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Alpine quiet — Fotopedia
Italia: Alto Adige
Explore 03/24/2008
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Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol

Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (German: Trentino-Südtirol; Italian: Trentino-Alto Adige, pronounced [trenˈtiːno ˈalto ˈaːdidʒe], Ladin: Trentin-Südtirol), is an autonomous region in Northern Italy. Since the 1970s most legislative and administrative competencies have been transferred to the two autonomous provinces which make up the region: Trentino and South Tyrol.

The region was part of Austria-Hungary and its predecessors, the Austrian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire from the 8th century until its annexation by Italy in 1919. Together with the Austrian state of Tyrol it is represented by the Euroregion Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino.

In English, the region is also known as Trentino-South Tyrol or by its Italian name Trentino-Alto Adige.


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Italy

Italy i/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, whilst Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.


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Dolomites

The Dolomites (Ladin: Dolomites; Italian: Dolomiti; German: Dolomiten; Venetian: Dołomiti: Friulian: Dolomitis) are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley (Pieve di Cadore) in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley (Val Sugana). The Dolomites are nearly equally shared between the provinces of Belluno, South Tyrol and Trentino.

There are also mountain groups of similar geological structure that spread over the River Piave to the east – Dolomiti d'Oltrepiave; and far away over the Adige River to the west – Dolomiti di Brenta (Western Dolomites). There is also another smaller group called Piccole Dolomiti (Little Dolomites) located between the provinces of Trentino, Verona and Vicenza (see the map).


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South Tyrol

South Tyrol (German and Ladin: Südtirol, Italian: Sudtirolo), also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of 7,400 square kilometres (2,857 sq mi) and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants. Its capital is the city of Bolzano (German: Bozen; Ladin: Balsan or Bulsan).

The majority of the population speak German. Around a quarter of the population speak Italian, and a small minority have Ladin as their mother language.

South Tyrol is granted a considerable level of self-government, consisting of a large range of exclusive legislative powers and a fiscal regime that allows the province to retain 90% of all levied taxes.

In the wider context of the European Union, the province is one of the three members of the Euroregion of Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino, which corresponds almost exactly to the historical region of Tyrol.


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Alps

The Alps (German: Alpen; Italian: Alpi; French: Alpes; Occitan: Aups/Alps; Romansh: Alps; Slovene: Alpe) is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, France and Monaco in the west.

The highest mountain in the Alps is Mont Blanc, at 4,810.45 m (15,782 ft), on the Italian–French border. All the main peaks of the Alps can be found in the list of mountains of the Alps and list of Alpine peaks by prominence.