Curon Venosta
The Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol: A Summary
The Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol is the northernmost province of Italy, covering an area of over 7,400 km² and with a population of over half a million inhabitants. Along with the Autonomous Province of Trento and Tyrol (Austria), it constitutes the Euroregion Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino. Due to its geographical position, the province is linked linguistically and culturally to Tyrol; in addition, together with Trentino, Veneto, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, it belongs to the Triveneto geographic area.
The province is officially named "Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige" (in German "Autonome Provinz Bozen – Südtirol"), however, there are also other names such as "South Tyrol" or "Tyrol of the South", which are mainly used in Italian. The inhabitants of the province are generally known as Alto Adigeans, but they can also be called "Sudtirolese".
Toponymy
The official name of the province is "Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige" (in German "Autonome Provinz Bozen – Südtirol"), as established in the 1972 Special Statute Region and subsequent implementing state regulations. However, with the constitutional reform of 2001, Article 116 of the Constitution of the Italian Republic also includes the wording "Alto Adige/Südtirol".
In Italian, it is also possible to use the names "South Tyrol", "Sudtirolo" or "Tyrol of the South" to refer to the province of Bolzano and "Sudtirolese" for its German or Ladin-speaking inhabitants. The Ladin form of the name is rendered as "Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan – Südtirol" (in the Badioto dialect variant) or "Provinzia Autonoma de Bulsan – Südtirol" (in the Gardena dialect variant) in provincial acts but is not included in the autonomy statute or other state laws.
During the Habsburg domination, the territory of today's province of Bolzano was also known as "Mitteltirol," or Central Tyrol, while "Südtirol" (South Tyrol) often referred to the Trentino or the entire southern part of Tyrol (essentially Trentino-Alto Adige). The use of the term "Südtirol" to indicate the area between Brenner and Salorno would therefore be, according to some authors, unjustified.
Conclusions
The Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol is one of the largest and most populated provinces in Italy. Thanks to its geographical position and the cultural and linguistic diversity of its inhabitants, the province is an important meeting and exchange point for different cultures. The double denomination used to refer to the province has been influenced by the complicated history of the territory and the evolution of relationships between the two linguistic communities that inhabit it. However, despite the controversies, the province of Bolzano – South Tyrol is a reality that stands out for its autonomy and its ability to integrate diversity and promote sustainable and inclusive development.
