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South Tyrol (German Südtirol (official), Italian Alto Adige (official), Sudtirolo (unofficial)) is an autonomous province of Italy.
In the aftermath of World War I a relevant part of Austrian Tyrol was occupied by Italy, and subsequently annexed. The areas around Trento formed Italian-speaking Trentino. In the north the valleys around Bozen/Bolzano were inhabited by ethnic Germans and Ladins (Today Ladin is the third official language of South Tyrol, alongside German and Italian.)
After the rise of Fascism in 1922 a policy of de-Germanization was carried on ruthlessly. All places, up to the tiniest hamlet, were given Italian names, and even some family names were translated.
With the Treaty of Gruber-De Gasperi the winner of WWII decided to give South Tyrol to Italy but at the same time the German-speaking people were granted special rights.
Today South Tyrol (i.e. the Province of Bozen-Südtirol or Bolzano-Alto Adige) enjoys a high degree of autonomy, and relations with North and East Tyrol - the two portions of the old state retained by Austria - are lively, especially since Austria joined the European Union. There is a South Tyrolean People's Party, or Südtiroler Volkspartei. However, toponymes (names of places) still have two (German/Italian) or three (Ladin/German/Italian) versions: The fascist inventions have not been abolished, yet, unlike for example in Catalonia.
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2 Castles 3 Mountains 4 Subdivision 5 External links |
Freedom fighters:
Famous names
Others:
Castles
Mountains
Subdivision
South Tyrol is divided into several (116) administrative regions/Villages (Gemeinden//Communes):
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