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The Sette Comuni (Cimbrian : Siben Komoin, German : Sieben Gemeinden) are seven comuni that formed a Cimbrian enclave in the Veneto region of north-east Italy. The area is also known as the Altopiano dei Sette Comuni or Asiago Plateau, and it was the site of a major battle between Austrian and Italian forces on the Alpine Front of World War I. The most important comune is that of Asiago, for which Asiago cheese is named. Cimbrian, a dialect of Upper German, was the native tongue, and the area was ethnically and culturally distinct from the surrounding comuni. [1] The Sette Comuni are located in mountainous territory, ranging from 500 to 2300 metres above sea level.
Comune | Cimbrian | German | Inhabitants | Altitude (m) | Notes |
Asiago | Sléghe/Schlège | Schlägen | 6533 | 1001 | |
Enego | Ghenébe/Jenève | Jeneve | 1927 | 800 | |
Foza | Vüsche/Vütsche | Fütze | 731 | 1083 | |
Gallio | Gell(e)/Ghèl | Gelle | 2331 | 1093 | |
Lusiana | Lusaan | Lusian | 2833 | 752 | |
Roana | Robàan | Rovan or Rain | 4245 | 994 | |
Rotzo | Rotz | Ross | 620 | 938 | |
Conco | Kunken | 2252 | 830 | the "eighth comune", a frazione of Lusiana until 1796 |
The seven comuni formed into a loose commonwealth in 1310. They were historically under the suzerainty of the Milanese House of Visconti and then under the Republic of Venice. Under both they enjoyed wide cultural and political autonomy in exchange for their loyalty. This autonomous status came to an end with the Napoleonic Wars and the demise of the Serenìsima in 1807.
During the First World War the territory was located along the border between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Many battles took place here between 1915 and 1918 (the most important one was the battle of Asiago). Almost all the towns were completely destroyed by the war.
Cimbrian has gone extinct in most of the comuni. Only in Robàan and its district of Mittebald/Toballe (Mittewald, Mezzaselva) has Cimbrian survived.
Robàan is home to the Agustin Prunner Cultural Institute, which is a repository of the Cimbrian culture and cooperates with other linguistic enclaves in Lusern, Fersental, Sappada, Sauris, the Thirteen Communities and Timau. Vestiges of the language are found in family and place names, which are mostly still Cimbrian.
Asiago is a minor township with the title of city in the surrounding plateau region in the Province of Vicenza in the Veneto region of Northeastern Italy. It is near the border between the Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol regions in the foothills of the Alps, approximately equidistant (60 km) from Trento to the west and Vicenza to the south. The Asiago region is the origin of Asiago cheese. The town was the site of a major battle between Austrian and Italian forces on the Alpine Front of World War I. It is a major ski resort destination, and the site of the Astrophysical Observatory of Asiago, operated by the University of Padua.
The Second Battle of the Piave River, fought between 15 and 23 June 1918, was a decisive victory for the Italian Army against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I, as Italy was part of the Allied Forces, while Austria-Hungary was part of the Central Powers. Though the battle proved to be a decisive blow to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and by extension the Central Powers, its full significance was not initially appreciated in Italy. Yet Erich Ludendorff, on hearing the news, is reported to have said he 'had the sensation of defeat for the first time'. It would later become clear that the battle was in fact the beginning of the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Südtirol Offensive, also known as the Battle of Asiago or Battle of the Plateaux, wrongly nicknamed Strafexpedition "Punitive expedition", was a major offensive launched by the Austro-Hungarians on the territory of Vicentine Alps in the Italian Front on 15 May 1916, during World War I. It was an "unexpected" attack that took place near Asiago in the province of Vicenza after the Fifth Battle of the Isonzo.
The Battle of Mount Ortigara was fought from 10 to 25 June 1917 between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies for possession of Mount Ortigara, in the Asiago Plateau.
Mount Ortigara is one of the peaks, about 2,000 m (6,600 ft) tall, which delimit to the north the Seven Municipalities Plateau, falling sheer on the underlying Sugana Valley with a jump of over 1,500 meters. With the neighbouring mountains, it forms an imposing ridge easily accessible from the Asiago Plateau, but only reachable through steep paths from the Sugana Valley.
Valstagna is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy, It is connected to the frazione Carpanè of San Nazario by a bridge and it is accessible by SS47 Provincial Road.The biggest towns nearby Valstagna are Bassano del Grappa, Marostica, Asiago, Trento and Venice.
Roana is a comune in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is west of SP249 road.
Levico Terme is a comune (municipality) and a town in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. As of 30 June 2012, it had a population of 7,668 and an area of 62.9 square kilometres (24.3 sq mi).
Luserna is a comune (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of Trento. As 2021, it had a population of 271 and an area of 8.2 square kilometres (3.2 sq mi).
Doberdò del Lago is a comune (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Trieste and about 11 kilometres (7 mi) southwest of Gorizia, and borders the following municipalities: Duino-Aurisina, Fogliano Redipuglia, Komen (Slovenia), Miren-Kostanjevica (Slovenia), Monfalcone, Ronchi dei Legionari, Sagrado and Savogna d'Isonzo. It is located in the westernmost part of the Karst Plateau.
Although a member of the Triple Alliance, Italy did not join the Central Powers – Germany and Austria-Hungary – when the war started with Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. In fact, the two Central Powers had taken the offensive while the Triple Alliance was supposed to be a defensive alliance. Moreover the Triple Alliance recognized that both Italy and Austria-Hungary were interested in the Balkans and required both to consult each other before changing the status quo and to provide compensation for whatever advantage in that area: Austria-Hungary did consult Germany but not Italy before issuing the ultimatum to Serbia, and refused any compensation before the end of the war.
Sette may refer to:
Cima Dodici is a mountain on the border of Vicenza in Veneto and Trentino in Trentino Alto Adige, northern Italy, south of the village of Borgo Valsugana. It has an elevation of 2,336 metres. and is the highest peak in Vicenza. At 1,874 m prominence, it is an ultra prominent peak. The key col is near the village of Pergine Valsugana.
The Thirteen Communities were a group of municipalities in the Veneto region that once primarily spoke the Cimbrian language, a dialect of Upper German, as their native tongue; the dialect is endangered today. The municipalities are located on a high plateau northeast of Verona.
The Asiago War Memorial is a World War I memorial located in the town of Asiago in the Province of Vicenza in the Veneto region of northeast Italy. Surrounded by mountains that were the site of several World War I battles, the monument houses the remains of over 50,000 Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers and is a popular destination for travelers to the region. In Italian the memorial is typically called Sacrario Militare di Asiago or Sacrario Militare del Leiten. Leiten is the name of the hill on which the memorial sits.
The Vicentina is a breed of domestic sheep from the province of Vicenza in the Veneto, in north-east Italy. The origins of the breed are not clear, but it descends from the sheep of the Cimbrian cultural area of the Sette Comuni of the Altopiano di Asiago. It may share common origins with the Lamon, with which it was also cross-bred in the years after the Second World War. The Vicentina is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.
Events from the year 1916 in Italy.
Salamandra atra aurorae is a subspecies of the alpine salamander Salamandra atra found in south-eastern Italian Prealps. It is often called the golden alpine salamander.
The 151st Infantry Regiment "Sassari" is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Cagliari in Sardinia. The regiment is named for the city of Sassari and part of the Italian Army's infantry arm. As of 2023 the regiment is assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Sassari".
The 152nd Infantry Regiment "Sassari" is an active unit of the Italian Army based in Sassari in Sardinia. The regiment is named for the city of Sassari and part of the Italian Army's infantry arm. As of 2023 the regiment is assigned to the Mechanized Brigade "Sassari".