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The Mattivi, Anesi, and
Giovannini names originate in the Region of Trentino-Alto
Adige, Italy, and are heavily represented in Baselga di Piné.
T The first significant invader was the Holy
Roman Empire. They initially began a presence in the territory
near the end of the 2nd century B.C. (200 B.C.), and
officially took control of the Trentino region in the year 40
B.C. As part of the Tenth Roman region, Trentino was called
the Italic Region and at one point was part of Venetia. The
Roman period is marked by the great growth and expansion,
including the development of the city of Trento. The modern
site of the city of Trento, which is surrounded by three hills
(the Veruca, St. Agatha, and the St. Rocco), provided a
fortified and strategic site to guard the territory and
control the flow of commerce, producing the modern city. The
city’s name is believed to have been derived from the three
surrounding hills, from the Roman/Latin name of Tridentum.
Under the auspices of the Roman development, the city
prospered as a political, administrative, and cultural center.
It maintained a direct connection to Rome through the Via
Claudia Augusta, which was built during the Roman control.
Although technically a conquered land, the
Trentino people attained legal, official Roman status during
their years of occupation. In the year 46 A.D., the Roman
Emperor Claudius Augustus issued an edict conferring Roman
citizenship to the people of the Trentino region (the original
bronze tablet was discovered in 1869 and is preserved in
Trento National Museum). This edict provides the oldest known
citizenry for the people of the region, a definitive linkage
to the Italian Republic, and provides clear proof that the
people of Trentino had been Italian since the concession of
Roman citizenship. Following the Romans,
from the mid-400 through 490 A.D., the region was conquered
and occupied by the Barbarians, Francs, and Ostrogoths.
Throughout this period, the region suffered severely. In early
490 A.D., the Western Roman Empire, through invasion by the
Byzantine army, was reestablished in the area and the city of
Trento was restored to its former glory. It was during this
time the administrative activities of the area were entrusted
to the bishops of Trento (directly administered by a
solicitor), setting the stage for future battles. In
approximately 568 A.D., Narsete, a Byzantine general irritated
with growing powers of the Bishops, traded his allegiance and
aligned with the Longobards, clearing the way for their
occupation of the area. That year the Kingdom of Italy was
formed, with Trentino incorporated as one of
the 36 dukedoms. During the Longobard rule, various castles were built
around the Trentino region to defend the
ongoing Franc raids. In 800 A.D., Italy and the Longobards were
defeated by the armies of the King of France, and Trento was
incorporated into the Roman Empire of the Francs. At that
time, the Bishops were installed as rulers of the area. In 962 A.D., the
Longobards again invaded the region, reclaiming Italy as well
as the Trentino region. This sparked the formation of the
Roman German Empire. The Trentino region was then combined
with Verona and placed under a feudal rule and German
administration. This began a long and tenuous rule of the
Count-Bishops of Trento, who maintained divided loyalties. The
Bishops were vested with ecclesiastical power and loyal to
Rome, whereas the Counts ruled through political/feudal
authority and sided with the Empire. During a 300-year period,
a power struggle persisted between the Counts and Bishops for
control of the territory. Over time, the Counts of Tyrol and
the Dukes of Austria, who were supporters of the Emperor and
feudal rule, gained power and slowly took control of the area.
In 1497, Venice began attempts to expand its
sphere of control into the Trentino region. The Treaty of
1516, in which Emperor Maximilian incorporated Four Vicariates
from Venice, enclosing the principality of Trento and areas to
the south mountains, ultimately settled the expansion efforts.
During the 1500s (lasting approximately 100
years), the Trentino region was ruled by the Bishops of the
Madruzzo Family, who oversaw further cultural and economic
development of Trentino. This influence exacerbated the
ongoing tension with the Counts of Tyrol, who also wished to
regain influence in the area. In the latter part of the 18th century
(approximately 1796), Napoleon Bonaparte and the French
Republic began their push into the Trentino region, as they
conquered central Europe. The region subsequently fell to
Napoleon and under his rule (1810) the new Kingdom of Italy
was formed. Trentino was incorporated as one of the
approximate 12 total provinces combined to form the Kingdom
and remained so through Napoleon’s eventual defeat and loss of
power. The defeat, in 1815, marked the passing of the region
to Austria and the Hapsburg Empire, sparking a long-standing
feud between Italy and Austria for control of the region and
its people. (Austria took control of Italy in 1714 and
maintained control through 1861, the official formation of the
Republic of Italy.) During this time, the Trentino people
requested special autonomy, due to their Italian nationality
and language, but were refused, sewing the seeds of discontent
and future rebellion. The Hapsburg control officially ended a
727-year reign of the Trentino territory by the Bishops (Roman
Church). During the Hapsburg control, the Empire
attempted to "Germanize" the population and flush its subjects
into the area. Trento and other parts of the region, however,
clung to their Italian heritage, providing great resistance
and spawning a movement for reunification with Italy. The
movement was identified as the Italian Risorgimento and
created a large and significant opposition to the Hapsburg
Empire, who generally treated the people of Trento as
second-class citizens. In contrast, the people of Alto Adige,
who had been subjected to Hapsburg influence since medieval
times, embraced the Austrian influence. This area became known
as South Tyrol. During the late 19th century Trento and
Trieste, Italian cities still belonging to the Austrians,
became icons of the national unification movement. In fact,
during the 1800s Italian armies, allied by Trentini
separatists, fought to free the region from the county of
Tyrol. (In 1816, the Trentino region was united with the
county of Tyrol.) It wasn’t until the First World War (1918),
that Trento and Trieste were conquered by the Italian troops.
Major battles were fought high in the Alps and Dolomites
between Austrian and Italian forces, for whom control of the
South Tyrol and Trento was a key strategic objective. The
collapse of the Austrian war effort enabled Italian troops to
occupy the region and its annexation was confirmed in the
post-war treaties, which awarded the Trentino and South Tyrol
to Italy under the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain. What
is now Trentino-Alto Adige was renamed and reorganized as
"Venezia Tridentina" (Venetian Trento), alluding to the former
mainland territories of the Republic of Venice. Under the rule of Benito Mussolini, the Alto
Adige region was subjected to a program of Italianization, in
an effort to eradicate the years of Austrian influence from
the region and to specifically regain control. In 1938, to
further separate the competing interests of Trento and Alto
Adige, Hitler and Mussolini agreed that the German-speaking
population of the area would be transferred to German-ruled
territory or dispersed around Italy. The scheme failed to
materialize due to the outbreak of World War II. Following the end of the World War II, the
years of competing influences and differing loyalties had
taken its toll on the people. Trento and the surrounding area
remained strongly devoted to its Italian roots, while Alto
Adige and the northern border retained an Austrian influence.
Thus, in 1946, Italy and Austria negotiated an agreement to
settle the unrest and retain their competing influences. The
region, while remaining in the Italian Republic, was granted
considerable autonomy, allowing both Italian and German
languages to be officially recognized. Despite the agreement,
the German-speaking population and Austrian government
remained unsatisfied, causing continual friction between Italy
and Austria. The issue again came to a head and subsequent
resolution in 1971, at which time a new Italo-Austrian treaty
was signed and ratified. The treaty stipulated that disputes
in the Bolzano (Alto Adige) province would be submitted for
settlement to the International Court of Justice in The Hague,
that the province would receive greater autonomy from Italy,
and that Austria would not interfere in Bolzano’s internal
affairs. While this agreement appeared to be a reasonable
solution, it has actually proved to be little more than
another political expedient which has led a sort of de facto
internal division. Even the most casual visitor will have
little trouble noticing that Trentino, the southern part of
the region centered on the city of Trento, is far more Italian
than Alto Adige (Bolzano).
At present, Trentino-Alto Adige consists of two provinces,
Trento, also the capital, and Bolzano. The Province of Trento,
almost entirely Italian-speaking, is characterized by the
presence of dialects, some of Venetian origin and some
Lombardi (especially from Brescia). |
he region is located in
northeastern Italy and has been the focus of many historical
events, as well as great suffrage. Throughout its
history various powers, incl
uding the Romans, Napoleon, and
the Hapsburgs, have conquered, occupied, and controlled the
region. The motivating force behind these occupations appears
to have been the geographical significance of the Trentino
province, and specifically the city of Trento. Located at the
base of the Alps, the Trentino region provides a natural
gateway and significant divider between the Nordic and
Mediterranean cultures of Europe, as well as an important
commercial passageway. Thus, various armies and countless
rulers have battled for control of the territory. Throughout
these events, the people of the region have suffered greatly,
leaving an indelible impression, defining their customs, and
producing a fierce internal loyalty among them. 