Salorno

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Salorno (Italian pronunciation: [saˈlorno]; German: Salurn) is the southernmost comune (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about 30 kilometres (19 miles) southwest of the city of Bolzano. It is one of only five mainly Italian speaking municipalities in South Tyrol.

The village centre is located on a scree in the Adige (Etsch) valley, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of the city of Trento and about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwest of Bolzano. Parts of the municipal area belong to the Naturpark Trudner Horn nature reserve, which is part of the Natura 2000 network. Salorno station is a stop on the Brenner Railway line from Innsbruck to Verona.

Salurner Klause

In the northwest Salorno borders the South Tyrolean municipalities ofKurtinig, Margreid, Montan, and Neumarkt. In the east and south it borders the Trentino municipalities of Capriana, Cembra, Faver, Giovo,Grauno, Grumes, Mezzocorona, Roverè della Luna and Valda. The Salurner Klause (Chiusa di Salorno), a narrow section of the Adige Valley between the Fiemme Mountains and the Nonsberg Group, marks the southern border of the South Tyrolean Unterland. Since about 1600 a German-Italian language border solidified here, a circumstance which received a nationalist emphasis by the 19th century, as referred to in theBozner Bergsteigerlied.

The municipality contains the frazioni (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Gfrill (Italian: Cauria) and Buchholz (Pochi). As of 31 December 2011, Salorno had a population of 3,591 and an area of 33.2 square kilometres (12.8 sq mi). 

Salorno (Salurn in German) is a town of 3,530 inhabitants of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, in the Trentino-Alto Adige region, located in the valley of Bassa Atesina (Bozner Unterland). Salorno borders with 14 neighboring towns: Capriana (TN), Cembra (TN), Cortina sulla Strada del Vino (BZ), Egna (BZ), Faver (TN), Giovo (TN), Grauno (TN), Grumes (TN), Magrè sulla Strada del Vino (BZ), Mezzocorona (TN), Montagna (BZ), Rovere della Luna (TN), Valda (TN)

Near this town the Adige valley narrows, forming the Chiusa di Salorno (Salurner Klause). Over the past two centuries this has been considered a symbolic barrier between the German- and Italian-speaking (now Trentino / Welschtirol) parts of the historic Tyrol region and it is also traditionally considered the language border between the German speaking and the Italian speaking areas in the Val d'Adige (Adige Valley).

Salorno was formerly part of the Diocese of Trento, but since the thirteenth century, the Counts of Tyrol took over the control of the village. Since 1403, the important Weistum (constutution) defines the rights of the community towards the rule of the Habsburger rulers. This document was written entirely in German.

Up until the First World War Salorno was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but after the Italian victory sealed by the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.

During the Fascist period the town of Salorno was annexed to the Province of Trento, together with the whole Bassa Atesina valley, to facilitate Italianisation. The use of German in public and its teaching were banned, but the German-speaking minority managed to organise illegal German language classes(the so-called Katakombenschulen): Dr. Josef Noldin from Salorno was one of the main organisers of this movement and for this reason he was deported by the fascist government on the island of Lipari for a period of exile. In 1948 Salorno passed back to the Province of Bolzano as it was determined by Trentino-Alto Adige’s First Statute of Autonomy which also took into account this same intention expressed by the German-speaking population of the Bassa Atesina.

The name is attested as Salurnis in the second half of the 8th century, as Salurne in 1184-1186 and as Salurn in 1288 and probably derives from a pre-Roman themed term that meant "swamp". Another possible theory derives the name of the town from "Solis Urnae" which means tomb of the sun. This theory is supported by the fact that Salorno actually very rarely sees the sun during the winter months.

The two hamlets are attested as Buchholcz in 1547, and as Gaueril in 1298 and ob Cafril in 1340 and which mean "beech" (Buche in German) and "stall for goats" (caprile in Latin).

The coat of arms consists of a blue pile on a silver background and a with blue top part. It is the symbol of the Lords of Graland who owned the village in the 13th century. The coat of arms was adopted in 1971.

Haderburg, Castle Salorno. The castle dates back to the 13th century and after being left in a longer state of decay, between 2001 and 2003 Baron Ernesto Rubin de Cervin Albrizzi, who is the current owner, decided to restore the castle. The restoration was made possible thanks to financial support from the Autonomous Province of Bolzano and the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano. During the summer months inside of the castle walls there is a medieval inspired tavern and it is also a venue for various concerts and cultural themed nights.

The Haderburg is the place where the legend “La vecchia cantina di vini vicino a Salorno" takes place. The story is part of the collection Deutsche Sagen (German Legends) by the Brothers Grimm (Volume 1, legend number 15).

The castle can be reached from the village of Salorno on foot in about twenty minutes along a comfortable forest road.

The following prominent people were born or lived in Salorno:

Perkeo, common name Clemens Pankert or according to some other sources Giovanni Clementi (700), a court dwarf at the court of Heidelberg in Germany

Wilhelm III von Henneberg-Schleusingen, Earl who died in Salorno in 1480, whose remarkable epitaph can still be found in the Cathedral of Bolzano

Feldmarschall-Leutnant (Field marshal lieutenant) Franz Philipp von Fenner Fennberg (1762-1824), fighter against the French and the Turks, founder of the Tiroler Kaiserjäger

Viktor Franz Anton von Prendel (1766-1852), General of the Imperial Russian Army

Noldin Josef (1888-1929), lawyer, organiser of the Katakombenschulen

Theodor Freiherr von Kathrein (1842-1916), Landeshauptmann (President) of the historic Tyrol region (before the annexation of the cisalpin part of Tyrol to Italy)

Hartmann von An der Lan-Hochbrunn (1863-1914), Austrian monk, composer, organist and conductor

Karl Ferrari, elected Senator in the Italian Republic between 1992-1994 and 1994-1996

Hortense von Gelmini (* 14 April 1947 in Bolzano, youth spent in Salorno), German painter, musician and writer

Tomas Ress (1980), basketball player from the Reyer Venezia and winner with the Montepaschi Siena of 7 consecutive championships

Katrin Ress Italian national basketball player

Salorno identifies itself in its own territory, the Strada del Vino, in the network of paths of the Monte Corno Nature Park, in the landscape of terraces between Salorno and Pochi, in its impressive waterfall that shaped the area on which the town stands today, in the environmental areas of its biotopes and in the cohabitation with the Adige River and the Haderburg Castle that towers from above. As well as in the friendliness and warm reception from the people, in its agriculture products that are of great importance for the second biggest town in the white wines area of the Province of Bolzano and in its gastronomy tied to a genuine expression of the territory.

Salorno has an important history in the past for being a resting place for travels travelling from Northern Germany to Italy, Venice to be exact, as shown by the many inns and books in archives and old photos.

Today, unfortunately, we are no longer seen as an important destination like other towns in South Tyrol. We are in the center of the region between Bolzano and Trento and not far from the Dolomites. We believe that we have the conditions for a slow tourism with an immersion in nature and among valley and mountain people.

Our touristic offer starts from the village of Salorno m.224 above sea level, with its lively center, full of history buildings, the daring Haderburg Castle and a fascinating waterfall which is the background for the top part of the village.

The hamlet of Pochi, located at m.560 above sea level, consists mainly of old vineyards family farms, offers comfortable walks overlooking the Adige Valley.

The last stop is the hamlet of Cauria at m.1324 asl. which is the natural gateway to the Park of Monte Corno that covers an altitude between 300 - 1700 m. and that due to its location and the sub-Mediterranean climate offers a wide variety of plants.

We can offer the valley with Salorno at 224 meters above sea level and in just a short time the mountains with the hamlets of Pochi (550) and the idyllic mountain village Cauria at 1,324 meters above sea level.

 

Referenti per Cittaslow:

Samantha Endrizzi, Via Pochi 106F, 39040 Salorno

Giuseppe Simeoni 

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