas Love Peacock: "This lake exceeds anything I ever beheld in beauty, except the arbutus islands of Killarney. It is long and narrow, and has the appearance of a mighty river winding among the mountains and the forests."

Theresa Irene Wolowski waving the The flag of Italy / bandiera d'Italia while traveling along the canals of Venice / Venezia, Italy / Italia, The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana, Europe

 

Venice / Venezia , Italy / Italia / The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana, Europe

 

Venice / Venezia is a city in northeastern Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline, between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture, and its artwork.The city in its entirety is listed as a World Heritage Site, along with its lagoon.

 

Venice is the capital of the Veneto region.

 

About this portion of the journey:

LUCERNE – VENICE

 

Traverse the Alps into Italy via the scenic St. Gotthard route and catch a glimpse of Lake Como. Skirt the sprawling commercial capital, Milan, arriving later in the region of Venice, a historically wealthy city built across 118 islands in a marshy lagoon.

 

VENICE ORIENTATION – FLORENCE

 

Cruise by private launch to St. Mark's Square and see the sumptuous Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. Watch the Venetian craftsmen at work creating local specialities at a glassblowing workshop. Afterwards, you might like to take an optional experience to Burano Island for a delightful lunch. Cross the Apennine Mountains, arriving later in Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance.

 

For more information on the city of Venice / Venezia visit:

www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/ID...

 

For more information on visiting Italy www.italia.it/en/home.html

 

Trafalgar Travel

London to Rome Highlights Tour

 

October 16th 2014 returning to New York City on Sunday October 26th 2014

 

Eleven day tour visiting four countries

 

London, England, UK United Kingdom (2 nights)

 

Paris, France (2 nights)

 

Lucerne, Switzerland (1 night)

 

Venice, Italy (1 night)

 

Florence, Italy (1 night)

 

Rome, Italy (2 nights)

 

costsaver.trafalgar.com/usa/tours/london-to-rome-highligh...

 

For more on Trafalgar Travel

866-513-1995

 

www.trafalgar.com/usa

 

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Venice / Venezia , Italy / Italia / The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana country, Europe continent

Rome / Roma city, Italy / Italia country, Europe continent

October 23rd 2014

Dumenza ( Duménsa in Varese dialect ) is an Italian municipality of 1,438 inhabitants in the province of Varese in Lombardy .

 

It is made up of the hamlets of Runo , Due Cossani , Stivigliano, Trezzino, Vignone and Torbera and other various localities.

 

Physical geography

The territory is crossed by the Rio Colmegnino , which originates in the locality of Regordallo ( Due Cossani ) from Mount Colmegnino and flows into Lake Maggiore at the level of the Colmegna di Luino hamlet . However, the valley dug in this way takes the name of Val Dumentina (also called Valle Smeralda due to its green colours). To the north of Colmegnino stands Monte Lema , which with its 1624 meters above sea level is an excellent panoramic peak, the highest in the Luinese area, served by a cable car on the Swiss side , from Miglieglia . In fact, Dumenza borders Switzerland and hosts a pedestrian crossing in Palone (Dumenza). To the north, however, it borders Val Veddasca , which can be accessed by continuing along provincial road 6.

 

Origins of the name

Various theories justify the toponym . The most probable is that it derives from a person's name: in the lists of "fires" (i.e. families) of the municipality, the name Dugmentio appears among some heads of families . It could derive from dux mensae or from loco mensa . In fact, only in one historical document, from another municipality, does it appear as Locomenza .

 

History

Two stone brackets decorated with human faces, found by the parish priest Parapini in the church, date back to 909. They are now found at the base of the tower. But these districts are already mentioned in an 18th century document which testifies how King Liutprand donated the lands of Valtravaglia to the monastery of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia .

 

The bell tower of the church of San Giorgio , in Runo , seems to have had a military role in the period preceding the year one thousand , during the various barbarian invasions : the road, in fact, which led from Varese to Luino and then to Dumenza, was the only one that accessed Bellinzona , as the long lake did not exist. It was probably part of a system of towers along these valleys, of which Runo's is the only one surviving.

 

From the 16th century it was under the lordship of the rich and powerful Moriggia family .

 

In the Napoleonic era the municipality annexed Runo for the first time . The first city council was elected in 1821 . In 1928 fascism gave the municipality its current extension by incorporating Due Cossani and Runo.

 

Monuments and places of interest

The church of San Nazario.

The church of the Immaculate Conception (of the former institute of the Ursuline nuns).

The church of San Giorgio in Runo

The historic center of Dumenza is characterized by rural houses with large sunny balconies.

 

Stivigliano maintains its medieval conformation intact, with narrow streets and houses close together. An old turret [6] is visible overlooking the Val Dumentina, evidently for military purposes.

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy.

 

It has an area of 146 square kilometres (56 sq mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, it is the fifth deepest lake in Europe and the deepest outside Norway; the bottom of the lake is 227 metres (745 ft) below sea level.

 

Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta. Many famous people have owned homes on the shores of Lake Como.

 

One of its particularities is its "Y" shape, which forms the "Larian Triangle", with the little town of Canzo as its capital.

 

In 2014, The Huffington Post described it as the most beautiful lake in the world for its microclimate and environment with prestigious villas and villages.

 

Etymology

The lake's name in Latin is Larius, Italianized as Lario, but this name is rarely used; it is usually called Lago di Como (literally "lake of Como"). Its name comes from the city of Como, known to the Romans as Comum.

 

Geography

The lake is shaped much like an inverted letter "Y". The northern branch begins at the town of Colico, while the towns of Como and Lecco sit at the ends of the southwestern and southeastern branches respectively. The small towns of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna are situated at the intersection of the three branches of the lake: a boat service operates a triangular route between them.

 

Lake Como is fed primarily by the Adda, which enters the lake near Colico and flows out at Lecco. This geological conformation makes the southwestern branch a dead end, and so Como, unlike Lecco, is often flooded.

 

The mountainous pre-alpine territory between the two southern arms of the lake (between Como, Bellagio, and Lecco) is known as the Larian Triangle, or Triangolo lariano. The source of the river Lambro is here. At the centre of the triangle, the town of Canzo is the seat of the Comunità Montana del Triangolo lariano, an association of the 31 municipalities that represent the 71,000 inhabitants of the area.

 

Como lake in Italy

Lake Como's climate is humid subtropical (Cfa under the Köppen climate classification system). In winter, the lake helps to maintain a higher temperature in the surrounding region. Average daily temperatures range from ~3.7 °C (39 °F) in January to 23.4 °C (74 °F) in July, according to historical weather data from Como. Water temperatures can reach an average of 24 °C (75 °F) in July. Snowfall is erratic and occurs mainly at higher elevations. Rainfall is heaviest in May and lowest during the winter months.

 

History

At the beginning of the first millennium B.C. during the Iron Age, the Comum oppidum was born and the civilization of Como developed, inserted in the broader Golasecca culture. In 196 B.C. the army of the consul Claudius Marcellus defeats the Celts tribe of the Comenses and conquers the city. Comum was then strengthened and rebuilt after a raid by Rhaetian and repopulated with 3,000 settlers in 77 BC. Finally, after having reclaimed the marshy area, in 59 B.C. it was re-founded with the name of Novum Comun in its current location on the lake shore at the behest of Gaius Julius Caesar.[6] Pliny the Younger, in one of his Epistulae, describes the lake and its surrounding area as providing plentiful opportunities for fishing and hunting. According to the Notitia Dignitatum, at least since the 4th century, a Praefectus commanding a Roman military fleet was present on the lake.

 

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the waters of the lake were the scene of military clashes, such as in the 12th century during the war of Milan against Como, which saw the Como fleet in action against the ships of the Milanese and their allies or between 1525 and 1532 due to the Musso war unleashed by Gian Giacomo Medici

 

On 28 April 1945, deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was executed in the lakeside village of Giulino, about 180 metres (590 ft) from the waterfront.

 

Tourism and Economy

As a tourist destination, Lake Como is popular for its landscapes, wildlife, and spas. It is a venue for sailing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing.

 

Although generally considered safe, bathers aiming to find relief from the heat and swimming enthusiasts alike should exercise caution, as a prevailing regulation prohibits diving and swimming both in the city of Como and in the various small villages along the lake. Exceptions are found only in privately managed lidos or designated public beaches where explicit signage permits swimming activities. This prohibition stems from the danger posed by the lake's waters that swiftly transition from shallow to deep near the shoreline and from unpredictable aquatic conditions, which have led to numerous incidents, including drowning cases attributed to sudden thermal shock.

 

In the area surrounding Lake Como, there are several farms which produce goods such as honey, olive oil, cheese, milk, eggs and salamis. Visitors can find lists of these farms and typically visit the farm itself in person to make their purchases.

 

Lakeside villas

The lake is well known for the attractive villas that have been built there since Roman times when Pliny the Younger built the Comedia and the Tragedia resorts. Many villas on the lake shores have admirable gardens that benefit from the mild climate induced by the stabilizing presence of 22.5 cubic kilometres (5.4 cu mi) of lake water and can sustain many subtropical and Mediterranean plants.

 

Villa Carlotta was built for the Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici in 1690 and occupies a site of over 7 hectares (17 acres) at Tremezzo, facing the Bellagio peninsula. An Italian garden (with steps, fountains, and sculptures) was laid out at the same time. The villa was later sold to powerful banker and Napoleonic politician Giovanni Battista Sommariva. Stendhal was his guest in 1818, and his visit is recalled at the start of La Chartreuse de Parme. In 1843 it was purchased by Princess Marianne of Nassau as a wedding present for her daughter Carlotta, after whom the villa is now named. The latter, together with her husband Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen, laid out the woodland landscape park in Romantic style. The villa today includes a museum of agricultural implements as well as important works of sculpture by Sommariva's friend Antonio Canova and by Luigi Acquisti.

 

Villa d'Este, in Cernobbio, was built in 1568 by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, a native of the town. In 1816–1817 the villa was home to Caroline of Brunswick, estranged wife of the Prince of Wales and shortly to become Queen Consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom. The landscaped gardens in the English style are a product of this period. Later in the century, it was turned into a luxury hotel. Today the Villa d'Este is known for attracting celebrity guests.[citation needed]

 

Villa del Balbianello, famous for its elaborate terraced gardens, lies on a promontory of the western shore of the lake near Isola Comacina. Built-in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery, it was the final home of the explorer Guido Monzino and today houses a museum devoted to his work.[citation needed]

 

Villa Melzi d'Eril in Bellagio was built in neo-classical style by architect Giocondo Albertolli in 1808–1810 as the summer residence of Duke Francesco Melzi d'Eril, who was vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic. The park includes an orangery, a private chapel, fine statues, and a Japanese garden, and is planted, as often on Lake Como, with huge rhododendrons. 19th-century guests at the Villa included Stendhal and Franz Liszt.

 

Villa Serbelloni, also in Bellagio, hosts the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, a 50-acre (200,000 m2) international conference centre set up and managed by the Rockefeller Foundation since 1959, which also operates a "scholar-in-residence" program for scholars from around the world. This is believed to have been the site of Pliny the Younger's villa "Tragedia". Its well-known park was created at the end of the 18th century by Alessandro Serbelloni.[citation needed]

 

Many famous people have or have had homes on the shores of Lake Como, such as Matthew Bellamy, John Kerry, Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Julian Lennon, Richard Branson, Ben Spies, Pierina Legnani, Lionel Messi and José Mourinho.

 

Ferries

The Lake Como ferry service is a highly developed public transport system linking the many small towns around the Lake. A motorized service began in 1826 when a steamship with sails, the Lario, was launched by the newly established Società privilegiata per l'impresa dei battelli a vapore nel Regno Lombardo Veneto. Since 1952 the system has been run under the auspices of a government organization called first the Gestione Commissariale Governativa and subsequently the Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi, which is also responsible for services on Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda.

 

Today there are three main services:

Motorship services along the western branch and northern end of the Lake (between Colico or Piona and Como town), with additional shuttles to the mid-lake area.

Fast services that follow broadly the same route, but use faster hydrofoils, stop less frequently, and cost extra.

Ferries that run only between the popular mid-lake villages of Menaggio, Bellagio, and Varenna, plus Cadenabbia. Some of these boats carry vehicles as well as passengers.

 

Sacro Monte di Ossuccio

The Sacro Monte di Ossuccio ("Holy Mount of Ossuccio") is a sanctuary located on a hillside slope between olive groves and woods along the western edge of Lake Como facing Isola Comacina. Fifteen Baroque-inspiredchapels, built between 1635 and 1710, and dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary are dotted along the way that leads to the Monastery. This building is the last in the chain and is dedicated to the Coronation of the Virgin.

 

In 2003, the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, including that of Ossuccio, were added by UNESCO to the World Heritage List.

 

Villages, resorts, and other notable localities near the lake

Cities and villages on Lake Como

Western shore

from North to SouthSouth shore

from West to EastEastern shore

from North to South

Domaso

Gravedona

Dongo

Musso

Menaggio

Cadenabbia

Griante

Tremezzo

Mezzegra

Lenno

Ossuccio

Sala Comacina

Colonno

Argegno

Brienno

Moltrasio

Cernobbio

Como

Como

Blevio

Brunate

Torno

Nesso

Bellagio

Malgrate

Lecco

Colico

Dorio

Dervio

Bellano

Varenna

Lierna

Mandello del Lario

Lecco

 

In literature and the arts

Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The Lake of Como was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, in 1837. It illustrates a painting by Samuel Prout, engraved by William Miller.

 

In 1818 Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Thomas Love Peacock: "This lake exceeds anything I ever beheld in beauty, except the arbutus islands of Killarney. It is long and narrow, and has the appearance of a mighty river winding among the mountains and the forests."

Lake Maggiore or Verbano ( Lagh Magior in Lombard and Piedmontese ) is a pre-Alpine lake of fluvioglacial origin in the Italian geographical region . Its shores are shared between Switzerland ( Canton Ticino ) and Italy (provinces of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Novara , in Piedmont , and Varese , in Lombardy ).

 

The name Maggiore derives from the fact that it is the largest of the lakes in the area, but among the Italian lakes it is the second in surface area after Lake Garda (as well as the second in depth after Lake Como ). In the past it was joined to Lake Mergozzo , from which it was separated due to the formation of the Fondotoce Plain .

 

Lake Maggiore is located at a height of approximately 193 meters above sea level . Its surface area is 212 km² , most of which, approximately 80%, is in Italian territory. It has a perimeter of 170 km and a length of 64.37 km (the largest among Italian lakes); the maximum width is 10 km and the average width is 3.9 km. The volume of water contained is equal to 37.5 billion m³ with a theoretical replacement time of approximately 4 years. The hydrographic basin is approximately 6,598 km² of which 3,229 are in Italian territory and 3,369 in Swiss territory (the ratio between the surface area of ​​the basin and that of the lake is 31.1). The maximum altitude of the catchment basin is Punta Dufour in the Monte Rosa massif (4,633 m above sea level), while the average altitude is 1,270 m above sea level. The basin is characterized by the existence of around thirty artificial reservoirs with a collection of approximately 600 million of m³ of water which, if released simultaneously, would raise the lake level by approximately 2.5 m. The maximum depth is approximately 370 m (in the cryptodepression between Ghiffa and Porto Valtravaglia ) which is therefore 177 m below sea level.

 

The major tributaries are the Ticino , the Maggia , the Toce (which receives the waters of the Strona torrent and therefore of Lake Orta ) and the Tresa (in turn an emissary of Lake Lugano and fed by the Margorabbia ). The major tributaries have a different flow pattern, while Ticino and Toce, which have a catchment basin at high altitudes, reach a maximum flow in the period between May and October coinciding with the melting of snow and glaciers ; the other tributaries have a trend strongly influenced by rainfall . Minor tributaries are the Verzasca , Cannobino , San Bernardino , San Giovanni , Giona and Boesio streams . The only emissary is the Ticino which flows from the lake to Sesto Calende .

 

Envoys

Bardello

Boesio

Mergozzo Canal

Cannobino

Erno

Fraud of Caldè

Fraud of Porto Valtravaglia

Jonah

Maggia

Molinera

Monvallina

Riale Corto

Riale del Molino

Riale del Roddo

Riale di Casere

Rio Ballona

Rio Colmegnino (or Rio di Colmegna)

Rio Colorio

Rio dell'Asino

Rio Molinetto

Rio Valmara

Rone

San Bernardino

Saint John

San Giovanni di Bedero

Thick Forest

Stronetta

Tiasca

Ticino

Toce

Aquanegra stream

Tresa

Trigo

Versella or Varesella

Verzasca

Vevera

 

Geology

The origin of Lake Maggiore is partly glacial, as evidenced by the layout of the hills formed by moraine deposits of a glacial nature, but it is ascertained that the glacial excavation took place on a pre-existing river valley, the profile of the lake in fact has the typical V shape of river valleys.

 

Baveno pink granite was widely used as a building material in the past . Furthermore, the ancient construction uses of Angera stone are known (used for example in classical antiquity and in the medieval period), while the Caldè limestone quarries provided for many centuries the raw material for the lime with which high-rise buildings were built. Lombardy and Piedmont: thanks to the ease of transport by boat, first on the lake, then on the Milanese canals

 

Lake Maggiore is characterized by cold winters, but milder than inland, and moderately snowy (with average accumulations of 10 cm for each snowfall and sometimes even higher than 30 cm up to a maximum of 50 cm), summers are moderately hot, humid and stormy, the average temperature in January is around 2 degrees centigrade, with peaks of 3 degrees on the northern side of the Borromean Gulf (due to the extensive exposure to the sun), night temperatures can drop below 0, up to -10, but very rarely go below this value. In summer the average temperatures are around 22 degrees centigrade, with daytime peaks rarely exceeding 32 degrees. Proceeding towards the internal valleys the temperatures gradually become more rigid. The area is very rainy and sometimes, especially in intermediate seasons, floods can occur. The temperature of the surface waters (up to 2 meters deep) of the lake reach winter peaks of 5-6 degrees, while in summer they reach an average of 22-24 degrees.

 

Some statistics on Lake Maggiore . It should be noted that during lean periods the water level between Locarno and Sesto Calende can vary by 1 cm, while during floods up to 30 cm

 

Like all pre-Alpine lakes, Lake Maggiore is crossed, especially in the summer, by two types of prevailing winds, one which blows in the morning from the mountains towards the plain (called moscendrino as it comes from the Monte Ceneri Pass , sometimes tramontana ) and a small breeze that blows from the plain to the mountains especially during the afternoon (called inverna ). These constant winds make the pre-Alpine lakes an excellent field for practicing sports that use the wind, such as sailing and windsurfing . Lake Maggiore has some particular points, especially in the upper part, where the mountains squeeze together to form a narrow valley in which these winds blow very strongly.

 

Then there are other winds typical of this lake such as the winter wind , which blows from the south-west and generally brings storms, the major one , which comes from the north-east and is very dangerous as it agitates the lake a lot, the valmaggine which blows slightly from the valleys behind Locarno , the mergozzo , which blows especially at night, from the north-west

 

In Lake Maggiore there are many large, small or tiny islands , divided between 8 in Piedmont, 2 in Switzerland and 2 in Lombardy, for a total of 12.

 

Borromean Islands

Beautiful island

Isola Madre

Isola dei Pescatori (or Isola Superiore or Isola Superiore dei Pescatori)

Islet of San Giovanni

Malghera islet (or rock).

Brissago Islands

San Pancrazio Island (or Big Island)

Island of Sant'Apollinare (or Isolino)

Castles of Cannero

Isolino Partegora

Sasso Galletto

Between Stresa and Verbania there is the Borromean archipelago: Isola Madre (the largest in the lake basin), Isola Bella and Isola Superiore dei Pescatori (also known more simply as Isola dei Pescatori or Isola Superiore)

 

Opposite the Swiss town of Ronco sopra Ascona are the two islands of Brissago, the larger of which hosts a botanical garden.

 

In front of the coast of Cannero Riviera there are the three emerged rocks called Castelli di Cannero: the major rock, totally occupied today by the Vitaliana war artefact, a fortress commissioned by Count Ludovico Borromeo starting from 1518, the minor rock, on which the ruins of the so-called "prisons" stand, but in fact a small advanced tower with a falconette gunboat garrisoning the southern canal port, and finally the little rock (towards Maccagno ) of the "Melgonaro", on which only a stunted but tenacious plant grows fascinated poets and engravers such as Piero Chiara , Marco Costantini , Carlo Rapp .

 

Finally, we must mention the small island of San Giovanni in front of Verbania (famous because it was the residence of the orchestra director Arturo Toscanini in the seventeenth-century Palazzo Borromeo for many years ), the small island of La Malghera also known as Isola delle Bambole , among 'Isola Bella and that of the Fishermen and therefore the Isolino Partegora in the small gulf of Angera .

 

History:

The finds and evidence found tell us that following the actual creation of the lake, with the complete retreat of the ice, the surrounding area was inhabited by nomadic groups , who used the territory mainly as a place for hunting and supplies.

 

In the Chalcolithic historical period, the first residential areas were built in the immediate vicinity of the lake and from that moment there was a slow consolidation of sedentary groups .

 

On the shores of the lake, the Golasecca culture developed between the 9th and 4th centuries BC , a Celtic -speaking Iron Age civilization . The Golasecchians advanced as far as some areas of present-day Lombardy , only to be pushed back again to their western borders by the descent of the Celts into the Italian peninsula , probably the population of the Taurine Gauls .

 

The Gauls therefore had supremacy over the lake territory until the advance of the Romans who turned the Piedmont and Lombard areas back into provinces of the empire . The " Verbanus Lacus " (name given to it by the Romans, from which the nomenclature Lake Verbano will probably derive ) or " Lacus Maximus " (another name even attributed to it by Virgil ) will remain firmly in the hands of the Roman Empire . In Roman times, navigation along the lake experienced particular development, so much so that ships could descend the Ticino and thus reach Pavia , from where they could reach, thanks to the Po , as far as the Adriatic Sea . It is no coincidence that the excavations of the Angera settlement have brought to light finds that show strong connections between the lake and the upper Adriatic. This shipping line experienced particular development during the early Middle Ages , when Pavia was the capital of the Lombard kingdom first and then of the kingdom of Italy.

 

To arrive at a period of rebirth of the cities on the lake we had to wait until the Middle Ages , which led to the creation of villages, castles and in general a very different example of the physiognomy of inhabited places.

In this period the area around the lake, as well as numerous territories in the surroundings of Milan , passed into the hands of various families such as the Della Torre , the Visconti , the ruling house of the Habsburgs from 1713 and in particular the Borromeo family , which had enormous influence for many years on Lake Maggiore, starting from the acquisition of the fiefdom of Arona in 1445. Another very illustrious lineage that had a great influence in the medieval era is that of the Marquises Morigi or Moriggia, who received numerous territories from the Viscontis such as the degagne of San Maurizio and San Martino, the Valtravaglia which were nicknamed "Morigie lands". Over the centuries the families of Borromeo and Morigi fought bitterly for hegemony over these lands. The Borromeo themselves also had, between 1523 and 1524, actual armed clashes against Francesco II Sforza who on several occasions sent troops and armed ships against the Borromeo fortresses located on the islands of Cannero . Other noble families linked to the territory since the Middle Ages were the Besozzi , the Sessa , the Luini and the Capitanei of Locarno.

 

Starting from the 14th century, navigation along the lake was also exploited to transport the heavy blocks of marble coming from Candoglia and other quarries located in the surroundings of the lake towards the two main Lombard construction sites of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: the cathedral of Milan and the Charterhouse of Pavia

  

Campo Santi Filippo e Giacomo, eastbound View

Lake Maggiore or Verbano ( Lagh Magior in Lombard and Piedmontese ) is a pre-Alpine lake of fluvioglacial origin in the Italian geographical region . Its shores are shared between Switzerland ( Canton Ticino ) and Italy (provinces of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Novara , in Piedmont , and Varese , in Lombardy ).

 

The name Maggiore derives from the fact that it is the largest of the lakes in the area, but among the Italian lakes it is the second in surface area after Lake Garda (as well as the second in depth after Lake Como ). In the past it was joined to Lake Mergozzo , from which it was separated due to the formation of the Fondotoce Plain .

 

Lake Maggiore is located at a height of approximately 193 meters above sea level . Its surface area is 212 km² , most of which, approximately 80%, is in Italian territory. It has a perimeter of 170 km and a length of 64.37 km (the largest among Italian lakes); the maximum width is 10 km and the average width is 3.9 km. The volume of water contained is equal to 37.5 billion m³ with a theoretical replacement time of approximately 4 years. The hydrographic basin is approximately 6,598 km² of which 3,229 are in Italian territory and 3,369 in Swiss territory (the ratio between the surface area of ​​the basin and that of the lake is 31.1). The maximum altitude of the catchment basin is Punta Dufour in the Monte Rosa massif (4,633 m above sea level), while the average altitude is 1,270 m above sea level. The basin is characterized by the existence of around thirty artificial reservoirs with a collection of approximately 600 million of m³ of water which, if released simultaneously, would raise the lake level by approximately 2.5 m. The maximum depth is approximately 370 m (in the cryptodepression between Ghiffa and Porto Valtravaglia ) which is therefore 177 m below sea level.

 

The major tributaries are the Ticino , the Maggia , the Toce (which receives the waters of the Strona torrent and therefore of Lake Orta ) and the Tresa (in turn an emissary of Lake Lugano and fed by the Margorabbia ). The major tributaries have a different flow pattern, while Ticino and Toce, which have a catchment basin at high altitudes, reach a maximum flow in the period between May and October coinciding with the melting of snow and glaciers ; the other tributaries have a trend strongly influenced by rainfall . Minor tributaries are the Verzasca , Cannobino , San Bernardino , San Giovanni , Giona and Boesio streams . The only emissary is the Ticino which flows from the lake to Sesto Calende .

 

Envoys

Bardello

Boesio

Mergozzo Canal

Cannobino

Erno

Fraud of Caldè

Fraud of Porto Valtravaglia

Jonah

Maggia

Molinera

Monvallina

Riale Corto

Riale del Molino

Riale del Roddo

Riale di Casere

Rio Ballona

Rio Colmegnino (or Rio di Colmegna)

Rio Colorio

Rio dell'Asino

Rio Molinetto

Rio Valmara

Rone

San Bernardino

Saint John

San Giovanni di Bedero

Thick Forest

Stronetta

Tiasca

Ticino

Toce

Aquanegra stream

Tresa

Trigo

Versella or Varesella

Verzasca

Vevera

 

Geology

The origin of Lake Maggiore is partly glacial, as evidenced by the layout of the hills formed by moraine deposits of a glacial nature, but it is ascertained that the glacial excavation took place on a pre-existing river valley, the profile of the lake in fact has the typical V shape of river valleys.

 

Baveno pink granite was widely used as a building material in the past . Furthermore, the ancient construction uses of Angera stone are known (used for example in classical antiquity and in the medieval period), while the Caldè limestone quarries provided for many centuries the raw material for the lime with which high-rise buildings were built. Lombardy and Piedmont: thanks to the ease of transport by boat, first on the lake, then on the Milanese canals

 

Lake Maggiore is characterized by cold winters, but milder than inland, and moderately snowy (with average accumulations of 10 cm for each snowfall and sometimes even higher than 30 cm up to a maximum of 50 cm), summers are moderately hot, humid and stormy, the average temperature in January is around 2 degrees centigrade, with peaks of 3 degrees on the northern side of the Borromean Gulf (due to the extensive exposure to the sun), night temperatures can drop below 0, up to -10, but very rarely go below this value. In summer the average temperatures are around 22 degrees centigrade, with daytime peaks rarely exceeding 32 degrees. Proceeding towards the internal valleys the temperatures gradually become more rigid. The area is very rainy and sometimes, especially in intermediate seasons, floods can occur. The temperature of the surface waters (up to 2 meters deep) of the lake reach winter peaks of 5-6 degrees, while in summer they reach an average of 22-24 degrees.

 

Some statistics on Lake Maggiore . It should be noted that during lean periods the water level between Locarno and Sesto Calende can vary by 1 cm, while during floods up to 30 cm

 

Like all pre-Alpine lakes, Lake Maggiore is crossed, especially in the summer, by two types of prevailing winds, one which blows in the morning from the mountains towards the plain (called moscendrino as it comes from the Monte Ceneri Pass , sometimes tramontana ) and a small breeze that blows from the plain to the mountains especially during the afternoon (called inverna ). These constant winds make the pre-Alpine lakes an excellent field for practicing sports that use the wind, such as sailing and windsurfing . Lake Maggiore has some particular points, especially in the upper part, where the mountains squeeze together to form a narrow valley in which these winds blow very strongly.

 

Then there are other winds typical of this lake such as the winter wind , which blows from the south-west and generally brings storms, the major one , which comes from the north-east and is very dangerous as it agitates the lake a lot, the valmaggine which blows slightly from the valleys behind Locarno , the mergozzo , which blows especially at night, from the north-west

 

In Lake Maggiore there are many large, small or tiny islands , divided between 8 in Piedmont, 2 in Switzerland and 2 in Lombardy, for a total of 12.

 

Borromean Islands

Beautiful island

Isola Madre

Isola dei Pescatori (or Isola Superiore or Isola Superiore dei Pescatori)

Islet of San Giovanni

Malghera islet (or rock).

Brissago Islands

San Pancrazio Island (or Big Island)

Island of Sant'Apollinare (or Isolino)

Castles of Cannero

Isolino Partegora

Sasso Galletto

Between Stresa and Verbania there is the Borromean archipelago: Isola Madre (the largest in the lake basin), Isola Bella and Isola Superiore dei Pescatori (also known more simply as Isola dei Pescatori or Isola Superiore)

 

Opposite the Swiss town of Ronco sopra Ascona are the two islands of Brissago, the larger of which hosts a botanical garden.

 

In front of the coast of Cannero Riviera there are the three emerged rocks called Castelli di Cannero: the major rock, totally occupied today by the Vitaliana war artefact, a fortress commissioned by Count Ludovico Borromeo starting from 1518, the minor rock, on which the ruins of the so-called "prisons" stand, but in fact a small advanced tower with a falconette gunboat garrisoning the southern canal port, and finally the little rock (towards Maccagno ) of the "Melgonaro", on which only a stunted but tenacious plant grows fascinated poets and engravers such as Piero Chiara , Marco Costantini , Carlo Rapp .

 

Finally, we must mention the small island of San Giovanni in front of Verbania (famous because it was the residence of the orchestra director Arturo Toscanini in the seventeenth-century Palazzo Borromeo for many years ), the small island of La Malghera also known as Isola delle Bambole , among 'Isola Bella and that of the Fishermen and therefore the Isolino Partegora in the small gulf of Angera .

 

History:

The finds and evidence found tell us that following the actual creation of the lake, with the complete retreat of the ice, the surrounding area was inhabited by nomadic groups , who used the territory mainly as a place for hunting and supplies.

 

In the Chalcolithic historical period, the first residential areas were built in the immediate vicinity of the lake and from that moment there was a slow consolidation of sedentary groups .

 

On the shores of the lake, the Golasecca culture developed between the 9th and 4th centuries BC , a Celtic -speaking Iron Age civilization . The Golasecchians advanced as far as some areas of present-day Lombardy , only to be pushed back again to their western borders by the descent of the Celts into the Italian peninsula , probably the population of the Taurine Gauls .

 

The Gauls therefore had supremacy over the lake territory until the advance of the Romans who turned the Piedmont and Lombard areas back into provinces of the empire . The " Verbanus Lacus " (name given to it by the Romans, from which the nomenclature Lake Verbano will probably derive ) or " Lacus Maximus " (another name even attributed to it by Virgil ) will remain firmly in the hands of the Roman Empire . In Roman times, navigation along the lake experienced particular development, so much so that ships could descend the Ticino and thus reach Pavia , from where they could reach, thanks to the Po , as far as the Adriatic Sea . It is no coincidence that the excavations of the Angera settlement have brought to light finds that show strong connections between the lake and the upper Adriatic. This shipping line experienced particular development during the early Middle Ages , when Pavia was the capital of the Lombard kingdom first and then of the kingdom of Italy.

 

To arrive at a period of rebirth of the cities on the lake we had to wait until the Middle Ages , which led to the creation of villages, castles and in general a very different example of the physiognomy of inhabited places.

In this period the area around the lake, as well as numerous territories in the surroundings of Milan , passed into the hands of various families such as the Della Torre , the Visconti , the ruling house of the Habsburgs from 1713 and in particular the Borromeo family , which had enormous influence for many years on Lake Maggiore, starting from the acquisition of the fiefdom of Arona in 1445. Another very illustrious lineage that had a great influence in the medieval era is that of the Marquises Morigi or Moriggia, who received numerous territories from the Viscontis such as the degagne of San Maurizio and San Martino, the Valtravaglia which were nicknamed "Morigie lands". Over the centuries the families of Borromeo and Morigi fought bitterly for hegemony over these lands. The Borromeo themselves also had, between 1523 and 1524, actual armed clashes against Francesco II Sforza who on several occasions sent troops and armed ships against the Borromeo fortresses located on the islands of Cannero . Other noble families linked to the territory since the Middle Ages were the Besozzi , the Sessa , the Luini and the Capitanei of Locarno.

 

Starting from the 14th century, navigation along the lake was also exploited to transport the heavy blocks of marble coming from Candoglia and other quarries located in the surroundings of the lake towards the two main Lombard construction sites of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: the cathedral of Milan and the Charterhouse of Pavia

  

One more Pic of Ponte delle Guglie across Canale di Cannaregio / Cannaregio Canal

w. Palazzo da Mosto, Campanile / Bell Tower of Chiesa di San Geremia Profeta / Church of St. Jeremy or Jeremiah the Prophet

Ryan Janek Wolowski visiting Ristorante Centrale Pizzeria in Venice / Venezia, Italy / Italia, The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana, Europe

 

Venice / Venezia , Italy / Italia / The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana, Europe

 

Venice / Venezia is a city in northeastern Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline, between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture, and its artwork.The city in its entirety is listed as a World Heritage Site, along with its lagoon.

 

Venice is the capital of the Veneto region.

 

About this portion of the journey:

LUCERNE – VENICE

 

Traverse the Alps into Italy via the scenic St. Gotthard route and catch a glimpse of Lake Como. Skirt the sprawling commercial capital, Milan, arriving later in the region of Venice, a historically wealthy city built across 118 islands in a marshy lagoon.

 

VENICE ORIENTATION – FLORENCE

 

Cruise by private launch to St. Mark's Square and see the sumptuous Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. Watch the Venetian craftsmen at work creating local specialities at a glassblowing workshop. Afterwards, you might like to take an optional experience to Burano Island for a delightful lunch. Cross the Apennine Mountains, arriving later in Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance.

 

For more information on the city of Venice / Venezia visit:

www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/ID...

 

For more information on visiting Italy www.italia.it/en/home.html

 

Trafalgar Travel

London to Rome Highlights Tour

 

October 16th 2014 returning to New York City on Sunday October 26th 2014

 

Eleven day tour visiting four countries

 

London, England, UK United Kingdom (2 nights)

 

Paris, France (2 nights)

 

Lucerne, Switzerland (1 night)

 

Venice, Italy (1 night)

 

Florence, Italy (1 night)

 

Rome, Italy (2 nights)

 

costsaver.trafalgar.com/usa/tours/london-to-rome-highligh...

 

For more on Trafalgar Travel

866-513-1995

 

www.trafalgar.com/usa

 

Hashtag metadata tag

#Venice #VeniceItaly #VeniceItalia #Venezia #VeneziaItaly #VeneziaItalia #ItalianRepublic #RepubblicaItaliana #Europe #Italian #Italy #Italia #Europe #European #TiAmoItaly #TiAmoItalia #TiAmoVenice #TiAmoVenezia #Veneto #WorldHeritage #WorldHeritageSite #HeritageSite #Italiana

  

Photo

Venice / Venezia , Italy / Italia / The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana country, Europe continent

Rome / Roma city, Italy / Italia country, Europe continent

October 23rd 2014

Doorhead of old venetian Gate, Rio Terà Lista di Spagna aka Strada Nova 233, 30121 Venezia VE, IT

Theresa Irene Wolowski visiting Ristorante Centrale Pizzeria in Venice / Venezia, Italy / Italia, The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana, Europe

 

Venice / Venezia , Italy / Italia / The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana, Europe

 

Venice / Venezia is a city in northeastern Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline, between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture, and its artwork.The city in its entirety is listed as a World Heritage Site, along with its lagoon.

 

Venice is the capital of the Veneto region.

 

About this portion of the journey:

LUCERNE – VENICE

 

Traverse the Alps into Italy via the scenic St. Gotthard route and catch a glimpse of Lake Como. Skirt the sprawling commercial capital, Milan, arriving later in the region of Venice, a historically wealthy city built across 118 islands in a marshy lagoon.

 

VENICE ORIENTATION – FLORENCE

 

Cruise by private launch to St. Mark's Square and see the sumptuous Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. Watch the Venetian craftsmen at work creating local specialities at a glassblowing workshop. Afterwards, you might like to take an optional experience to Burano Island for a delightful lunch. Cross the Apennine Mountains, arriving later in Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance.

 

For more information on the city of Venice / Venezia visit:

www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/ID...

 

For more information on visiting Italy www.italia.it/en/home.html

 

Trafalgar Travel

London to Rome Highlights Tour

 

October 16th 2014 returning to New York City on Sunday October 26th 2014

 

Eleven day tour visiting four countries

 

London, England, UK United Kingdom (2 nights)

 

Paris, France (2 nights)

 

Lucerne, Switzerland (1 night)

 

Venice, Italy (1 night)

 

Florence, Italy (1 night)

 

Rome, Italy (2 nights)

 

costsaver.trafalgar.com/usa/tours/london-to-rome-highligh...

 

For more on Trafalgar Travel

866-513-1995

 

www.trafalgar.com/usa

 

Hashtag metadata tag

#Venice #VeniceItaly #VeniceItalia #Venezia #VeneziaItaly #VeneziaItalia #ItalianRepublic #RepubblicaItaliana #Europe #Italian #Italy #Italia #Europe #European #TiAmoItaly #TiAmoItalia #TiAmoVenice #TiAmoVenezia #Veneto #WorldHeritage #WorldHeritageSite #HeritageSite #Italiana

  

Photo

Venice / Venezia , Italy / Italia / The Italian Republic / Repubblica Italiana country, Europe continent

Rome / Roma city, Italy / Italia country, Europe continent

October 23rd 2014

Palazzo Trevisan Cappello, Calle Seconda de la Fava 4301, 30122 Venezia VE, IT 03/03

w. Rio de la Canonica aka Rio del Palazzo, Ponte dei Cappelli, Ponte dei Consorzi

The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range that is entirely in Europe, stretching approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.

 

The Alpine arch extends from Nice on the western Mediterranean to Trieste on the Adriatic and Vienna at the beginning of the Pannonian Basin. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.

 

Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,809 m (15,778 ft) is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains 128 peaks higher than 4,000 m (13,000 ft).

 

The altitude and size of the range affect the climate in Europe; in the mountains, precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones. Wildlife such as ibex live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3,400 m (11,155 ft), and plants such as edelweiss grow in rocky areas in lower elevations as well as in higher elevations.

 

Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era. A mummified man ("Ötzi"), determined to be 5,000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian–Italian border in 1991.

 

By the 6th century BC, the Celtic La Tène culture was well established. Hannibal notably crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants, and the Romans had settlements in the region. In 1800, Napoleon crossed one of the mountain passes with an army of 40,000. The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists, writers, and artists, in particular, the Romantics, followed by the golden age of alpinism as mountaineers began to ascend the peaks of the Alps.

 

The Alpine region has a strong cultural identity. Traditional practices such as farming, cheesemaking, and woodworking still thrive in Alpine villages. However, the tourist industry began to grow early in the 20th century and expanded significantly after World War II, eventually becoming the dominant industry by the end of the century.

 

The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss, French, Italian, Austrian and German Alps. As of 2010, the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors.

 

The valleys of the Alps have been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Alpine culture, which developed there, centers on transhumance.

 

Currently the Alps are divided among eight countries: France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Slovenia. In 1991 the Alpine Convention was established to regulate this transnational area, whose area measures about 190,000 square kilometres (73,000 sq mi).

 

Early history (before 1200)

The Wildkirchli caves in the Appenzell Alps show traces of Neanderthal habitation (about 40,000 BCE). During the Würm glaciation (up to c. 11700 BP), the entire Alps were covered in ice. Anatomically modern humans reach the Alpine region by c. 30,000 years ago. MtDNA Haplogroup K (believed to have originated in the mid-Upper Paleolithic, between about 30,000 and 22,000 years ago, with an estimated age here of c. 12,000 years BP), is a genetic marker associated with southeastern Alpine region.

 

Traces of transhumance appear in the neolithic. In the Bronze Age, the Alps formed the boundary of the Urnfield and Terramare cultures. The mummy found on the Ötztal Alps, known as "Ötzi the Iceman", lived c. 3200 BC. At that stage the population in its majority had already changed from an economy based on hunting and gathering to one based on agriculture and animal husbandry. It is still an open question whether forms of pastoral mobility, such as transhumance (alpiculture), already existed in prehistory.

 

The earliest historical accounts date to the Roman period, mostly due to Greco-Roman ethnography, with some epigraphic evidence due to the Raetians, Lepontii and Gauls, with Ligurians and Venetii occupying the fringes in the south-west and south-east, respectively (Cisalpine Gaul) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. The Rock Drawings in Valcamonica date to this period. A few details have come down to modern scholars of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by Augustus, as well as Hannibal's battles across the Alps. Most of the local Gallic tribes allied themselves with the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War, for the duration of which Rome lost control over most of Northern Italy. The Roman conquest of Italy was only complete after the Roman victory over Carthage, by the 190s BC.

 

Between 35 and 6 BC, the Alpine region was gradually integrated into the expanding Roman Empire. The contemporary monument Tropaeum Alpium in La Turbie celebrates the victory won by the Romans over 46 tribes in these mountains. The subsequent construction of roads over the Alpine passes first permitted southern and northern Roman settlements in the Alps to be connected, and eventually integrated the inhabitants of the Alps into the culture of the Empire. The upper Rhône Valley or Vallis Poenina fell to the Romans after a battle at Octodurus (Martigny) in 57 BC. Aosta was founded in 25 BC as Augusta Praetoria Salassorum in the former territory of the Salassi. Raetia was conquered in 15 BC.

 

With the division of the Roman Empire and the collapse of its Western part in the fourth and fifth centuries, power relations in the Alpine region reverted to their local dimensions. Often dioceses became important centres. While in Italy and Southern France, dioceses in the Western Alps were established early (beginning in the fourth century) and resulted in numerous small sees, in the Eastern Alps such foundations continued into the thirteenth century and the dioceses were usually larger. New monasteries in the mountain valleys also promoted the Christianisation of the population.[3] In that period the core area of supra-regional political powers was mainly situated north of the Alps, first in the Carolingian Empire and later, after its division, in France and the Holy Roman Empire. The German emperors, who received the imperial investiture from the Pope in Rome between the ninth and the fifteenth centuries, had to cross the Alps along with their entourages.

 

In the 7th century, much of the Eastern Alps were settled by Slavs. Between the 7th and 9th century, the Slavic principality of Carantania existed as one of the few non-Germanic polities in the Alps. The Alpine Slavs, who inhabited the majority of present-day Austria and Slovenia, were gradually Germanized from the 9th to the 14th century. The modern Slovenes are their southernmost descendants.

 

The successive emigration and occupation of the Alpine region by the Alemanni from the 6th to the 8th centuries are, too, known only in outline. For "mainstream" history, the Frankish and later the Habsburg empire, the Alps had strategic importance as an obstacle, not as a landscape, and the Alpine passes have consequently had great significance militarily.

 

Between 889 and 973, a community of Muslim raiders operating from their base of Fraxinetum, on the coast of Provence, blocked the Alpine passes to Christian travellers until their expulsion by Christian forces led by Arduin Glaber in 973, at which point transalpine trade was able to resume.

 

Not until the final breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 10th and 11th centuries is it possible to trace out the local history of different parts of the Alps, notably with the High Medieval Walser migrations.

 

Later Medieval to Early Modern Era (1200 to 1900)

The French historian Fernand Braudel, in his famous volume on Mediterranean civilisation, describes the Alps as "an exceptional range of mountains from the point of view of resources, collective disciplines, the quality of its human population and the number of good roads." This remarkable human presence in the Alpine region came into being with the population growth and agrarian expansion of the High Middle Ages. At first a mixed form of agriculture and animal husbandry dominated the economy. Then, from the Late Middle Ages onwards, cattle tended to replace sheep as the dominant animals. In a few regions of the northern slope of the Alps, cattle farming became increasingly oriented toward long-range markets and substituted agriculture completely. At the same time other types of interregional and transalpine exchange were growing in significance. The most important pass was the Brenner, which could accommodate cart traffic beginning in the fifteenth century. In the Western and Central Alps, the passes were practicable only by pack animals up to the period around 1800.

 

The process of state formation in the Alps was driven by the proximity to focal areas of European conflicts such as in the Italian wars of 1494–1559. In that period the socio-political structures of Alpine regions drifted apart. One can identify three different developmental models: one of princely centralization (Western Alps), a local-communal one (Switzerland) and an intermediate one, characterised by a powerful nobility (Eastern Alps).

 

Until the late nineteenth century many Alpine valleys remained mainly shaped by agrarian and pastoral activities. Population growth favoured the intensification of land use and the spread of corn, potato and cheese production. The shorter growing season at higher altitudes did not seem to be an impediment until around 1700. Later, however, it became a major obstacle to the further intensification of agriculture, especially in comparison to the surrounding lowlands where land productivity increased rapidly. Inside the Alpine region there was a striking difference between the western and central parts, which were dominated by small farming establishments, and the eastern part, which were characterised by medium or big farms. Migration to the urbanised zones of the surrounding areas was already apparent before 1500 and was often temporary. In the Alps themselves, urbanisation was slow.

 

Central Alps

In the Central Alps the chief event, on the northern side of the chain, is the gradual formation from 1291 to 1516 of the Swiss Confederacy, at least so far as regards the mountain cantons, and with especial reference to the independent confederations of the Grisons and the Valais, which only became full members of the Confederation in 1803 and 1815 respectively. The attraction of the south was too strong for both the Forest Cantons and the Grisons, so that both tried to secure, and actually did secure, various bits of the Milanese.

 

The Gotthard Pass was known in antiquity as Adula Mons, but it was not one of the important Alpine passes due to the impassability of the Schöllenen Gorge north of the pass. This changed dramatically with the construction of the so-called Devil's Bridge by the year 1230. Almost immediately, in 1231, the formerly unimportant valley of Uri was granted imperial immediacy and became the main route connecting Germany and Italy. Also in 1230, a hospice dedicated to Gotthard of Hildesheim was built on the pass to accommodate the pilgrims to Rome which now took this route. The sudden strategical importance for the European powers gained by what is now Central Switzerland was an important factor in the formation of the Old Swiss Confederacy beginning in the late 13th century.

 

In the 15th century, the Forest Cantons won the Valle Leventina as well as Bellinzona and the Valle di Blenio (though the Valle d'Ossola was held for a time only). Blenio was added to the Val Bregaglia (which had been given to the bishop of Coire in 960 by the emperor Otto I), along with the valleys of Valle Mesolcina and of Val Poschiavo.

 

Western Alps

Further information: County of Savoy and Duchy of Savoy

In the case of the Western Alps (excluding the part from the chain of Mont Blanc to the Simplon Pass, which followed the fortunes of the Valais), a prolonged struggle for control took place between the feudal lords of Savoy, the Dauphiné and Provence. In 1349 the Dauphiné fell to France, while in 1388 the county of Nice passed from Provence to the house of Savoy, which also then held Piedmont as well as other lands on the Italian side of the Alps. The struggle henceforth was limited to France and the house of Savoy, but little by little France succeeded in pushing back the house of Savoy across the Alps, forcing it to become a purely Italian power.

 

One turning-point in the rivalry was the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), by which France ceded to Savoy the Alpine districts of Exilles, Bardonnèche (Bardonecchia), Oulx, Fenestrelles, and Châtean Dauphin, while Savoy handed over to France the valley of Barcelonnette, situated on the western slope of the Alps and forming part of the county of Nice. The final act in this long-continued struggle took place in 1860, when France obtained by cession the rest of the county of Nice and also Savoy, thus remaining sole ruler on the western slope of the Alps.

 

Eastern Alps

The Eastern Alps had been included in the Frankish Empire since the 9th century. From the High Middle Ages and throughout the Early Modern era, the political history of the Eastern Alps can be considered almost totally in terms of the advance or retreat of the house of Habsburg. The Habsburgers' original home was in the lower valley of the Aar, at Habsburg castle. They lost that district to the Swiss in 1415, as they had previously lost various other sections of what is now Switzerland. But they built an impressive empire in the Eastern Alps, where they defeated numerous minor dynasties. They won the duchy of Austria with Styria in 1282, Carinthia and Carniola in 1335, Tirol in 1363, and the Vorarlberg in bits from 1375 to 1523, not to speak of minor "rectifications" of frontiers on the northern slope of the Alps. But on the other slope their progress was slower, and finally less successful. It is true that they won Primiero quite early (1373), as well as (1517) the Ampezzo Valley and several towns to the south of Trento. In 1797 they obtained Venetia proper, in 1803 the secularized bishoprics of Trento and Brixen (as well as that of Salzburg, more to the north), besides the Valtellina region, and in 1815 the Bergamasque valleys, while the Milanese had belonged to them since 1535. But in 1859 they lost to the house of Savoy both the Milanese and the Bergamasca, and in 1866 Venetia proper also, so that the Trentino was then their chief possession on the southern slope of the Alps. The gain of the Milanese in 1859 by the future king of Italy (1861) meant that Italy then won the valley of Livigno (between the Upper Engadine and Bormio), which is the only important bit it holds on the non-Italian slope of the Alps, besides the county of Tenda (obtained in 1575, and not lost in 1860), with the heads of certain glens in the Maritime Alps, reserved in 1860 for reasons connected with hunting. Following World War I and the demise of Austria-Hungary, there were important territorial changes in the Eastern Alps.

 

Modern history (1900 to present)

Population

For the modern era it is possible to offer a quantitative estimate of the population of the Alpine region. Within the area delimited by the Alpine Convention, there were about 3.1 million inhabitants in 1500, 5.8 in 1800, 8.5 in 1900 and 13.9 in 2000.

 

Sixteenth-century scholars, especially those from cities near the Alps, began to show a greater interest for the mountain phenomena. Their curiosity was also aroused by important questions of the genesis of the earth and the interpretation of the Bible. By the eighteenth century, a distinctive enthusiasm for nature and the Alps spread in European society. An example thereof is the famous multi-volume work "Voyages dans les Alpes" (1779–1796) by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure. In his work the naturalist from Geneva described, among other things, his 1787 ascent of Mont Blanc at 4800 metres above sea level. This new interest is also reflected in literature, most notably by Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s best-selling romantic novel "Julie, ou la nouvelle Heloise" (1761). These cultural developments resulted in a growth of interest in the Alps as a travel destination and laid the foundation for modern tourism. As Europe was getting increasingly more urbanised, the Alps distinguished themselves as a place of nature. During the colonial expansion many mountains in Asia, Australia and America were now named after the Alps as well.

 

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries several important changes occurred. First, the Alpine population was now characterised by a particular growth rate, which was increasingly differentiated from that of the more dynamic non-mountain areas. Second, the migratory fluxes became ever more important and ever more directed toward extra-European destinations. Beginning in the early twentieth century, several regions were affected by depopulation. This process amplified the imbalanced distribution of the population within the Alps, because the urban centres at lower altitudes experienced strong growth and clearly became the most important dynamic localities during the twentieth century.

 

Economy

The economy showed many signs of change too. First of all, the agriculture sector started to lose importance, and sought to survive by introducing specialised crops in valley bottoms and reinforcing cattle-raising at higher altitudes. This profound transformation was obviously due to the spread of industrialisation in Europe during the nineteenth century, which had its impact on the Alps, directly or indirectly. On the one hand, activities such as iron manufacturing, which had become prominent during the early modern era, reached their limits due to transportation costs and the increasing scale of business operations. On the other hand, at the turn of the twentieth century, new opportunities emerged for the manufacturing sector, due largely to electric power, one among the main innovations of the second industrial revolution. Abundant water and steep slopes made the Alps an ideal environment for the production of hydroelectric power. Hence many industrial sites appeared there.

 

However, it was undoubtedly the service sector that experienced the most important new development within the Alpine economy: the rapid rise of tourism. The first phase was dominated by summertime visits and, by about 1850, the expansion of Alpine health resorts and spas. Later, tourism started to shift to the winter season, particularly after the introduction of ski-lifts in early twentieth century. For a long time, transit traffic and trade had been an essential part of the service sector in the Alps. The traditional routes and activities began to face strong competition from the construction of railway lines and tunnels such as the Semmering (1854), the Brenner (1867), the Fréjus/Mont-Cenis (1871), the Gotthard (1882), the Simplon (1906) and the Tauern (1909). In 2016 opened the 57 km long Gotthard Base Tunnel. With a maximum elevation of only 549 metres above sea level, it is the first flat direct route through the Alpine barrier.

 

In general, it is noteworthy that even if modern industry – tourism, the railway and later the highway system – represented opportunities for the Alps, complementing its traditional openness to new challenges, it also produced negative consequences, such as the human impact on the environment.

 

Political history

Like other parts of Europe, the Alpine region was affected by the formation of the nation states that produced tensions between various groups and had consequences for border areas. In these regions, the coercive power of the state was felt much more strongly that it had been before. Borders lost their permeability and now bisected areas formerly characterised by a shared sense of community and ongoing exchanges. During World War I the eastern Alpine region was one of the epicentres of the conflict.

 

After World War II, the Alps entered a new phase. At one and the same time, regional identities were reinforced and a common Alpine identity was constructed. A remarkable step was made in 1991 with the signing of the Alpine Convention between all Alpine countries and the European Union. This process was strengthened by the appearance of a new set of cultural values for the Alps. In the nineteenth century, there had been a tension between the romantic advocates of the "sacredness" of the Alpine peaks (such as John Ruskin), and modern mountain climbers (such as Leslie Stephen), who promoted the notion of the Alps as the "playground of Europe". In the twentieth century, the mountains acquired a clearly positive, iconic, status as places unsullied by undesirable urban influences such as pollution, noise and so on.

 

Tourism and alpinism

The fascination that the Alps exerted on the British has to be related to the general increase in charm and appeal of this mountain range during the eighteenth century. Yet British particularities were involved as well. Traditionally, many Englishmen felt the attraction of the Mediterranean, which was associated with the practice of the Grand Tour, and thus had to cross Europe and the Alps to reach it. From a place of transit, the Alps turned into a tourist destination as the flow of people and means of transport increased. Moreover, with the invention of new sports the Alps became an area of experimental training. The Alps offered many mountain climbers a degree of difficulty that fit their expectations.

 

The convergence of these phenomena granted to Alpine tourism a central position. It intensified from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards and, in spite of fluctuations, would never lose its importance. Railway companies, travel guides, travelogues and travel agents joined forces to make the Alps a prestigious tourist destination. With Thomas Cook in particular, the Alps appeared, as early as 1861, in the catalog of tourist offers and were instrumental in the establishment of a "truly international industry" of tourism. This industry developed the infrastructure: railway lines, hotels and other services such as casinos, promenades, improvements, and funiculars.

 

The conquest of the Alps by British tourists was achieved along with their domestication and with the passionate participation of local, regional and national élites, be they political, economic or cultural. Leslie Stephen, in a best-selling book first published in 1871, defined the Alps as "the Playground of Europe". The book highlights the incredible success of the mountains but it also reflects the tensions that emerged among their visitors. There was a clash between the "real enthusiasts", sensitive to beauty, and the "flock of ordinary tourists" sticking to their customs and comforts.

 

During the twentieth century, then, the Alps were involved in the globalisation of tourism, a process that caused the multiplication of its destinations. However, in the British population these mountains retained an undeniable attraction. In fact, the British continued to view winter sports in particular (such as skiing, skating, bobsleigh, curling) as significant grounds for justifying their travel and their perpetuation of a unique culture. The personalities of Gavin de Beer and Arnold Lunn represent this attitude through a prolific interpretation of this mountain range from every possible perspective. Indeed, the British have never ceased to love and be attracted to the Alps. This is not likely to end soon, if the advertisements and presentations of the major Alpine resorts that intersperse the Sunday editions of the major newspapers are any indicator.

 

Linguistic history

Further information: Linguistic geography of Switzerland

The Alps are at the crossroads of the French, Italian, German and South Slavic linguistic sprachraums. They also act as a linguistic refugium, preserving archaic dialects such as Romansh, Walser German or Romance Lombardic. Extinct languages known to have been spoken in the Alpine region include Rhaetic, Lepontic, Ligurian and Langobardic.

 

As a result of the complicated history of the Alpine region, the native language and the national feelings of the inhabitants do not always correspond to the current international borders. The Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, which was annexed by Italy after World War I, has a German-speaking majority in the northern province of South Tyrol. There are Walser German speakers to found in northern Italy near the Swiss border. There are some French and Franco-Provencal-speaking districts in the Italian Aosta Valley, while there are clusters of Slovene-speakers in the Italian portion of the Julian Alps, in the Resia Valley (where the archaic Resian dialect of Slovene is still spoken) and in the mountain district known as Venetian Slovenia.

Look back across Canale di Cannaregio / Cannaregio Canal tow. Isola San Geremia w. Ponte delle Guglie, Palazzo Labia, Campanile / Bell Tower of Chiesa di San Geremia Profeta / Church of St. Jeremy or Jeremiah the Prophet 01/02

The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range that is entirely in Europe, stretching approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.

 

The Alpine arch extends from Nice on the western Mediterranean to Trieste on the Adriatic and Vienna at the beginning of the Pannonian Basin. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.

 

Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,809 m (15,778 ft) is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains 128 peaks higher than 4,000 m (13,000 ft).

 

The altitude and size of the range affect the climate in Europe; in the mountains, precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones. Wildlife such as ibex live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3,400 m (11,155 ft), and plants such as edelweiss grow in rocky areas in lower elevations as well as in higher elevations.

 

Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era. A mummified man ("Ötzi"), determined to be 5,000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian–Italian border in 1991.

 

By the 6th century BC, the Celtic La Tène culture was well established. Hannibal notably crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants, and the Romans had settlements in the region. In 1800, Napoleon crossed one of the mountain passes with an army of 40,000. The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists, writers, and artists, in particular, the Romantics, followed by the golden age of alpinism as mountaineers began to ascend the peaks of the Alps.

 

The Alpine region has a strong cultural identity. Traditional practices such as farming, cheesemaking, and woodworking still thrive in Alpine villages. However, the tourist industry began to grow early in the 20th century and expanded significantly after World War II, eventually becoming the dominant industry by the end of the century.

 

The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss, French, Italian, Austrian and German Alps. As of 2010, the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors.

 

The valleys of the Alps have been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Alpine culture, which developed there, centers on transhumance.

 

Currently the Alps are divided among eight countries: France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Slovenia. In 1991 the Alpine Convention was established to regulate this transnational area, whose area measures about 190,000 square kilometres (73,000 sq mi).

 

Early history (before 1200)

The Wildkirchli caves in the Appenzell Alps show traces of Neanderthal habitation (about 40,000 BCE). During the Würm glaciation (up to c. 11700 BP), the entire Alps were covered in ice. Anatomically modern humans reach the Alpine region by c. 30,000 years ago. MtDNA Haplogroup K (believed to have originated in the mid-Upper Paleolithic, between about 30,000 and 22,000 years ago, with an estimated age here of c. 12,000 years BP), is a genetic marker associated with southeastern Alpine region.

 

Traces of transhumance appear in the neolithic. In the Bronze Age, the Alps formed the boundary of the Urnfield and Terramare cultures. The mummy found on the Ötztal Alps, known as "Ötzi the Iceman", lived c. 3200 BC. At that stage the population in its majority had already changed from an economy based on hunting and gathering to one based on agriculture and animal husbandry. It is still an open question whether forms of pastoral mobility, such as transhumance (alpiculture), already existed in prehistory.

 

The earliest historical accounts date to the Roman period, mostly due to Greco-Roman ethnography, with some epigraphic evidence due to the Raetians, Lepontii and Gauls, with Ligurians and Venetii occupying the fringes in the south-west and south-east, respectively (Cisalpine Gaul) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. The Rock Drawings in Valcamonica date to this period. A few details have come down to modern scholars of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by Augustus, as well as Hannibal's battles across the Alps. Most of the local Gallic tribes allied themselves with the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War, for the duration of which Rome lost control over most of Northern Italy. The Roman conquest of Italy was only complete after the Roman victory over Carthage, by the 190s BC.

 

Between 35 and 6 BC, the Alpine region was gradually integrated into the expanding Roman Empire. The contemporary monument Tropaeum Alpium in La Turbie celebrates the victory won by the Romans over 46 tribes in these mountains. The subsequent construction of roads over the Alpine passes first permitted southern and northern Roman settlements in the Alps to be connected, and eventually integrated the inhabitants of the Alps into the culture of the Empire. The upper Rhône Valley or Vallis Poenina fell to the Romans after a battle at Octodurus (Martigny) in 57 BC. Aosta was founded in 25 BC as Augusta Praetoria Salassorum in the former territory of the Salassi. Raetia was conquered in 15 BC.

 

With the division of the Roman Empire and the collapse of its Western part in the fourth and fifth centuries, power relations in the Alpine region reverted to their local dimensions. Often dioceses became important centres. While in Italy and Southern France, dioceses in the Western Alps were established early (beginning in the fourth century) and resulted in numerous small sees, in the Eastern Alps such foundations continued into the thirteenth century and the dioceses were usually larger. New monasteries in the mountain valleys also promoted the Christianisation of the population.[3] In that period the core area of supra-regional political powers was mainly situated north of the Alps, first in the Carolingian Empire and later, after its division, in France and the Holy Roman Empire. The German emperors, who received the imperial investiture from the Pope in Rome between the ninth and the fifteenth centuries, had to cross the Alps along with their entourages.

 

In the 7th century, much of the Eastern Alps were settled by Slavs. Between the 7th and 9th century, the Slavic principality of Carantania existed as one of the few non-Germanic polities in the Alps. The Alpine Slavs, who inhabited the majority of present-day Austria and Slovenia, were gradually Germanized from the 9th to the 14th century. The modern Slovenes are their southernmost descendants.

 

The successive emigration and occupation of the Alpine region by the Alemanni from the 6th to the 8th centuries are, too, known only in outline. For "mainstream" history, the Frankish and later the Habsburg empire, the Alps had strategic importance as an obstacle, not as a landscape, and the Alpine passes have consequently had great significance militarily.

 

Between 889 and 973, a community of Muslim raiders operating from their base of Fraxinetum, on the coast of Provence, blocked the Alpine passes to Christian travellers until their expulsion by Christian forces led by Arduin Glaber in 973, at which point transalpine trade was able to resume.

 

Not until the final breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 10th and 11th centuries is it possible to trace out the local history of different parts of the Alps, notably with the High Medieval Walser migrations.

 

Later Medieval to Early Modern Era (1200 to 1900)

The French historian Fernand Braudel, in his famous volume on Mediterranean civilisation, describes the Alps as "an exceptional range of mountains from the point of view of resources, collective disciplines, the quality of its human population and the number of good roads." This remarkable human presence in the Alpine region came into being with the population growth and agrarian expansion of the High Middle Ages. At first a mixed form of agriculture and animal husbandry dominated the economy. Then, from the Late Middle Ages onwards, cattle tended to replace sheep as the dominant animals. In a few regions of the northern slope of the Alps, cattle farming became increasingly oriented toward long-range markets and substituted agriculture completely. At the same time other types of interregional and transalpine exchange were growing in significance. The most important pass was the Brenner, which could accommodate cart traffic beginning in the fifteenth century. In the Western and Central Alps, the passes were practicable only by pack animals up to the period around 1800.

 

The process of state formation in the Alps was driven by the proximity to focal areas of European conflicts such as in the Italian wars of 1494–1559. In that period the socio-political structures of Alpine regions drifted apart. One can identify three different developmental models: one of princely centralization (Western Alps), a local-communal one (Switzerland) and an intermediate one, characterised by a powerful nobility (Eastern Alps).

 

Until the late nineteenth century many Alpine valleys remained mainly shaped by agrarian and pastoral activities. Population growth favoured the intensification of land use and the spread of corn, potato and cheese production. The shorter growing season at higher altitudes did not seem to be an impediment until around 1700. Later, however, it became a major obstacle to the further intensification of agriculture, especially in comparison to the surrounding lowlands where land productivity increased rapidly. Inside the Alpine region there was a striking difference between the western and central parts, which were dominated by small farming establishments, and the eastern part, which were characterised by medium or big farms. Migration to the urbanised zones of the surrounding areas was already apparent before 1500 and was often temporary. In the Alps themselves, urbanisation was slow.

 

Central Alps

In the Central Alps the chief event, on the northern side of the chain, is the gradual formation from 1291 to 1516 of the Swiss Confederacy, at least so far as regards the mountain cantons, and with especial reference to the independent confederations of the Grisons and the Valais, which only became full members of the Confederation in 1803 and 1815 respectively. The attraction of the south was too strong for both the Forest Cantons and the Grisons, so that both tried to secure, and actually did secure, various bits of the Milanese.

 

The Gotthard Pass was known in antiquity as Adula Mons, but it was not one of the important Alpine passes due to the impassability of the Schöllenen Gorge north of the pass. This changed dramatically with the construction of the so-called Devil's Bridge by the year 1230. Almost immediately, in 1231, the formerly unimportant valley of Uri was granted imperial immediacy and became the main route connecting Germany and Italy. Also in 1230, a hospice dedicated to Gotthard of Hildesheim was built on the pass to accommodate the pilgrims to Rome which now took this route. The sudden strategical importance for the European powers gained by what is now Central Switzerland was an important factor in the formation of the Old Swiss Confederacy beginning in the late 13th century.

 

In the 15th century, the Forest Cantons won the Valle Leventina as well as Bellinzona and the Valle di Blenio (though the Valle d'Ossola was held for a time only). Blenio was added to the Val Bregaglia (which had been given to the bishop of Coire in 960 by the emperor Otto I), along with the valleys of Valle Mesolcina and of Val Poschiavo.

 

Western Alps

Further information: County of Savoy and Duchy of Savoy

In the case of the Western Alps (excluding the part from the chain of Mont Blanc to the Simplon Pass, which followed the fortunes of the Valais), a prolonged struggle for control took place between the feudal lords of Savoy, the Dauphiné and Provence. In 1349 the Dauphiné fell to France, while in 1388 the county of Nice passed from Provence to the house of Savoy, which also then held Piedmont as well as other lands on the Italian side of the Alps. The struggle henceforth was limited to France and the house of Savoy, but little by little France succeeded in pushing back the house of Savoy across the Alps, forcing it to become a purely Italian power.

 

One turning-point in the rivalry was the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), by which France ceded to Savoy the Alpine districts of Exilles, Bardonnèche (Bardonecchia), Oulx, Fenestrelles, and Châtean Dauphin, while Savoy handed over to France the valley of Barcelonnette, situated on the western slope of the Alps and forming part of the county of Nice. The final act in this long-continued struggle took place in 1860, when France obtained by cession the rest of the county of Nice and also Savoy, thus remaining sole ruler on the western slope of the Alps.

 

Eastern Alps

The Eastern Alps had been included in the Frankish Empire since the 9th century. From the High Middle Ages and throughout the Early Modern era, the political history of the Eastern Alps can be considered almost totally in terms of the advance or retreat of the house of Habsburg. The Habsburgers' original home was in the lower valley of the Aar, at Habsburg castle. They lost that district to the Swiss in 1415, as they had previously lost various other sections of what is now Switzerland. But they built an impressive empire in the Eastern Alps, where they defeated numerous minor dynasties. They won the duchy of Austria with Styria in 1282, Carinthia and Carniola in 1335, Tirol in 1363, and the Vorarlberg in bits from 1375 to 1523, not to speak of minor "rectifications" of frontiers on the northern slope of the Alps. But on the other slope their progress was slower, and finally less successful. It is true that they won Primiero quite early (1373), as well as (1517) the Ampezzo Valley and several towns to the south of Trento. In 1797 they obtained Venetia proper, in 1803 the secularized bishoprics of Trento and Brixen (as well as that of Salzburg, more to the north), besides the Valtellina region, and in 1815 the Bergamasque valleys, while the Milanese had belonged to them since 1535. But in 1859 they lost to the house of Savoy both the Milanese and the Bergamasca, and in 1866 Venetia proper also, so that the Trentino was then their chief possession on the southern slope of the Alps. The gain of the Milanese in 1859 by the future king of Italy (1861) meant that Italy then won the valley of Livigno (between the Upper Engadine and Bormio), which is the only important bit it holds on the non-Italian slope of the Alps, besides the county of Tenda (obtained in 1575, and not lost in 1860), with the heads of certain glens in the Maritime Alps, reserved in 1860 for reasons connected with hunting. Following World War I and the demise of Austria-Hungary, there were important territorial changes in the Eastern Alps.

 

Modern history (1900 to present)

Population

For the modern era it is possible to offer a quantitative estimate of the population of the Alpine region. Within the area delimited by the Alpine Convention, there were about 3.1 million inhabitants in 1500, 5.8 in 1800, 8.5 in 1900 and 13.9 in 2000.

 

Sixteenth-century scholars, especially those from cities near the Alps, began to show a greater interest for the mountain phenomena. Their curiosity was also aroused by important questions of the genesis of the earth and the interpretation of the Bible. By the eighteenth century, a distinctive enthusiasm for nature and the Alps spread in European society. An example thereof is the famous multi-volume work "Voyages dans les Alpes" (1779–1796) by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure. In his work the naturalist from Geneva described, among other things, his 1787 ascent of Mont Blanc at 4800 metres above sea level. This new interest is also reflected in literature, most notably by Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s best-selling romantic novel "Julie, ou la nouvelle Heloise" (1761). These cultural developments resulted in a growth of interest in the Alps as a travel destination and laid the foundation for modern tourism. As Europe was getting increasingly more urbanised, the Alps distinguished themselves as a place of nature. During the colonial expansion many mountains in Asia, Australia and America were now named after the Alps as well.

 

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries several important changes occurred. First, the Alpine population was now characterised by a particular growth rate, which was increasingly differentiated from that of the more dynamic non-mountain areas. Second, the migratory fluxes became ever more important and ever more directed toward extra-European destinations. Beginning in the early twentieth century, several regions were affected by depopulation. This process amplified the imbalanced distribution of the population within the Alps, because the urban centres at lower altitudes experienced strong growth and clearly became the most important dynamic localities during the twentieth century.

 

Economy

The economy showed many signs of change too. First of all, the agriculture sector started to lose importance, and sought to survive by introducing specialised crops in valley bottoms and reinforcing cattle-raising at higher altitudes. This profound transformation was obviously due to the spread of industrialisation in Europe during the nineteenth century, which had its impact on the Alps, directly or indirectly. On the one hand, activities such as iron manufacturing, which had become prominent during the early modern era, reached their limits due to transportation costs and the increasing scale of business operations. On the other hand, at the turn of the twentieth century, new opportunities emerged for the manufacturing sector, due largely to electric power, one among the main innovations of the second industrial revolution. Abundant water and steep slopes made the Alps an ideal environment for the production of hydroelectric power. Hence many industrial sites appeared there.

 

However, it was undoubtedly the service sector that experienced the most important new development within the Alpine economy: the rapid rise of tourism. The first phase was dominated by summertime visits and, by about 1850, the expansion of Alpine health resorts and spas. Later, tourism started to shift to the winter season, particularly after the introduction of ski-lifts in early twentieth century. For a long time, transit traffic and trade had been an essential part of the service sector in the Alps. The traditional routes and activities began to face strong competition from the construction of railway lines and tunnels such as the Semmering (1854), the Brenner (1867), the Fréjus/Mont-Cenis (1871), the Gotthard (1882), the Simplon (1906) and the Tauern (1909). In 2016 opened the 57 km long Gotthard Base Tunnel. With a maximum elevation of only 549 metres above sea level, it is the first flat direct route through the Alpine barrier.

 

In general, it is noteworthy that even if modern industry – tourism, the railway and later the highway system – represented opportunities for the Alps, complementing its traditional openness to new challenges, it also produced negative consequences, such as the human impact on the environment.

 

Political history

Like other parts of Europe, the Alpine region was affected by the formation of the nation states that produced tensions between various groups and had consequences for border areas. In these regions, the coercive power of the state was felt much more strongly that it had been before. Borders lost their permeability and now bisected areas formerly characterised by a shared sense of community and ongoing exchanges. During World War I the eastern Alpine region was one of the epicentres of the conflict.

 

After World War II, the Alps entered a new phase. At one and the same time, regional identities were reinforced and a common Alpine identity was constructed. A remarkable step was made in 1991 with the signing of the Alpine Convention between all Alpine countries and the European Union. This process was strengthened by the appearance of a new set of cultural values for the Alps. In the nineteenth century, there had been a tension between the romantic advocates of the "sacredness" of the Alpine peaks (such as John Ruskin), and modern mountain climbers (such as Leslie Stephen), who promoted the notion of the Alps as the "playground of Europe". In the twentieth century, the mountains acquired a clearly positive, iconic, status as places unsullied by undesirable urban influences such as pollution, noise and so on.

 

Tourism and alpinism

The fascination that the Alps exerted on the British has to be related to the general increase in charm and appeal of this mountain range during the eighteenth century. Yet British particularities were involved as well. Traditionally, many Englishmen felt the attraction of the Mediterranean, which was associated with the practice of the Grand Tour, and thus had to cross Europe and the Alps to reach it. From a place of transit, the Alps turned into a tourist destination as the flow of people and means of transport increased. Moreover, with the invention of new sports the Alps became an area of experimental training. The Alps offered many mountain climbers a degree of difficulty that fit their expectations.

 

The convergence of these phenomena granted to Alpine tourism a central position. It intensified from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards and, in spite of fluctuations, would never lose its importance. Railway companies, travel guides, travelogues and travel agents joined forces to make the Alps a prestigious tourist destination. With Thomas Cook in particular, the Alps appeared, as early as 1861, in the catalog of tourist offers and were instrumental in the establishment of a "truly international industry" of tourism. This industry developed the infrastructure: railway lines, hotels and other services such as casinos, promenades, improvements, and funiculars.

 

The conquest of the Alps by British tourists was achieved along with their domestication and with the passionate participation of local, regional and national élites, be they political, economic or cultural. Leslie Stephen, in a best-selling book first published in 1871, defined the Alps as "the Playground of Europe". The book highlights the incredible success of the mountains but it also reflects the tensions that emerged among their visitors. There was a clash between the "real enthusiasts", sensitive to beauty, and the "flock of ordinary tourists" sticking to their customs and comforts.

 

During the twentieth century, then, the Alps were involved in the globalisation of tourism, a process that caused the multiplication of its destinations. However, in the British population these mountains retained an undeniable attraction. In fact, the British continued to view winter sports in particular (such as skiing, skating, bobsleigh, curling) as significant grounds for justifying their travel and their perpetuation of a unique culture. The personalities of Gavin de Beer and Arnold Lunn represent this attitude through a prolific interpretation of this mountain range from every possible perspective. Indeed, the British have never ceased to love and be attracted to the Alps. This is not likely to end soon, if the advertisements and presentations of the major Alpine resorts that intersperse the Sunday editions of the major newspapers are any indicator.

 

Linguistic history

Further information: Linguistic geography of Switzerland

The Alps are at the crossroads of the French, Italian, German and South Slavic linguistic sprachraums. They also act as a linguistic refugium, preserving archaic dialects such as Romansh, Walser German or Romance Lombardic. Extinct languages known to have been spoken in the Alpine region include Rhaetic, Lepontic, Ligurian and Langobardic.

 

As a result of the complicated history of the Alpine region, the native language and the national feelings of the inhabitants do not always correspond to the current international borders. The Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, which was annexed by Italy after World War I, has a German-speaking majority in the northern province of South Tyrol. There are Walser German speakers to found in northern Italy near the Swiss border. There are some French and Franco-Provencal-speaking districts in the Italian Aosta Valley, while there are clusters of Slovene-speakers in the Italian portion of the Julian Alps, in the Resia Valley (where the archaic Resian dialect of Slovene is still spoken) and in the mountain district known as Venetian Slovenia.

Look back across Canale di Cannaregio / Cannaregio Canal tow. Isola San Geremia w. Ponte delle Guglie, Palazzo Labia, Campanile / Bell Tower of Chiesa di San Geremia Profeta / Church of St. Jeremy or Jeremiah the Prophet 02/02

Fontego dei Tedeschi / Fondaco dei Tedeschi / Warehouse of the Germans, Calle del Fontego dei Tedeschi, San Marco, 30100 Venezia VE, IT 69/80

Venezia / Venice 360° - Terrazza Panoramica / Panoramic Rooftop Terrace Views 65/72

w. (Front:) Canal Grande / Grand Canal, Ponte di Rialto / Rialto Bridge, Palazzo dei Dieci Savi, Palazzo dei Camerlenghi, Fabbriche Vecchie di Rialto, Fabbriche Nuove di Rialto, Canal Grande / Grand Canal, (Back:) Campanile / Bell Tower of Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Carmini o del Carmelo/ Church of St. Mary of of the Carmelite (Dorsoduro), Campanile della Chiesa di San Silvestro / Bell Tower of Church of St. Sylvester, Campanile della Chiesa Rettoriale di San Paolo Apostolo / Bell Tower of Rectorial Church of St. Paul of the Apostle aka San Polo, Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari / Basilica of Glorious St. Mary of the Brothers (San Polo), Campanile della Chiesa di Sant'Aponal / Bell Tower of Church of St. Apollinaris of Ravenna, Chiesa di San Nicola da Tolentino / Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentino (Santa Croce), Cupole della Chiesa di San Simeone e Giuda vulgo San Simeon Piccolo / Domes of Church of Sts. Simeon and Jude, Campanile della Chiesa di San Giovanni Elemosinario / Bell Tower of Church of St. John the Merciful or the Almsgiver, Campanile della Chiesa di San Cassiano / Bell Tower of Church of St. Cassian, Chiesa di San Geremia Profeta / Church of St. Jeremy or Jeremiah the Prophet w. Campanile / Bell Tower, Top of Campanile della Chiesa di Santa Fosca / Bell Tower of Church of St. Fusca of Ravenna

The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range that is entirely in Europe, stretching approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.

 

The Alpine arch extends from Nice on the western Mediterranean to Trieste on the Adriatic and Vienna at the beginning of the Pannonian Basin. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.

 

Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,809 m (15,778 ft) is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains 128 peaks higher than 4,000 m (13,000 ft).

 

The altitude and size of the range affect the climate in Europe; in the mountains, precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones. Wildlife such as ibex live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3,400 m (11,155 ft), and plants such as edelweiss grow in rocky areas in lower elevations as well as in higher elevations.

 

Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era. A mummified man ("Ötzi"), determined to be 5,000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian–Italian border in 1991.

 

By the 6th century BC, the Celtic La Tène culture was well established. Hannibal notably crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants, and the Romans had settlements in the region. In 1800, Napoleon crossed one of the mountain passes with an army of 40,000. The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists, writers, and artists, in particular, the Romantics, followed by the golden age of alpinism as mountaineers began to ascend the peaks of the Alps.

 

The Alpine region has a strong cultural identity. Traditional practices such as farming, cheesemaking, and woodworking still thrive in Alpine villages. However, the tourist industry began to grow early in the 20th century and expanded significantly after World War II, eventually becoming the dominant industry by the end of the century.

 

The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss, French, Italian, Austrian and German Alps. As of 2010, the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors.

 

The valleys of the Alps have been inhabited since prehistoric times. The Alpine culture, which developed there, centers on transhumance.

 

Currently the Alps are divided among eight countries: France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Slovenia. In 1991 the Alpine Convention was established to regulate this transnational area, whose area measures about 190,000 square kilometres (73,000 sq mi).

 

Early history (before 1200)

The Wildkirchli caves in the Appenzell Alps show traces of Neanderthal habitation (about 40,000 BCE). During the Würm glaciation (up to c. 11700 BP), the entire Alps were covered in ice. Anatomically modern humans reach the Alpine region by c. 30,000 years ago. MtDNA Haplogroup K (believed to have originated in the mid-Upper Paleolithic, between about 30,000 and 22,000 years ago, with an estimated age here of c. 12,000 years BP), is a genetic marker associated with southeastern Alpine region.

 

Traces of transhumance appear in the neolithic. In the Bronze Age, the Alps formed the boundary of the Urnfield and Terramare cultures. The mummy found on the Ötztal Alps, known as "Ötzi the Iceman", lived c. 3200 BC. At that stage the population in its majority had already changed from an economy based on hunting and gathering to one based on agriculture and animal husbandry. It is still an open question whether forms of pastoral mobility, such as transhumance (alpiculture), already existed in prehistory.

 

The earliest historical accounts date to the Roman period, mostly due to Greco-Roman ethnography, with some epigraphic evidence due to the Raetians, Lepontii and Gauls, with Ligurians and Venetii occupying the fringes in the south-west and south-east, respectively (Cisalpine Gaul) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. The Rock Drawings in Valcamonica date to this period. A few details have come down to modern scholars of the conquest of many of the Alpine tribes by Augustus, as well as Hannibal's battles across the Alps. Most of the local Gallic tribes allied themselves with the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War, for the duration of which Rome lost control over most of Northern Italy. The Roman conquest of Italy was only complete after the Roman victory over Carthage, by the 190s BC.

 

Between 35 and 6 BC, the Alpine region was gradually integrated into the expanding Roman Empire. The contemporary monument Tropaeum Alpium in La Turbie celebrates the victory won by the Romans over 46 tribes in these mountains. The subsequent construction of roads over the Alpine passes first permitted southern and northern Roman settlements in the Alps to be connected, and eventually integrated the inhabitants of the Alps into the culture of the Empire. The upper Rhône Valley or Vallis Poenina fell to the Romans after a battle at Octodurus (Martigny) in 57 BC. Aosta was founded in 25 BC as Augusta Praetoria Salassorum in the former territory of the Salassi. Raetia was conquered in 15 BC.

 

With the division of the Roman Empire and the collapse of its Western part in the fourth and fifth centuries, power relations in the Alpine region reverted to their local dimensions. Often dioceses became important centres. While in Italy and Southern France, dioceses in the Western Alps were established early (beginning in the fourth century) and resulted in numerous small sees, in the Eastern Alps such foundations continued into the thirteenth century and the dioceses were usually larger. New monasteries in the mountain valleys also promoted the Christianisation of the population.[3] In that period the core area of supra-regional political powers was mainly situated north of the Alps, first in the Carolingian Empire and later, after its division, in France and the Holy Roman Empire. The German emperors, who received the imperial investiture from the Pope in Rome between the ninth and the fifteenth centuries, had to cross the Alps along with their entourages.

 

In the 7th century, much of the Eastern Alps were settled by Slavs. Between the 7th and 9th century, the Slavic principality of Carantania existed as one of the few non-Germanic polities in the Alps. The Alpine Slavs, who inhabited the majority of present-day Austria and Slovenia, were gradually Germanized from the 9th to the 14th century. The modern Slovenes are their southernmost descendants.

 

The successive emigration and occupation of the Alpine region by the Alemanni from the 6th to the 8th centuries are, too, known only in outline. For "mainstream" history, the Frankish and later the Habsburg empire, the Alps had strategic importance as an obstacle, not as a landscape, and the Alpine passes have consequently had great significance militarily.

 

Between 889 and 973, a community of Muslim raiders operating from their base of Fraxinetum, on the coast of Provence, blocked the Alpine passes to Christian travellers until their expulsion by Christian forces led by Arduin Glaber in 973, at which point transalpine trade was able to resume.

 

Not until the final breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 10th and 11th centuries is it possible to trace out the local history of different parts of the Alps, notably with the High Medieval Walser migrations.

 

Later Medieval to Early Modern Era (1200 to 1900)

The French historian Fernand Braudel, in his famous volume on Mediterranean civilisation, describes the Alps as "an exceptional range of mountains from the point of view of resources, collective disciplines, the quality of its human population and the number of good roads." This remarkable human presence in the Alpine region came into being with the population growth and agrarian expansion of the High Middle Ages. At first a mixed form of agriculture and animal husbandry dominated the economy. Then, from the Late Middle Ages onwards, cattle tended to replace sheep as the dominant animals. In a few regions of the northern slope of the Alps, cattle farming became increasingly oriented toward long-range markets and substituted agriculture completely. At the same time other types of interregional and transalpine exchange were growing in significance. The most important pass was the Brenner, which could accommodate cart traffic beginning in the fifteenth century. In the Western and Central Alps, the passes were practicable only by pack animals up to the period around 1800.

 

The process of state formation in the Alps was driven by the proximity to focal areas of European conflicts such as in the Italian wars of 1494–1559. In that period the socio-political structures of Alpine regions drifted apart. One can identify three different developmental models: one of princely centralization (Western Alps), a local-communal one (Switzerland) and an intermediate one, characterised by a powerful nobility (Eastern Alps).

 

Until the late nineteenth century many Alpine valleys remained mainly shaped by agrarian and pastoral activities. Population growth favoured the intensification of land use and the spread of corn, potato and cheese production. The shorter growing season at higher altitudes did not seem to be an impediment until around 1700. Later, however, it became a major obstacle to the further intensification of agriculture, especially in comparison to the surrounding lowlands where land productivity increased rapidly. Inside the Alpine region there was a striking difference between the western and central parts, which were dominated by small farming establishments, and the eastern part, which were characterised by medium or big farms. Migration to the urbanised zones of the surrounding areas was already apparent before 1500 and was often temporary. In the Alps themselves, urbanisation was slow.

 

Central Alps

In the Central Alps the chief event, on the northern side of the chain, is the gradual formation from 1291 to 1516 of the Swiss Confederacy, at least so far as regards the mountain cantons, and with especial reference to the independent confederations of the Grisons and the Valais, which only became full members of the Confederation in 1803 and 1815 respectively. The attraction of the south was too strong for both the Forest Cantons and the Grisons, so that both tried to secure, and actually did secure, various bits of the Milanese.

 

The Gotthard Pass was known in antiquity as Adula Mons, but it was not one of the important Alpine passes due to the impassability of the Schöllenen Gorge north of the pass. This changed dramatically with the construction of the so-called Devil's Bridge by the year 1230. Almost immediately, in 1231, the formerly unimportant valley of Uri was granted imperial immediacy and became the main route connecting Germany and Italy. Also in 1230, a hospice dedicated to Gotthard of Hildesheim was built on the pass to accommodate the pilgrims to Rome which now took this route. The sudden strategical importance for the European powers gained by what is now Central Switzerland was an important factor in the formation of the Old Swiss Confederacy beginning in the late 13th century.

 

In the 15th century, the Forest Cantons won the Valle Leventina as well as Bellinzona and the Valle di Blenio (though the Valle d'Ossola was held for a time only). Blenio was added to the Val Bregaglia (which had been given to the bishop of Coire in 960 by the emperor Otto I), along with the valleys of Valle Mesolcina and of Val Poschiavo.

 

Western Alps

Further information: County of Savoy and Duchy of Savoy

In the case of the Western Alps (excluding the part from the chain of Mont Blanc to the Simplon Pass, which followed the fortunes of the Valais), a prolonged struggle for control took place between the feudal lords of Savoy, the Dauphiné and Provence. In 1349 the Dauphiné fell to France, while in 1388 the county of Nice passed from Provence to the house of Savoy, which also then held Piedmont as well as other lands on the Italian side of the Alps. The struggle henceforth was limited to France and the house of Savoy, but little by little France succeeded in pushing back the house of Savoy across the Alps, forcing it to become a purely Italian power.

 

One turning-point in the rivalry was the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), by which France ceded to Savoy the Alpine districts of Exilles, Bardonnèche (Bardonecchia), Oulx, Fenestrelles, and Châtean Dauphin, while Savoy handed over to France the valley of Barcelonnette, situated on the western slope of the Alps and forming part of the county of Nice. The final act in this long-continued struggle took place in 1860, when France obtained by cession the rest of the county of Nice and also Savoy, thus remaining sole ruler on the western slope of the Alps.

 

Eastern Alps

The Eastern Alps had been included in the Frankish Empire since the 9th century. From the High Middle Ages and throughout the Early Modern era, the political history of the Eastern Alps can be considered almost totally in terms of the advance or retreat of the house of Habsburg. The Habsburgers' original home was in the lower valley of the Aar, at Habsburg castle. They lost that district to the Swiss in 1415, as they had previously lost various other sections of what is now Switzerland. But they built an impressive empire in the Eastern Alps, where they defeated numerous minor dynasties. They won the duchy of Austria with Styria in 1282, Carinthia and Carniola in 1335, Tirol in 1363, and the Vorarlberg in bits from 1375 to 1523, not to speak of minor "rectifications" of frontiers on the northern slope of the Alps. But on the other slope their progress was slower, and finally less successful. It is true that they won Primiero quite early (1373), as well as (1517) the Ampezzo Valley and several towns to the south of Trento. In 1797 they obtained Venetia proper, in 1803 the secularized bishoprics of Trento and Brixen (as well as that of Salzburg, more to the north), besides the Valtellina region, and in 1815 the Bergamasque valleys, while the Milanese had belonged to them since 1535. But in 1859 they lost to the house of Savoy both the Milanese and the Bergamasca, and in 1866 Venetia proper also, so that the Trentino was then their chief possession on the southern slope of the Alps. The gain of the Milanese in 1859 by the future king of Italy (1861) meant that Italy then won the valley of Livigno (between the Upper Engadine and Bormio), which is the only important bit it holds on the non-Italian slope of the Alps, besides the county of Tenda (obtained in 1575, and not lost in 1860), with the heads of certain glens in the Maritime Alps, reserved in 1860 for reasons connected with hunting. Following World War I and the demise of Austria-Hungary, there were important territorial changes in the Eastern Alps.

 

Modern history (1900 to present)

Population

For the modern era it is possible to offer a quantitative estimate of the population of the Alpine region. Within the area delimited by the Alpine Convention, there were about 3.1 million inhabitants in 1500, 5.8 in 1800, 8.5 in 1900 and 13.9 in 2000.

 

Sixteenth-century scholars, especially those from cities near the Alps, began to show a greater interest for the mountain phenomena. Their curiosity was also aroused by important questions of the genesis of the earth and the interpretation of the Bible. By the eighteenth century, a distinctive enthusiasm for nature and the Alps spread in European society. An example thereof is the famous multi-volume work "Voyages dans les Alpes" (1779–1796) by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure. In his work the naturalist from Geneva described, among other things, his 1787 ascent of Mont Blanc at 4800 metres above sea level. This new interest is also reflected in literature, most notably by Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s best-selling romantic novel "Julie, ou la nouvelle Heloise" (1761). These cultural developments resulted in a growth of interest in the Alps as a travel destination and laid the foundation for modern tourism. As Europe was getting increasingly more urbanised, the Alps distinguished themselves as a place of nature. During the colonial expansion many mountains in Asia, Australia and America were now named after the Alps as well.

 

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries several important changes occurred. First, the Alpine population was now characterised by a particular growth rate, which was increasingly differentiated from that of the more dynamic non-mountain areas. Second, the migratory fluxes became ever more important and ever more directed toward extra-European destinations. Beginning in the early twentieth century, several regions were affected by depopulation. This process amplified the imbalanced distribution of the population within the Alps, because the urban centres at lower altitudes experienced strong growth and clearly became the most important dynamic localities during the twentieth century.

 

Economy

The economy showed many signs of change too. First of all, the agriculture sector started to lose importance, and sought to survive by introducing specialised crops in valley bottoms and reinforcing cattle-raising at higher altitudes. This profound transformation was obviously due to the spread of industrialisation in Europe during the nineteenth century, which had its impact on the Alps, directly or indirectly. On the one hand, activities such as iron manufacturing, which had become prominent during the early modern era, reached their limits due to transportation costs and the increasing scale of business operations. On the other hand, at the turn of the twentieth century, new opportunities emerged for the manufacturing sector, due largely to electric power, one among the main innovations of the second industrial revolution. Abundant water and steep slopes made the Alps an ideal environment for the production of hydroelectric power. Hence many industrial sites appeared there.

 

However, it was undoubtedly the service sector that experienced the most important new development within the Alpine economy: the rapid rise of tourism. The first phase was dominated by summertime visits and, by about 1850, the expansion of Alpine health resorts and spas. Later, tourism started to shift to the winter season, particularly after the introduction of ski-lifts in early twentieth century. For a long time, transit traffic and trade had been an essential part of the service sector in the Alps. The traditional routes and activities began to face strong competition from the construction of railway lines and tunnels such as the Semmering (1854), the Brenner (1867), the Fréjus/Mont-Cenis (1871), the Gotthard (1882), the Simplon (1906) and the Tauern (1909). In 2016 opened the 57 km long Gotthard Base Tunnel. With a maximum elevation of only 549 metres above sea level, it is the first flat direct route through the Alpine barrier.

 

In general, it is noteworthy that even if modern industry – tourism, the railway and later the highway system – represented opportunities for the Alps, complementing its traditional openness to new challenges, it also produced negative consequences, such as the human impact on the environment.

 

Political history

Like other parts of Europe, the Alpine region was affected by the formation of the nation states that produced tensions between various groups and had consequences for border areas. In these regions, the coercive power of the state was felt much more strongly that it had been before. Borders lost their permeability and now bisected areas formerly characterised by a shared sense of community and ongoing exchanges. During World War I the eastern Alpine region was one of the epicentres of the conflict.

 

After World War II, the Alps entered a new phase. At one and the same time, regional identities were reinforced and a common Alpine identity was constructed. A remarkable step was made in 1991 with the signing of the Alpine Convention between all Alpine countries and the European Union. This process was strengthened by the appearance of a new set of cultural values for the Alps. In the nineteenth century, there had been a tension between the romantic advocates of the "sacredness" of the Alpine peaks (such as John Ruskin), and modern mountain climbers (such as Leslie Stephen), who promoted the notion of the Alps as the "playground of Europe". In the twentieth century, the mountains acquired a clearly positive, iconic, status as places unsullied by undesirable urban influences such as pollution, noise and so on.

 

Tourism and alpinism

The fascination that the Alps exerted on the British has to be related to the general increase in charm and appeal of this mountain range during the eighteenth century. Yet British particularities were involved as well. Traditionally, many Englishmen felt the attraction of the Mediterranean, which was associated with the practice of the Grand Tour, and thus had to cross Europe and the Alps to reach it. From a place of transit, the Alps turned into a tourist destination as the flow of people and means of transport increased. Moreover, with the invention of new sports the Alps became an area of experimental training. The Alps offered many mountain climbers a degree of difficulty that fit their expectations.

 

The convergence of these phenomena granted to Alpine tourism a central position. It intensified from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards and, in spite of fluctuations, would never lose its importance. Railway companies, travel guides, travelogues and travel agents joined forces to make the Alps a prestigious tourist destination. With Thomas Cook in particular, the Alps appeared, as early as 1861, in the catalog of tourist offers and were instrumental in the establishment of a "truly international industry" of tourism. This industry developed the infrastructure: railway lines, hotels and other services such as casinos, promenades, improvements, and funiculars.

 

The conquest of the Alps by British tourists was achieved along with their domestication and with the passionate participation of local, regional and national élites, be they political, economic or cultural. Leslie Stephen, in a best-selling book first published in 1871, defined the Alps as "the Playground of Europe". The book highlights the incredible success of the mountains but it also reflects the tensions that emerged among their visitors. There was a clash between the "real enthusiasts", sensitive to beauty, and the "flock of ordinary tourists" sticking to their customs and comforts.

 

During the twentieth century, then, the Alps were involved in the globalisation of tourism, a process that caused the multiplication of its destinations. However, in the British population these mountains retained an undeniable attraction. In fact, the British continued to view winter sports in particular (such as skiing, skating, bobsleigh, curling) as significant grounds for justifying their travel and their perpetuation of a unique culture. The personalities of Gavin de Beer and Arnold Lunn represent this attitude through a prolific interpretation of this mountain range from every possible perspective. Indeed, the British have never ceased to love and be attracted to the Alps. This is not likely to end soon, if the advertisements and presentations of the major Alpine resorts that intersperse the Sunday editions of the major newspapers are any indicator.

 

Linguistic history

Further information: Linguistic geography of Switzerland

The Alps are at the crossroads of the French, Italian, German and South Slavic linguistic sprachraums. They also act as a linguistic refugium, preserving archaic dialects such as Romansh, Walser German or Romance Lombardic. Extinct languages known to have been spoken in the Alpine region include Rhaetic, Lepontic, Ligurian and Langobardic.

 

As a result of the complicated history of the Alpine region, the native language and the national feelings of the inhabitants do not always correspond to the current international borders. The Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, which was annexed by Italy after World War I, has a German-speaking majority in the northern province of South Tyrol. There are Walser German speakers to found in northern Italy near the Swiss border. There are some French and Franco-Provencal-speaking districts in the Italian Aosta Valley, while there are clusters of Slovene-speakers in the Italian portion of the Julian Alps, in the Resia Valley (where the archaic Resian dialect of Slovene is still spoken) and in the mountain district known as Venetian Slovenia.

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy.

 

It has an area of 146 square kilometres (56 sq mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, it is the fifth deepest lake in Europe and the deepest outside Norway; the bottom of the lake is 227 metres (745 ft) below sea level.

 

Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces such as Villa Olmo, Villa Serbelloni, and Villa Carlotta. Many famous people have owned homes on the shores of Lake Como.

 

One of its particularities is its "Y" shape, which forms the "Larian Triangle", with the little town of Canzo as its capital.

 

In 2014, The Huffington Post described it as the most beautiful lake in the world for its microclimate and environment with prestigious villas and villages.

 

Etymology

The lake's name in Latin is Larius, Italianized as Lario, but this name is rarely used; it is usually called Lago di Como (literally "lake of Como"). Its name comes from the city of Como, known to the Romans as Comum.

 

Geography

The lake is shaped much like an inverted letter "Y". The northern branch begins at the town of Colico, while the towns of Como and Lecco sit at the ends of the southwestern and southeastern branches respectively. The small towns of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna are situated at the intersection of the three branches of the lake: a boat service operates a triangular route between them.

 

Lake Como is fed primarily by the Adda, which enters the lake near Colico and flows out at Lecco. This geological conformation makes the southwestern branch a dead end, and so Como, unlike Lecco, is often flooded.

 

The mountainous pre-alpine territory between the two southern arms of the lake (between Como, Bellagio, and Lecco) is known as the Larian Triangle, or Triangolo lariano. The source of the river Lambro is here. At the centre of the triangle, the town of Canzo is the seat of the Comunità Montana del Triangolo lariano, an association of the 31 municipalities that represent the 71,000 inhabitants of the area.

 

Como lake in Italy

Lake Como's climate is humid subtropical (Cfa under the Köppen climate classification system). In winter, the lake helps to maintain a higher temperature in the surrounding region. Average daily temperatures range from ~3.7 °C (39 °F) in January to 23.4 °C (74 °F) in July, according to historical weather data from Como. Water temperatures can reach an average of 24 °C (75 °F) in July. Snowfall is erratic and occurs mainly at higher elevations. Rainfall is heaviest in May and lowest during the winter months.

 

History

At the beginning of the first millennium B.C. during the Iron Age, the Comum oppidum was born and the civilization of Como developed, inserted in the broader Golasecca culture. In 196 B.C. the army of the consul Claudius Marcellus defeats the Celts tribe of the Comenses and conquers the city. Comum was then strengthened and rebuilt after a raid by Rhaetian and repopulated with 3,000 settlers in 77 BC. Finally, after having reclaimed the marshy area, in 59 B.C. it was re-founded with the name of Novum Comun in its current location on the lake shore at the behest of Gaius Julius Caesar.[6] Pliny the Younger, in one of his Epistulae, describes the lake and its surrounding area as providing plentiful opportunities for fishing and hunting. According to the Notitia Dignitatum, at least since the 4th century, a Praefectus commanding a Roman military fleet was present on the lake.

 

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the waters of the lake were the scene of military clashes, such as in the 12th century during the war of Milan against Como, which saw the Como fleet in action against the ships of the Milanese and their allies or between 1525 and 1532 due to the Musso war unleashed by Gian Giacomo Medici

 

On 28 April 1945, deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was executed in the lakeside village of Giulino, about 180 metres (590 ft) from the waterfront.

 

Tourism and Economy

As a tourist destination, Lake Como is popular for its landscapes, wildlife, and spas. It is a venue for sailing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing.

 

Although generally considered safe, bathers aiming to find relief from the heat and swimming enthusiasts alike should exercise caution, as a prevailing regulation prohibits diving and swimming both in the city of Como and in the various small villages along the lake. Exceptions are found only in privately managed lidos or designated public beaches where explicit signage permits swimming activities. This prohibition stems from the danger posed by the lake's waters that swiftly transition from shallow to deep near the shoreline and from unpredictable aquatic conditions, which have led to numerous incidents, including drowning cases attributed to sudden thermal shock.

 

In the area surrounding Lake Como, there are several farms which produce goods such as honey, olive oil, cheese, milk, eggs and salamis. Visitors can find lists of these farms and typically visit the farm itself in person to make their purchases.

 

Lakeside villas

The lake is well known for the attractive villas that have been built there since Roman times when Pliny the Younger built the Comedia and the Tragedia resorts. Many villas on the lake shores have admirable gardens that benefit from the mild climate induced by the stabilizing presence of 22.5 cubic kilometres (5.4 cu mi) of lake water and can sustain many subtropical and Mediterranean plants.

 

Villa Carlotta was built for the Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici in 1690 and occupies a site of over 7 hectares (17 acres) at Tremezzo, facing the Bellagio peninsula. An Italian garden (with steps, fountains, and sculptures) was laid out at the same time. The villa was later sold to powerful banker and Napoleonic politician Giovanni Battista Sommariva. Stendhal was his guest in 1818, and his visit is recalled at the start of La Chartreuse de Parme. In 1843 it was purchased by Princess Marianne of Nassau as a wedding present for her daughter Carlotta, after whom the villa is now named. The latter, together with her husband Georg II of Saxen-Meiningen, laid out the woodland landscape park in Romantic style. The villa today includes a museum of agricultural implements as well as important works of sculpture by Sommariva's friend Antonio Canova and by Luigi Acquisti.

 

Villa d'Este, in Cernobbio, was built in 1568 by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, a native of the town. In 1816–1817 the villa was home to Caroline of Brunswick, estranged wife of the Prince of Wales and shortly to become Queen Consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom. The landscaped gardens in the English style are a product of this period. Later in the century, it was turned into a luxury hotel. Today the Villa d'Este is known for attracting celebrity guests.[citation needed]

 

Villa del Balbianello, famous for its elaborate terraced gardens, lies on a promontory of the western shore of the lake near Isola Comacina. Built-in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery, it was the final home of the explorer Guido Monzino and today houses a museum devoted to his work.[citation needed]

 

Villa Melzi d'Eril in Bellagio was built in neo-classical style by architect Giocondo Albertolli in 1808–1810 as the summer residence of Duke Francesco Melzi d'Eril, who was vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic. The park includes an orangery, a private chapel, fine statues, and a Japanese garden, and is planted, as often on Lake Como, with huge rhododendrons. 19th-century guests at the Villa included Stendhal and Franz Liszt.

 

Villa Serbelloni, also in Bellagio, hosts the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, a 50-acre (200,000 m2) international conference centre set up and managed by the Rockefeller Foundation since 1959, which also operates a "scholar-in-residence" program for scholars from around the world. This is believed to have been the site of Pliny the Younger's villa "Tragedia". Its well-known park was created at the end of the 18th century by Alessandro Serbelloni.[citation needed]

 

Many famous people have or have had homes on the shores of Lake Como, such as Matthew Bellamy, John Kerry, Madonna, George Clooney, Gianni Versace, Ronaldinho, Sylvester Stallone, Julian Lennon, Richard Branson, Ben Spies, Pierina Legnani, Lionel Messi and José Mourinho.

 

Ferries

The Lake Como ferry service is a highly developed public transport system linking the many small towns around the Lake. A motorized service began in 1826 when a steamship with sails, the Lario, was launched by the newly established Società privilegiata per l'impresa dei battelli a vapore nel Regno Lombardo Veneto. Since 1952 the system has been run under the auspices of a government organization called first the Gestione Commissariale Governativa and subsequently the Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi, which is also responsible for services on Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda.

 

Today there are three main services:

Motorship services along the western branch and northern end of the Lake (between Colico or Piona and Como town), with additional shuttles to the mid-lake area.

Fast services that follow broadly the same route, but use faster hydrofoils, stop less frequently, and cost extra.

Ferries that run only between the popular mid-lake villages of Menaggio, Bellagio, and Varenna, plus Cadenabbia. Some of these boats carry vehicles as well as passengers.

 

Sacro Monte di Ossuccio

The Sacro Monte di Ossuccio ("Holy Mount of Ossuccio") is a sanctuary located on a hillside slope between olive groves and woods along the western edge of Lake Como facing Isola Comacina. Fifteen Baroque-inspiredchapels, built between 1635 and 1710, and dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary are dotted along the way that leads to the Monastery. This building is the last in the chain and is dedicated to the Coronation of the Virgin.

 

In 2003, the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, including that of Ossuccio, were added by UNESCO to the World Heritage List.

 

Villages, resorts, and other notable localities near the lake

Cities and villages on Lake Como

Western shore

from North to SouthSouth shore

from West to EastEastern shore

from North to South

Domaso

Gravedona

Dongo

Musso

Menaggio

Cadenabbia

Griante

Tremezzo

Mezzegra

Lenno

Ossuccio

Sala Comacina

Colonno

Argegno

Brienno

Moltrasio

Cernobbio

Como

Como

Blevio

Brunate

Torno

Nesso

Bellagio

Malgrate

Lecco

Colico

Dorio

Dervio

Bellano

Varenna

Lierna

Mandello del Lario

Lecco

 

In literature and the arts

Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The Lake of Como was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, in 1837. It illustrates a painting by Samuel Prout, engraved by William Miller.

 

In 1818 Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Thomas Love Peacock: "This lake exceeds anything I ever beheld in beauty, except the arbutus islands of Killarney. It is long and narrow, and has the appearance of a mighty river winding among the mountains and the forests."

S Banks of Rio de la Madona de l'Orto w. Ponte de la Sacca (far left), Palazzo Mastelli del Cammello b

Airbus A319-115X(CJ)

Italian Air Force

Dublin 23/3/2013

Repubblica Italiana

Monastero Madre Mechitarista / Մխիթարեան Մայրավանք / Mekhitarist Mother Monastery, Isola di San Lazzaro degli Armeni, 30126 Venezia Lido VE, IT 46/57

Museum and Library 14/16

Lake Maggiore or Verbano ( Lagh Magior in Lombard and Piedmontese ) is a pre-Alpine lake of fluvioglacial origin in the Italian geographical region . Its shores are shared between Switzerland ( Canton Ticino ) and Italy (provinces of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Novara , in Piedmont , and Varese , in Lombardy ).

 

The name Maggiore derives from the fact that it is the largest of the lakes in the area, but among the Italian lakes it is the second in surface area after Lake Garda (as well as the second in depth after Lake Como ). In the past it was joined to Lake Mergozzo , from which it was separated due to the formation of the Fondotoce Plain .

 

Lake Maggiore is located at a height of approximately 193 meters above sea level . Its surface area is 212 km² , most of which, approximately 80%, is in Italian territory. It has a perimeter of 170 km and a length of 64.37 km (the largest among Italian lakes); the maximum width is 10 km and the average width is 3.9 km. The volume of water contained is equal to 37.5 billion m³ with a theoretical replacement time of approximately 4 years. The hydrographic basin is approximately 6,598 km² of which 3,229 are in Italian territory and 3,369 in Swiss territory (the ratio between the surface area of ​​the basin and that of the lake is 31.1). The maximum altitude of the catchment basin is Punta Dufour in the Monte Rosa massif (4,633 m above sea level), while the average altitude is 1,270 m above sea level. The basin is characterized by the existence of around thirty artificial reservoirs with a collection of approximately 600 million of m³ of water which, if released simultaneously, would raise the lake level by approximately 2.5 m. The maximum depth is approximately 370 m (in the cryptodepression between Ghiffa and Porto Valtravaglia ) which is therefore 177 m below sea level.

 

The major tributaries are the Ticino , the Maggia , the Toce (which receives the waters of the Strona torrent and therefore of Lake Orta ) and the Tresa (in turn an emissary of Lake Lugano and fed by the Margorabbia ). The major tributaries have a different flow pattern, while Ticino and Toce, which have a catchment basin at high altitudes, reach a maximum flow in the period between May and October coinciding with the melting of snow and glaciers ; the other tributaries have a trend strongly influenced by rainfall . Minor tributaries are the Verzasca , Cannobino , San Bernardino , San Giovanni , Giona and Boesio streams . The only emissary is the Ticino which flows from the lake to Sesto Calende .

 

Envoys

Bardello

Boesio

Mergozzo Canal

Cannobino

Erno

Fraud of Caldè

Fraud of Porto Valtravaglia

Jonah

Maggia

Molinera

Monvallina

Riale Corto

Riale del Molino

Riale del Roddo

Riale di Casere

Rio Ballona

Rio Colmegnino (or Rio di Colmegna)

Rio Colorio

Rio dell'Asino

Rio Molinetto

Rio Valmara

Rone

San Bernardino

Saint John

San Giovanni di Bedero

Thick Forest

Stronetta

Tiasca

Ticino

Toce

Aquanegra stream

Tresa

Trigo

Versella or Varesella

Verzasca

Vevera

 

Geology

The origin of Lake Maggiore is partly glacial, as evidenced by the layout of the hills formed by moraine deposits of a glacial nature, but it is ascertained that the glacial excavation took place on a pre-existing river valley, the profile of the lake in fact has the typical V shape of river valleys.

 

Baveno pink granite was widely used as a building material in the past . Furthermore, the ancient construction uses of Angera stone are known (used for example in classical antiquity and in the medieval period), while the Caldè limestone quarries provided for many centuries the raw material for the lime with which high-rise buildings were built. Lombardy and Piedmont: thanks to the ease of transport by boat, first on the lake, then on the Milanese canals

 

Lake Maggiore is characterized by cold winters, but milder than inland, and moderately snowy (with average accumulations of 10 cm for each snowfall and sometimes even higher than 30 cm up to a maximum of 50 cm), summers are moderately hot, humid and stormy, the average temperature in January is around 2 degrees centigrade, with peaks of 3 degrees on the northern side of the Borromean Gulf (due to the extensive exposure to the sun), night temperatures can drop below 0, up to -10, but very rarely go below this value. In summer the average temperatures are around 22 degrees centigrade, with daytime peaks rarely exceeding 32 degrees. Proceeding towards the internal valleys the temperatures gradually become more rigid. The area is very rainy and sometimes, especially in intermediate seasons, floods can occur. The temperature of the surface waters (up to 2 meters deep) of the lake reach winter peaks of 5-6 degrees, while in summer they reach an average of 22-24 degrees.

 

Some statistics on Lake Maggiore . It should be noted that during lean periods the water level between Locarno and Sesto Calende can vary by 1 cm, while during floods up to 30 cm

 

Like all pre-Alpine lakes, Lake Maggiore is crossed, especially in the summer, by two types of prevailing winds, one which blows in the morning from the mountains towards the plain (called moscendrino as it comes from the Monte Ceneri Pass , sometimes tramontana ) and a small breeze that blows from the plain to the mountains especially during the afternoon (called inverna ). These constant winds make the pre-Alpine lakes an excellent field for practicing sports that use the wind, such as sailing and windsurfing . Lake Maggiore has some particular points, especially in the upper part, where the mountains squeeze together to form a narrow valley in which these winds blow very strongly.

 

Then there are other winds typical of this lake such as the winter wind , which blows from the south-west and generally brings storms, the major one , which comes from the north-east and is very dangerous as it agitates the lake a lot, the valmaggine which blows slightly from the valleys behind Locarno , the mergozzo , which blows especially at night, from the north-west

 

In Lake Maggiore there are many large, small or tiny islands , divided between 8 in Piedmont, 2 in Switzerland and 2 in Lombardy, for a total of 12.

 

Borromean Islands

Beautiful island

Isola Madre

Isola dei Pescatori (or Isola Superiore or Isola Superiore dei Pescatori)

Islet of San Giovanni

Malghera islet (or rock).

Brissago Islands

San Pancrazio Island (or Big Island)

Island of Sant'Apollinare (or Isolino)

Castles of Cannero

Isolino Partegora

Sasso Galletto

Between Stresa and Verbania there is the Borromean archipelago: Isola Madre (the largest in the lake basin), Isola Bella and Isola Superiore dei Pescatori (also known more simply as Isola dei Pescatori or Isola Superiore)

 

Opposite the Swiss town of Ronco sopra Ascona are the two islands of Brissago, the larger of which hosts a botanical garden.

 

In front of the coast of Cannero Riviera there are the three emerged rocks called Castelli di Cannero: the major rock, totally occupied today by the Vitaliana war artefact, a fortress commissioned by Count Ludovico Borromeo starting from 1518, the minor rock, on which the ruins of the so-called "prisons" stand, but in fact a small advanced tower with a falconette gunboat garrisoning the southern canal port, and finally the little rock (towards Maccagno ) of the "Melgonaro", on which only a stunted but tenacious plant grows fascinated poets and engravers such as Piero Chiara , Marco Costantini , Carlo Rapp .

 

Finally, we must mention the small island of San Giovanni in front of Verbania (famous because it was the residence of the orchestra director Arturo Toscanini in the seventeenth-century Palazzo Borromeo for many years ), the small island of La Malghera also known as Isola delle Bambole , among 'Isola Bella and that of the Fishermen and therefore the Isolino Partegora in the small gulf of Angera .

 

History:

The finds and evidence found tell us that following the actual creation of the lake, with the complete retreat of the ice, the surrounding area was inhabited by nomadic groups , who used the territory mainly as a place for hunting and supplies.

 

In the Chalcolithic historical period, the first residential areas were built in the immediate vicinity of the lake and from that moment there was a slow consolidation of sedentary groups .

 

On the shores of the lake, the Golasecca culture developed between the 9th and 4th centuries BC , a Celtic -speaking Iron Age civilization . The Golasecchians advanced as far as some areas of present-day Lombardy , only to be pushed back again to their western borders by the descent of the Celts into the Italian peninsula , probably the population of the Taurine Gauls .

 

The Gauls therefore had supremacy over the lake territory until the advance of the Romans who turned the Piedmont and Lombard areas back into provinces of the empire . The " Verbanus Lacus " (name given to it by the Romans, from which the nomenclature Lake Verbano will probably derive ) or " Lacus Maximus " (another name even attributed to it by Virgil ) will remain firmly in the hands of the Roman Empire . In Roman times, navigation along the lake experienced particular development, so much so that ships could descend the Ticino and thus reach Pavia , from where they could reach, thanks to the Po , as far as the Adriatic Sea . It is no coincidence that the excavations of the Angera settlement have brought to light finds that show strong connections between the lake and the upper Adriatic. This shipping line experienced particular development during the early Middle Ages , when Pavia was the capital of the Lombard kingdom first and then of the kingdom of Italy.

 

To arrive at a period of rebirth of the cities on the lake we had to wait until the Middle Ages , which led to the creation of villages, castles and in general a very different example of the physiognomy of inhabited places.

In this period the area around the lake, as well as numerous territories in the surroundings of Milan , passed into the hands of various families such as the Della Torre , the Visconti , the ruling house of the Habsburgs from 1713 and in particular the Borromeo family , which had enormous influence for many years on Lake Maggiore, starting from the acquisition of the fiefdom of Arona in 1445. Another very illustrious lineage that had a great influence in the medieval era is that of the Marquises Morigi or Moriggia, who received numerous territories from the Viscontis such as the degagne of San Maurizio and San Martino, the Valtravaglia which were nicknamed "Morigie lands". Over the centuries the families of Borromeo and Morigi fought bitterly for hegemony over these lands. The Borromeo themselves also had, between 1523 and 1524, actual armed clashes against Francesco II Sforza who on several occasions sent troops and armed ships against the Borromeo fortresses located on the islands of Cannero . Other noble families linked to the territory since the Middle Ages were the Besozzi , the Sessa , the Luini and the Capitanei of Locarno.

 

Starting from the 14th century, navigation along the lake was also exploited to transport the heavy blocks of marble coming from Candoglia and other quarries located in the surroundings of the lake towards the two main Lombard construction sites of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: the cathedral of Milan and the Charterhouse of Pavia

  

I-TALY Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) Airbus A340-541 (ex F-WWTS, A6-EHA) MSN 748

Lake Maggiore or Verbano ( Lagh Magior in Lombard and Piedmontese ) is a pre-Alpine lake of fluvioglacial origin in the Italian geographical region . Its shores are shared between Switzerland ( Canton Ticino ) and Italy (provinces of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Novara , in Piedmont , and Varese , in Lombardy ).

 

The name Maggiore derives from the fact that it is the largest of the lakes in the area, but among the Italian lakes it is the second in surface area after Lake Garda (as well as the second in depth after Lake Como ). In the past it was joined to Lake Mergozzo , from which it was separated due to the formation of the Fondotoce Plain .

 

Lake Maggiore is located at a height of approximately 193 meters above sea level . Its surface area is 212 km² , most of which, approximately 80%, is in Italian territory. It has a perimeter of 170 km and a length of 64.37 km (the largest among Italian lakes); the maximum width is 10 km and the average width is 3.9 km. The volume of water contained is equal to 37.5 billion m³ with a theoretical replacement time of approximately 4 years. The hydrographic basin is approximately 6,598 km² of which 3,229 are in Italian territory and 3,369 in Swiss territory (the ratio between the surface area of ​​the basin and that of the lake is 31.1). The maximum altitude of the catchment basin is Punta Dufour in the Monte Rosa massif (4,633 m above sea level), while the average altitude is 1,270 m above sea level. The basin is characterized by the existence of around thirty artificial reservoirs with a collection of approximately 600 million of m³ of water which, if released simultaneously, would raise the lake level by approximately 2.5 m. The maximum depth is approximately 370 m (in the cryptodepression between Ghiffa and Porto Valtravaglia ) which is therefore 177 m below sea level.

 

The major tributaries are the Ticino , the Maggia , the Toce (which receives the waters of the Strona torrent and therefore of Lake Orta ) and the Tresa (in turn an emissary of Lake Lugano and fed by the Margorabbia ). The major tributaries have a different flow pattern, while Ticino and Toce, which have a catchment basin at high altitudes, reach a maximum flow in the period between May and October coinciding with the melting of snow and glaciers ; the other tributaries have a trend strongly influenced by rainfall . Minor tributaries are the Verzasca , Cannobino , San Bernardino , San Giovanni , Giona and Boesio streams . The only emissary is the Ticino which flows from the lake to Sesto Calende .

 

Envoys

Bardello

Boesio

Mergozzo Canal

Cannobino

Erno

Fraud of Caldè

Fraud of Porto Valtravaglia

Jonah

Maggia

Molinera

Monvallina

Riale Corto

Riale del Molino

Riale del Roddo

Riale di Casere

Rio Ballona

Rio Colmegnino (or Rio di Colmegna)

Rio Colorio

Rio dell'Asino

Rio Molinetto

Rio Valmara

Rone

San Bernardino

Saint John

San Giovanni di Bedero

Thick Forest

Stronetta

Tiasca

Ticino

Toce

Aquanegra stream

Tresa

Trigo

Versella or Varesella

Verzasca

Vevera

 

Geology

The origin of Lake Maggiore is partly glacial, as evidenced by the layout of the hills formed by moraine deposits of a glacial nature, but it is ascertained that the glacial excavation took place on a pre-existing river valley, the profile of the lake in fact has the typical V shape of river valleys.

 

Baveno pink granite was widely used as a building material in the past . Furthermore, the ancient construction uses of Angera stone are known (used for example in classical antiquity and in the medieval period), while the Caldè limestone quarries provided for many centuries the raw material for the lime with which high-rise buildings were built. Lombardy and Piedmont: thanks to the ease of transport by boat, first on the lake, then on the Milanese canals

 

Lake Maggiore is characterized by cold winters, but milder than inland, and moderately snowy (with average accumulations of 10 cm for each snowfall and sometimes even higher than 30 cm up to a maximum of 50 cm), summers are moderately hot, humid and stormy, the average temperature in January is around 2 degrees centigrade, with peaks of 3 degrees on the northern side of the Borromean Gulf (due to the extensive exposure to the sun), night temperatures can drop below 0, up to -10, but very rarely go below this value. In summer the average temperatures are around 22 degrees centigrade, with daytime peaks rarely exceeding 32 degrees. Proceeding towards the internal valleys the temperatures gradually become more rigid. The area is very rainy and sometimes, especially in intermediate seasons, floods can occur. The temperature of the surface waters (up to 2 meters deep) of the lake reach winter peaks of 5-6 degrees, while in summer they reach an average of 22-24 degrees.

 

Some statistics on Lake Maggiore . It should be noted that during lean periods the water level between Locarno and Sesto Calende can vary by 1 cm, while during floods up to 30 cm

 

Like all pre-Alpine lakes, Lake Maggiore is crossed, especially in the summer, by two types of prevailing winds, one which blows in the morning from the mountains towards the plain (called moscendrino as it comes from the Monte Ceneri Pass , sometimes tramontana ) and a small breeze that blows from the plain to the mountains especially during the afternoon (called inverna ). These constant winds make the pre-Alpine lakes an excellent field for practicing sports that use the wind, such as sailing and windsurfing . Lake Maggiore has some particular points, especially in the upper part, where the mountains squeeze together to form a narrow valley in which these winds blow very strongly.

 

Then there are other winds typical of this lake such as the winter wind , which blows from the south-west and generally brings storms, the major one , which comes from the north-east and is very dangerous as it agitates the lake a lot, the valmaggine which blows slightly from the valleys behind Locarno , the mergozzo , which blows especially at night, from the north-west

 

In Lake Maggiore there are many large, small or tiny islands , divided between 8 in Piedmont, 2 in Switzerland and 2 in Lombardy, for a total of 12.

 

Borromean Islands

Beautiful island

Isola Madre

Isola dei Pescatori (or Isola Superiore or Isola Superiore dei Pescatori)

Islet of San Giovanni

Malghera islet (or rock).

Brissago Islands

San Pancrazio Island (or Big Island)

Island of Sant'Apollinare (or Isolino)

Castles of Cannero

Isolino Partegora

Sasso Galletto

Between Stresa and Verbania there is the Borromean archipelago: Isola Madre (the largest in the lake basin), Isola Bella and Isola Superiore dei Pescatori (also known more simply as Isola dei Pescatori or Isola Superiore)

 

Opposite the Swiss town of Ronco sopra Ascona are the two islands of Brissago, the larger of which hosts a botanical garden.

 

In front of the coast of Cannero Riviera there are the three emerged rocks called Castelli di Cannero: the major rock, totally occupied today by the Vitaliana war artefact, a fortress commissioned by Count Ludovico Borromeo starting from 1518, the minor rock, on which the ruins of the so-called "prisons" stand, but in fact a small advanced tower with a falconette gunboat garrisoning the southern canal port, and finally the little rock (towards Maccagno ) of the "Melgonaro", on which only a stunted but tenacious plant grows fascinated poets and engravers such as Piero Chiara , Marco Costantini , Carlo Rapp .

 

Finally, we must mention the small island of San Giovanni in front of Verbania (famous because it was the residence of the orchestra director Arturo Toscanini in the seventeenth-century Palazzo Borromeo for many years ), the small island of La Malghera also known as Isola delle Bambole , among 'Isola Bella and that of the Fishermen and therefore the Isolino Partegora in the small gulf of Angera .

 

History:

The finds and evidence found tell us that following the actual creation of the lake, with the complete retreat of the ice, the surrounding area was inhabited by nomadic groups , who used the territory mainly as a place for hunting and supplies.

 

In the Chalcolithic historical period, the first residential areas were built in the immediate vicinity of the lake and from that moment there was a slow consolidation of sedentary groups .

 

On the shores of the lake, the Golasecca culture developed between the 9th and 4th centuries BC , a Celtic -speaking Iron Age civilization . The Golasecchians advanced as far as some areas of present-day Lombardy , only to be pushed back again to their western borders by the descent of the Celts into the Italian peninsula , probably the population of the Taurine Gauls .

 

The Gauls therefore had supremacy over the lake territory until the advance of the Romans who turned the Piedmont and Lombard areas back into provinces of the empire . The " Verbanus Lacus " (name given to it by the Romans, from which the nomenclature Lake Verbano will probably derive ) or " Lacus Maximus " (another name even attributed to it by Virgil ) will remain firmly in the hands of the Roman Empire . In Roman times, navigation along the lake experienced particular development, so much so that ships could descend the Ticino and thus reach Pavia , from where they could reach, thanks to the Po , as far as the Adriatic Sea . It is no coincidence that the excavations of the Angera settlement have brought to light finds that show strong connections between the lake and the upper Adriatic. This shipping line experienced particular development during the early Middle Ages , when Pavia was the capital of the Lombard kingdom first and then of the kingdom of Italy.

 

To arrive at a period of rebirth of the cities on the lake we had to wait until the Middle Ages , which led to the creation of villages, castles and in general a very different example of the physiognomy of inhabited places.

In this period the area around the lake, as well as numerous territories in the surroundings of Milan , passed into the hands of various families such as the Della Torre , the Visconti , the ruling house of the Habsburgs from 1713 and in particular the Borromeo family , which had enormous influence for many years on Lake Maggiore, starting from the acquisition of the fiefdom of Arona in 1445. Another very illustrious lineage that had a great influence in the medieval era is that of the Marquises Morigi or Moriggia, who received numerous territories from the Viscontis such as the degagne of San Maurizio and San Martino, the Valtravaglia which were nicknamed "Morigie lands". Over the centuries the families of Borromeo and Morigi fought bitterly for hegemony over these lands. The Borromeo themselves also had, between 1523 and 1524, actual armed clashes against Francesco II Sforza who on several occasions sent troops and armed ships against the Borromeo fortresses located on the islands of Cannero . Other noble families linked to the territory since the Middle Ages were the Besozzi , the Sessa , the Luini and the Capitanei of Locarno.

 

Starting from the 14th century, navigation along the lake was also exploited to transport the heavy blocks of marble coming from Candoglia and other quarries located in the surroundings of the lake towards the two main Lombard construction sites of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: the cathedral of Milan and the Charterhouse of Pavia