Bolzano is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 105,713 (2013), Bolzano is by far the largest city in South Tyrol. When walking the streets of this city, however, it feels more German than Italian.
The area became part Italy after WWI in 1919. Wanting more Italians to settle in this region, Mussolini brought industry to Bolzano. The population of 35,000 grew to 100,000 by 1936. During this time, Italian was the only acceptable language. When Mussolini fell in 1939, the Nazis took over, and the Italians were persecuted. At the end of WWII, South Tyrol was once again part of Italy; but many compromises were made. All signs are in both Italian and German; there are both Italian and German public schools; all individuals holding jobs in the public sector must be bilingual. It appears that the two cultures are co-existing quite well since Bolzano ranked first in a 2010 and 2012 quality-of-life survey by the Italian newspaper of 107 Italian cities.
One very important celebrity of Bolzano is Ötzi the Iceman displayed in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. Found in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps on the border between Austria and Italy, he is a well-preserved natural mummy of a man who lived 5300 years ago. His body, clothing and tools provide revealing insights into a human being’s day-to-day life at the end of the late Stone Age. Below is a model of what scientists believe Ötzi might have looked like.
We were not allowed to take pictures of the mummified Ötzi; but thanks to Wikipedia, here he is.
After lunch, Bonnie and I went to the Runkelstein Castle. Although building of the castle began in 1237, its moment of glory was in 1385 when bourgeois brothers, Franz and Niklaus Vintler, purchased it. Because they wanted to compete with their contemporary nobles, they commissioned unique frescos for the whole structure. Its wall contain the largest existing display of secular medieval frescoes. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take any pictures of the frescoes, and the Internet did not come to my rescue. At least here’s a photo of the castle. We had quite a hike to get there from the road below.
This is a view of the valley below from one of the castle windows. Vineyards all all around the city and grow on terraces on the mountainside.
We hear we may be in for some snow tomorrow as we travel to the Dolomites in the Alps.
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