1.
Holy Roman Empire
–
The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire at its maximal extent, in the 13th century
Holy Roman Empire
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Imperial Banner
Holy Roman Empire
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An illustration from
Schedelsche Weltchronik depicting the structure of the Reich: The Holy Roman Emperor is sitting; on his left are three ecclesiastics; on his right are four secular electors.
Holy Roman Empire
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Double-headed eagle with coats of arms of individual states, symbol of the Holy Roman Empire (painting from 1510)
2.
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
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The Kingdom of Italy was one of the constituent kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, along with the kingdoms of Germany, Bohemia, and Burgundy. It comprised northern and central Italy, but excluded the Republic of Venice and its original capital was Pavia until the 11th century. In June 774, the collapsed and the Franks became masters of northern Italy. The southern areas remained under Lombard control in the Duchy of Benevento, Charlemagne adopted the title King of the Lombards and in 800 had himself crowned Emperor of the Romans in Rome. Members of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule Italy until the deposition of Charles the Fat in 887, until 961, the rule of Italy was continually contested by several aristocratic families from both within and without the kingdom. In 961, King Otto I of Germany, already married to Adelaide, widow of a king of Italy. He continued on to Rome, where he had himself crowned emperor on 7 February 962, the union of the crowns of Italy and Germany with that of the so-called Empire of the Romans created the Holy Roman Empire, to which Burgundy was added in 1032. The resulting wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines, the anti-imperialist and imperialist factions, respectively, were characteristic of Italian politics in the 12th–14th centuries. The Lombard League was the most famous example of this situation, though not a declared separatist movement, by the 15th century, the power of the city-states was largely broken. A series of wars in Lombardy from 1423 to 1454 further reduced the number of competing states in Italy, the next forty years were relatively peaceful in Italy, but in 1494 the peninsula was invaded by France. The resulting Great Italian Wars lasted until 1559 as control of most of the Italian states passed to King Philip II of Spain. The Spanish branch of the Habsburg dynasty—the same dynasty of which another branch provided the Emperors—continued to rule most of imperial Italy down to the War of the Spanish Succession, after the Imperial Reform of 1495–1512, the Italian kingdom corresponded to the unencircled territories south of the Alps. The Imperial rule in Italy came to an end with the campaigns of the French Revolutionaries in 1792–97, in 1806, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last emperor, Francis II, after its defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz. After the Battle of Taginae, in which the Ostrogoth king Totila was killed, the battle lasted two days and Teia was killed in the fighting. The Kings of the Lombards ruled that Germanic people from their invasion of Italy in 567–68 until the Lombardic identity became lost in the ninth and tenth centuries, after 568, the Lombard kings sometimes styled themselves Kings of Italy. Upon the Lombard defeat at the 774 Siege of Pavia, the kingdom came under the Frankish domination of Charlemagne, the Iron Crown of Lombardy was used for the coronation of the Lombard kings, and the kings of Italy thereafter, for centuries. The primary sources for the Lombard kings before the Frankish conquest are the anonymous 7th-century Origo Gentis Langobardorum, the earliest kings listed in the Origo are almost certainly legendary. They purportedly reigned during the Migration Period, the first ruler attested independently of Lombard tradition is Tato, an initial phase of strong autonomy of the many constituent duchies developed over time with growing regal authority, even if the dukes desires for autonomy were never fully achieved
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
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The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, now at
Monza Cathedral
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
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Holy Roman Empire about 1000, Italian territories in shades of pink.
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
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Imperial Italy (outlined in red) in the 12th and 13th centuries
3.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
Middle Ages
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The
Cross of Mathilde, a
crux gemmata made for
Mathilde, Abbess of Essen (973–1011), who is shown kneeling before the Virgin and Child in the
enamel plaque. The body of Christ is slightly later. Probably made in
Cologne or
Essen, the cross demonstrates several medieval techniques:
cast figurative sculpture,
filigree, enamelling, gem polishing and setting, and the reuse of Classical
cameos and
engraved gems.
Middle Ages
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A late Roman statue
depicting the four Tetrarchs, now in
Venice
Middle Ages
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Coin of
Theodoric
Middle Ages
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Mosaic showing
Justinian with
the bishop of
Ravenna, bodyguards, and courtiers
4.
Verona
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Verona is a city on the Adige river in Veneto, Italy, with approximately 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third largest in northeast Italy, the metropolitan area of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km2 and has a population of 714,274 inhabitants. Three of Shakespeares plays are set in Verona, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and it is unknown if Shakespeare ever visited Verona or Italy at all, but his plays have lured many visitors to Verona and surrounding cities many times over. The city has been awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO because of its structure and architecture. According to a theory that considers the geographical position of the city, Verona is short for Versus Romae which means In the direction of Rome because as italian people say All roads lead to Rome. The exclamation Vae Romae if understood in Latin means Alas Rome, in fact, to express distress or denounce a disgrace ancient Romans used the Latin interjection vae. So, you explain the famous poem by William Shakespeare There is no world without Verona walls, But purgatory, torture. Hence-banished is banishd from the world, And worlds exile is death, the writer would express a Roman concept through its character named Romeo, a name that invokes Rome, according to which the city of Verona was a boundary between the Roman world and barbaric one. Verona was a place of passage and to horses, for those who wanted to go and had walked the Via Claudia Augusta. So the expression Vae Romae Alas Rome would indicate spirit of the place, another theory is that it is connected to the river. Vera was a name of the river Adige before the adoption of the current name, as in many similar instances in Europe the name of the town is formed with the addition of suffix -ona which means settlement over. The city was sometimes known as Welsch-Bern in German. The precise details of Veronas early history remain a mystery, one theory is it was a city of the Euganei, who were obliged to give it up to the Cenomani. With the conquest of the Valley of the Po the Veronese territory became Roman, Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 BC, and then a municipium in 49 BC when its citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe Poblilia or Publicia. The city became important because it was at the intersection of several roads, stilicho defeated Alaric and his Visigoths here in 403. But, after Verona was conquered by the Ostrogoths in 489, theoderic the Great was said to have built a palace there. It remained under the power of the Goths throughout the Gothic War, except for a day in 541. The defections that took place among the Byzantine generals with regard to the booty made it possible for the Goths to regain possession of the city, in 552 Valerian vainly endeavored to enter the city, but it was only when they were fully overthrown that the Goths surrendered it
Verona
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A collage of the city of Verona, Clockwise from top left to right: View of Piazza Bra from Verona Arena, House of Juliet, Verona Arena, Ponte Pietra at sunset, Statue of Madonna Verona's fountain in Piazza Erbe, View of Piazza Erbe from Lamberti Tower
Verona
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UNESCO World Heritage Site
Verona
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Statue of
Dante Alighieri in Verona
Verona
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Panoramic view of the city from Castel San Pietro
5.
Aquileia
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Aquileia was founded as a colony by the Romans in 180/181 BC along the Natiso River, on land south of the Julian Alps but about 13 kilometres north of the lagoons. In fact, the chosen for Aquileia was about 6 km from where an estimated 12,000 Celtic Taurisci nomads had attempted to settle in 183 BC. However, since the 13th century BC, the site, on the river and it is, therefore, theoretically not unlikely that Aquileia had been a Gallic oppidum even before the coming of the Romans. However, few Celtic artifacts have been discovered from 500 BC to the Roman arrival, each of the men had first hand knowledge of Cisalpine Gaul. Nasica had conquered the Boii in 191, flaminius had overseen the construction of the road named after him from Bologna to Arezzo. Acidinus had conquered the Taurisci in 183, the triumvirate led 3,000 families to settle the area meaning Aquileia probably had a population of 20,000 soon after its founding. Meanwhile, based on the evidence of names chiseled on stone, the majority of colonizing families came from Picenum, Samnium, and Campania, among these colonists, pedites received 50 iugera of land each, centuriones received 100 iugera each, and equites received 140 iugera each. Either at the founding or not long afterward, colonists from the nearby Veneti supplemented these families, roads soon connected Aquileia with the Roman colony of Bologna probably in 173 BC. The construction of the Via Popilia from the Roman colony of Ariminium to Ad Portum near Altinum in 132 BC improved communications still further. In the 1st century AD, the Via Gemina would link Aquileia with Emona to the east of the Julian Alps and it also had, in later times at least, considerable brickfields. In 90 BC, the original Latin colony became a municipium, the customs boundary of Italy was close by in Ciceros day. Caesar visited the city on a number of occasions and pitched winter camp nearby in 59-58 BC, although the Iapydes plundered Aquileia during the Augustan period, subsequent increased settlement and no lack of profitable work meant the city was able to develop its resources. Jewish artisans established a trade in glasswork. Metal from Noricum was forged and exported, the ancient Venetic trade in amber from the Baltic continued. Wine, especially its famous Pucinum was exported, oil was imported from Proconsular Africa. By sea, the port of Aquae Gradatae, modern Grado, augustus was the first of a number of emperors to visit Aquileia, notably during the Pannonian wars in 12‑10 BC. It was the birthplace of Tiberius son by Julia, in the latter year, the Roman poet Martial praised Aquileia as his hoped for haven and resting place in his old age. In terms of religion, the populace adopted the Roman pantheon, although the Celtic sungod, Jews practiced their ancestral religion and it was perhaps some of these Jews who became the first Christians
Aquileia
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The Basilica of Aquileia.
Aquileia
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UNESCO World Heritage Site
Aquileia
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A view of the archaeological area of Aquileia.
Aquileia
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The ancient inland port of Aquileia
6.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Otto I, traditionally known as Otto I the Great, was German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda, Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his fathers death in 936. He continued his fathers work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom, through strategic marriages and personal appointments, Otto installed members of his family in the kingdoms most important duchies. This reduced the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, Otto transformed the Roman Catholic Church in Germany to strengthen royal authority and subjected its clergy to his personal control. After putting down a brief civil war among the duchies, Otto defeated the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. The victory against the pagan Magyars earned Otto a reputation as a savior of Christendom, by 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy and extended his realms borders to the north, east, and south. The patronage of Otto and his immediate successors facilitated a so-called Ottonian Renaissance of arts, following the example of Charlemagnes coronation as Emperor of the Romans in 800, Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome. Ottos later years were marked by conflicts with the papacy and struggles to stabilize his rule over Italy, reigning from Rome, Otto sought to improve relations with the Byzantine Empire, which opposed his claim to emperorship and his realms further expansion to the south. To resolve this conflict, the Byzantine princess Theophanu married his son Otto II in April 972, Otto finally returned to Germany in August 972 and died at Memleben in May 973. Otto II succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor, Otto was born on 23 November 912, the oldest son of the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Fowler and his second wife Matilda, the daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, a Saxon count in Westphalia. Otto had four siblings, Hedwig, Gerberga, Henry. On 23 December 918, Conrad I, King of East Francia and Duke of Franconia, although Conrad and Henry had been at odds with one another since 912, Henry had not openly opposed the king since 915. Furthermore, Conrads repeated battles with German dukes, most recently with Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, after several months of hesitation, Eberhard and the other Frankish and Saxon nobles elected Henry as king at the Imperial Diet of Fritzlar in May 919. For the first time, a Saxon instead of a Frank reigned over the kingdom, Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new king, but Arnulf of Bavaria did not recognize Henrys position. According to the Annales Iuvavenses, Arnulf was elected king by the Bavarians in opposition to Henry, in 921, Henry besieged Arnulfs residence at Ratisbon and forced him into submission. Arnulf had to accept Henrys sovereignty, Bavaria retained some autonomy, Otto first gained experience as a military commander when the German kingdom fought against Slavic tribes on its eastern border. While campaigning against the Slavs in 929, Ottos illegitimate son William, with Henrys dominion over the entire kingdom secured by 929, the king probably began to prepare his succession over the kingdom. No written evidence for his arrangements is extant, but during this time Otto is first called king in a document of the Abbey of Reichenau, while Henry consolidated power within Germany, he also prepared for an alliance with Anglo-Saxon England by finding a bride for Otto
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Replica of the Magdeburger Reiter, equestrian monument traditionally regarded as portrait of Otto I (
Magdeburg, original c. 1240)
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Side view of the
Throne of Charlemagne at
Aachen Cathedral, where Otto was crowned King of Germany in 936.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Central Europe, 919–1125. The
Kingdom of Germany included the duchies of
Saxony (yellow),
Franconia (blue),
Bavaria (green),
Swabia (orange) and
Lorraine (pink left). Various dukes rebelled against Otto's rule in 937 and again in 939.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Statues of Otto I, right, and Adelaide in
Meissen Cathedral. Otto and Adelaide were married after his annexation of Italy.
7.
Duchy of Bavaria
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The Duchy of Bavaria was, from the sixth through the eighth century, a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom and was ruled by dukes under Frankish lordship. In the late ninth century a new duchy was created from this area and it was one of the stem duchies of the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. Between 1070 and 1180 the Emperor was opposed by Bavaria, especially by the House of Welf, in the final conflict between the Duke Henry the Lion and the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick I, Frederick I triumphed and deprived Henry of his fiefs. Bavaria then passed over to the House of Wittelsbach, which held it until 1918, the origins of the older Bavarian duchy can be traced to the year 551/555. In his Getica, the chronicler Jordanes writes, That area of the Swabians has the Bavarii in the east, until the end of the first duchy, all rulers descended from the family of the Agilolfings. The first documented duke was Garibald I, a scion of the Frankish Agilolfings, at around 743, the Bavarian duke Odilo vassalised the Slavic princes of Carantania, who had asked him for protection against the invading Avars. The residence of the largely independent Agilolfing dukes was then Regensburg, in the adjacent Alamannic lands west of the Lech river, Augsburg was a bishops seat. When Boniface established the Diocese of Passau in 739, he could build on local Early Christian traditions. In the south, Saint Rupert had founded in 696 the Diocese of Salzburg, probably after he had baptized Duke Theodo of Bavaria at his court in Regensburg, becoming the Apostle of Bavaria. In 798 Pope Leo III created the Bavarian ecclesiastical province with Salzburg as metropolitan seat and Regensburg, Passau, Freising, in the west, the Carolingian mayor of the palace Carloman had suppressed the last Alamannic revolt at the 746 Blood court at Cannstatt. The last tribal stem duchy to be incorporated was Bavaria in 788, the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by Charlemagne entailed the fall of Tassilo, who was deposed in 788. Bavaria was then administrated by Frankish prefects, from 825 Louis the German styled himself King of Bavaria in the territory that was to become the centre of his power. Carlomans natural son Arnulf of Carinthia, raised in the former Carantanian lands, secured possession of the March of Carinthia upon his fathers death in 880, Carinthia and Bavaria were the bases of his power, with Regensburg as the seat of his government. Due mainly to the support of the Bavarians, Arnulf could take the field against Charles in 887, in 899 Bavaria passed to Louis the Child, during whose reign continuous Hungarian ravages occurred. During the reign of Louis the Child, Luitpold, Count of Scheyern, the German king Conrad I unsuccessfully attacked Arnulf when the latter refused to acknowledge his royal supremacy. The Carolingian reign in East Francia ended in 911 when Arnulfs son, King Louis the Child, the discontinuation of the central authority led to a new strengthening of the German stem duchies. At the same time, East Francia was exposed to the threat from Hungarian invasions. In 907 the army of Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria suffered a defeat at the Battle of Pressburg
Duchy of Bavaria
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Imperial cities
Duchy of Bavaria
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Bavarian lands after 1392 partition
8.
Duchy of Carinthia
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The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchies. Carinthia remained a State of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, a constituent part of the Habsburg Monarchy and of the Austrian Empire, it remained a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary until 1918. By the Carinthian Plebiscite in October 1920, the area of the duchy formed the Austrian state of Carinthia. In the seventh century the area was part of the Slavic principality of Carantania, the Bavarian stem duchy was incorporated into the Carolingian Empire when Charlemagne deposed Odilos son Duke Tassilo III in 788. In the 843 partition by the Treaty of Verdun, Carinthia became part of East Francia under King Louis the German, after Berthold became Duke of Bavaria in 938, both territories were ruled by him. Duke Henrys son Henry II the Quarreller from 974 onwards, revolted against his cousin Emperor Otto II, at the same time Emperor Otto II created a sixth duchy in addition to the original stem duchies, the new Duchy of Carinthia. He reverted the possession of the territories to the Luitpoldings, when he split Carinthia from the Bavarian lands, over the centuries, the name Carinthia gradually replaced former Carantania. The realm of the Carinthian dukes initially comprised a vast territory including the marches of Styria, Carniola and Istria, though Henry once again managed to regain the ducal title in 985, Carinthia upon his death in 989 fell back to the Imperial Ottonian dynasty in Bavaria. Adalbero was removed from office in 1035 after he had out of favour with the Salian Emperor Conrad II. In 1039 Carinthia was inherited by Emperor Henry III himself, who split off the Carniolan march the following year and granted it to Margrave Poppo of Istria. In 1077, the duchy was given to Luitpold, again a member of the Eppensteiner family, upon his death the duchy was further reduced in area, a large part of the Eppenstein lands in what is today Upper Styria passed to Margrave Ottokar II of Styria. The remainder of Carinthia passed from Duke Henry III to his godchild Henry from the House of Sponheim, the most outstanding of the Spanheim dukes was Bernhard, the first Carinthian duke who was actually described and honoured in documents as prince of the land. The last Spanheim duke was Ulrich III, he signed a treaty with his brother Archbishop Philip of Salzburg. In spite of being supported by the Habsburg king Rudolf I of Germany, the duchy was seized by Rudolph and Philip died a year later in 1279. Rudolf, after being elected King of the Romans and defeating King Ottokar II, the Habsburgs would continue to rule Carinthia until 1918. As with the component parts of the Habsburg Monarchy, Carinthia remained a semi-autonomous state with its own constitutional structure for a long time. The Habsburgs divided up their territories within the family twice, according to the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg, each time, the Duchy of Carinthia became part of Inner Austria and was ruled jointly with the adjacent duchies of Styria and Carniola
Duchy of Carinthia
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Carinthia (yellow) within Inner Austria, c. 1790
Duchy of Carinthia
–
Flag
Duchy of Carinthia
–
Early 18th century map of Carinthia showing fiefs owned by Salzburg and Bamberg.
Duchy of Carinthia
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Klagenfurt Landhaus
9.
Margrave
–
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defense of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empire, thereafter, those domains were absorbed in larger realms or the titleholders adopted titles indicative of full sovereignty. Etymologically, the margrave is the English and French form of the German noble title Markgraf. As a noun and hereditary title, margrave was common to the languages of Europe, a Markgraf originally functioned as the military governor of a Carolingian mark, a medieval border province. The greater exposure of a province to military invasion mandated that the margrave be provided with military forces. As a military governor, the margraves authority often extended over a larger than the province proper. The margrave thus usually came to exercise commensurately greater politico-military power than other nobles, the margrave maintained the greater armed forces and fortifications required for repelling invasion, which increased his political strength and independence relative to the monarch. Most marks, and their margraves, sprung up along the Eastern border of the Carolingian Empire, the Breton Mark on the Atlantic Ocean and on the border of peninsular Brittany, and the Marca Hispanica on the Muslim frontier are notable exceptions. The Crusaders created new perilous borders, prone to war against the Saracens, hence had use for real border marches. These margraves became substantially independent rulers of states under the jurisdiction of the Holy Roman Emperor, similar to the evolution of dukes, landgraves, counts palatine. The Golden Bull of 1356 was issued by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, the Mark Brandenburg became the nucleus of the House of Hohenzollerns later Kingdom of Prussia and the springboard to their eventual accession as German Emperors in 1871. They also inherited several, mainly Eastern European and Burgundian, principalities, Austria was originally called Marchia Orientalis in Latin, the eastern borderland, as Austria formed the eastern outpost of the Holy Roman Empire, on the border with the Magyars and the Slavs. Since the 19th century the term has been translated as Ostmark by some Germanophones, another Mark in the south-east, Styria, still appears as Steiermark in German today. The Margraves of Brandenburg and the Margraves of Meissen eventually became, respectively, by the 19th century, the sovereigns in Germany, Italy and Austria had all adopted higher titles, and not a single sovereign margraviate remained. However, from 1817 his male-line descendants of both marriages were internationally recognised as entitled to the prefix, which all used henceforth. The title of Margrave of Baden has been borne as a title of only by the head of the House of Zähringen since the death of the last reigning Grand Duke, Frederick II. Likewise, Margrave of Meissen is used as a title of pretence by the claimant to the Kingdom of Saxony since the death in exile of its last monarch, King Fredrick Augustus III, the margrave/marquis ranked below its nations equivalent of duke or of prince, but above count. The wife of a margrave is a margravine, in Germany and Austria, where titles were borne by all descendants in the male line of the original grantee, men and women alike, each daughter was a Markgräfin as each son was a Markgraf
Margrave
–
Royal, noble and
chivalric ranks
10.
Lombard League
–
At its apex, it included most of the cities of Northern Italy, but its membership changed with time. With the death of the third and last Hohenstaufen emperor, Frederick II, in 1250 and it was backed by Pope Alexander III, who also wished to see Fredericks power in Italy decline. Though not a declared separatist movement, the League openly challenged the claim to power. Frederick I strived against the cities, especially Milan, which already had been occupied and devastated in 1162 and he nevertheless was no longer able to play off the cities against each other. At the Battle of Legnano on 29 May 1176, the army finally was defeated. Among the Leagues members, Milan, now favoured by the emperor, began to take a special position, in 1226 Frederick, sole king since 1218 and emperor since 1220, aimed to convene the Princes in Italy in order to prepare the Sixth Crusade. The efforts of Emperor Frederick II to gain power in Italy were aborted by the cities. The emperors measures included the taking of Vicenza and his victory in the 1237 Battle of Cortenuova which established the reputation of the Emperor as a skillful strategist, nevertheless, he misjudged his strength, rejecting all Milanese peace overtures and insisting on unconditional surrender. It was a moment of historic importance, when Fredericks hatred coloured his judgment. Milan and five other cities withstood his attacks, and in October 1238 he had to raise the siege of Brescia. The Lombard League once again receiving papal support by Pope Gregory IX, who excommunicated Frederick II in 1239, during the 1248 Siege of Parma, the Imperial camp was assaulted and taken, and in the ensuing battle the Imperial side was routed. Frederick II lost the Imperial treasure and with it any hope of maintaining the impetus of his struggle against the rebellious communes, the League was dissolved in 1250 when Frederick II died. Under his later successors the Empire exerted much influence on Italian politics. Guelphs and Ghibellines Old Swiss Confederacy Lusatian League Décapole Hanseatic League Ariberto da Intimiano Gianluca Raccagni, The Lombard League, G. Fasoli, La Lega Lombarda --Antecedenti, formazione, struttura, Problema des 12. Jahrhunderts, Vortraege und Forchungegen,12, 1965–67, pp. 143–160
Lombard League
–
A Bronze replica of the
Peace of Constance in
Konstanz. Illustrating the comunes of the Lombard League in 1183.
Lombard League
–
Lombard standard bearer re-entering Milan in 1167 (the year of the League's foundation) after its destruction in 1162 by Emperor Frederick I. Bas-relief Porta Romana, Milan (1171)
Lombard League
–
Medieval miniature depicting the
Battle of Cortenuova (1237)
Lombard League
–
Medieval miniature depicting the
Battle of Parma (1248)
11.
Friuli
–
Friuli is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i. e. the administrative provinces of Udine, Pordenone. The multiethnic and subsequent multilingual tradition of Friuli means that the name of the region according to locality. Besides Friuli from Italian, other local Romance forms include Friulian Friûl and Venetian Friul, Friaul in German and Furlanija in Slovene, the name Friuli originates from the ancient Roman town of Forum Iulii. The adjacent Slovene parts of the Soča/Isonzo valley from Gorizia/Nova Gorica up to Mt. Triglav, the mountainous northern part of the region belongs to the Southern Limestone Alps. Rivers flowing southwards from the mountains are numerous and this plain is commonly divided into the High Friulian plain and the Low Friulian plain, whose boundary is the Napoleonic road that connects the cities of Codroipo and Palmanova. To the south of road is the risorgive zone, where water resurfaces from underground waterways in spring-fed pools throughout the area. South of the plains lie the lagoons of Marano and Grado, other important rivers include the Torre, Natisone, Stella, Isonzo/Soča, and Ausa. Friuli covers an area of 8,240 square kilometres, subdivided among the provinces of Udine 4,905 square kilometres, Pordenone 2,178 square kilometres and Gorizia 466 square kilometres. The historical capital and most important city of is Udine, it was also the capital of the medieval Patria del Friuli. Other important towns are Pordenone, Gorizia/Nova Gorica, Sacile, Codroipo, Cervignano del Friuli, Cividale del Friuli, Gemona del Friuli, Monfalcone, the climate of the Friulian plain is humid sub-Mediterranean. The climate in this area is suitable for growing wine grapes. The hills, however, have a climate, and the mountainous regions have an alpine climate. On the coast the annual temperature is 14 °C, while in the inner plains. Further north, in Tolmezzo, the temperature is approximately 10.6 °C. The lowest values are recorded in the Alps,4 °C at Passo di Monte Croce Carnico, Gorizia, a short distance from Udine, enjoys a particularly milder micro-climate with its approximate annual average of 4 °C. In the warmest month, July, the range between 22.5 °C -24 °C along the coast and plains and the 14 °C -16 °C in Val Canale. Precipitation in Friuli is relatively abundant, the distribution of rainfall varies a great deal during the course of the year
Friuli
–
Tagliamento river at Gemona
Friuli
–
Historical
Flag of Friuli
Friuli
–
Lagoon of Marano, Alps in the background
Friuli
–
Cividale on Natisone river
12.
Veneto
–
Veneto or Venetia is one of the twenty regions of Italy. Its population is five million, ranking fifth in Italy. The regions capital and largest city is Venice, Veneto was part of the Roman Empire until the 5th century AD. Later, after a period, it was part of the Republic of Venice until 1797. Venice ruled for centuries one of the largest and richest maritime republics. The Statute of Veneto describes Venetians as a people, besides Italian, most inhabitants also speak Venetian. The region is home to a notable nationalist movement, the regions largest party is the Venetist/Padanist Liga Veneta, a founding member of Lega Nord. The current President of Veneto is Luca Zaia, elected in 2010 with 60. 2% of the vote and the support of Lega Nord, The People of Freedom, Veneto is the 8th largest region in Italy, with a total area of 18,398.9 km2. At its northernmost corner it borders also on Austria, the north-south extension of Veneto is 210 km from the Austrian border to the mouth of the River Po. By area, 29% of its surface is mountainous, the highest massif in the Dolomites is the Marmolada-massif at 3,342 m. Other dolomitic peaks are the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and the Pale di San Martino, the Venetian Prealps are not as high and range between 700 m and 2,200 m. Fossil deposits are abundant there. The plain itself is subdivided into the plain and the lower plain. The lower plain is both a mainstay of production and the most populated part of the region. Several rivers flow through the region, the Po, Adige, Brenta, Bacchiglione, Livenza, Piave, the eastern shore of the largest lake in Italy, Lake Garda, belongs to Veneto. The coastline covers approximately 200 km, of which 100 km are beaches, the coasts of the Adriatic Sea are characterised by the Venetian Lagoon, a flat terrain with ponds, marshes and islands. The Po Delta to the south features sandbars and dunes along the coastline, the inland portion contains cultivable land recently reclaimed by a system of canals and dykes. Fish ponds have been created there as well, the delta and the lagoon are a stopping-point for migratory birds
Veneto
–
Venice, the primary tourist destination and the capital of Veneto
Veneto
–
Veneto
Veneto
–
Lake Alleghe near
Belluno
Veneto
–
Tre Cime di Lavaredo
13.
Lombardy
–
Lombardy is one of the twenty administrative regions of Italy, in the northwest of the country, with an area of 23,844 square kilometres. Milan, Lombardys capital, is the second-largest city and the largest metropolitan area in Italy, the word Lombardy comes from Lombard, which in turn is derived from Late Latin Longobardus, Langobardus, derived from the Proto-Germanic elements *langaz + *bardaz, equivalent to long beard. Some sources derive the second element instead from Proto-Germanic *bardǭ, *barduz, Lombardy referred during the early Middle Ages to the entire territory of Italy ruled by the Lombards, a Germanic tribe who conquered much of the Italian peninsula beginning in the 6th century. During the late Middle Ages, the term shifted meaning and was used to identify the whole of Northern Italy, with a surface of 23,861 km2, Lombardy is the 4th largest region of Italy. It is bordered by Switzerland and by the Italian regions of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, three distinct natural zones can be fairly easily distinguished in the Lombardy region, mountains, hills and plains – the latter being divided in Alta and Bassa. Inconsistent with the three distinctions above made is the subregion of Oltrepò Pavese, formed by the Apennine foothills beyond the Po River. The mighty Po river marks the border of the region for a length of about 210 km. In its progress it receives the waters of the Ticino River, the other streams which contribute to the great river are, the Olona, the Lambro, the Adda, the Oglio and the Mincio. The numerous lakes of Lombardy, all of glacial origin, lie in the northern highlands, from west to east these are Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano, Lake Como, Lake Iseo, Lake Idro, then Lake Garda, the largest in Italy. A minor mountainous area, the Oltrepò Pavese, lies south of the Po, in the plains, intensively cultivated for centuries, little of the original environment remains. The most commons trees are elm, alder, sycamore, poplar, willow, in the area of the foothills lakes, however, grow olive trees, cypresses and larches, as well as varieties of subtropical flora such as magnolias, azaleas, acacias. Numerous species of flora in the Prealpine area include some kinds of saxifrage, the Lombard garlic, groundsels bellflowers. The highlands are characterized by the vegetation of the whole range of the Italian Alps. At a lower levels oak woods or broadleafed trees grow, on the slopes beech trees grow at the lowest limits. Shrubs such as rhododendron, dwarf pine and juniper are native to the summital zone, Lombardy has a wide array of climates, due to local variances in elevation, proximity to inland water basins, and large metropolitan areas. In addition, there is a seasonal temperature variation. A peculiarity of the climate is the thick fog that covers the plains between October and February. In the Alpine foothills, characterised by an Oceanic climate, numerous lakes exercise a mitigating influence, in the hills and mountains, the climate is humid continental
Lombardy
–
Mount Adamello
Lombardy
–
Lombardy Lombardia
Lombardy
–
Bridge over the
Ticino river
Lombardy
–
The
Alpine ibex (Capra ibex)
14.
Chiese
–
The river rises from the Adamello in Trentino and runs through the Val di Fumo and the Val di Daone, forming the reservoirs of Lago di Malga Bissina and Lago di Malga Boazzo. At Pieve di Bono it enters the valleys of Giudicarie. Further south it flows through the Lago dIdro near Baitoni before running down into Lombardy, after leaving the lake the river runs through the Val Sabbia as far as Roè Volciano. Like its twin the Sarca, the river is born of the glaciers of the Parco naturale provinciale dellAdamello-Brenta, within the highly restricted area of its drainage basin above Lago d’Idro there are at least four artificial lakes and three hydro-electric power stations. The lower course of the river in Lombardy is also used for this purpose
Chiese
–
Chiese
15.
Tagliamento
–
The Tagliamento is a braided river in north-east Italy, flowing from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea at a point between Trieste and Venice. The source is in the Mauria Pass, on the border between the regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, in the upper section, it flows through the historic Carnia region, in the northern part of the province of Udine. In the middle and lower sections, it first sets the boundary between the provinces of Udine and Pordenone and later between the former and the Province of Venice, finally, it flows into the Gulf of Venice between Lignano Sabbiadoro and Bibione. The watershed covers an area of 2,916 square kilometres with a population of approximately 165,000, the watershed lies almost entirely in Carnia and the other mountain valleys of Friuli. 86. 5% of the watershed is in the Province of Udine, the main towns along its banks are Latisana and San Michele al Tagliamento. The source is at an elevation of 1,195 metres in the Veneto region in the Province of Belluno near the border with the Province of Udine, initially, the rivers course is in a west to east direction, parallel to the Carnic Alps range. The first tributary of note is the Lumiei, which enters the Tagliamento from the left at a distance of 26 kilometres from the source. The river passes through Pinzano and courses in a direction, while spreading across the plain reaching a width of 3 kilometres near Spilimbergo. Its gravelly bed is very permeable, and it absorbs almost all its waters, from here onwards, the river bed distinctly narrows to 180 metres and starts to meander because of the reduced slope. Before ending its course, the river receives the waters of an underground river. Finally, the flows into the Adriatic Sea between the Lagoons of Marano and Caorle. In addition to the Italian name Tagliamento, the river is known by different names in languages of the region. The Friulan official name for the river is Tiliment, other variants include Taiament, Tilimint, Tiument, Timent. In Venetian, the river is known as Tajamento, in Slovene, Tilment and it was known as Dülmende in German during the Middle Ages
Tagliamento
–
The Tagliamento from the Pinzano's Bridge
Tagliamento
–
Natural-colour satellite image of north-eastern Italy showing parts of the Cellina, Meduna, and Tagliamento rivers.
16.
Julian Alps
–
They are named after Julius Caesar, who founded the municipium of Cividale del Friuli at the foot of the mountains. A large part of the Julian Alps is included in Triglav National Park, the second highest peak of the range, the 2,775 m high Jôf di Montasio, lies in Italy. The Julian Alps cover an estimated 4,400 km2 and they are located between the Sava Valley and Canale Valley. They are divided into the Eastern and Western Julian Alps, there are many peaks in the Eastern Julian Alps over 2,000 m high, and they are mainly parts of ridges. The most prominent peaks are visible by their height and size, there are high plains on the eastern border like Pokljuka, Mežakla and Jelovica. Only the Kanin group lies in part in Slovenia, the main peaks by height are, Jôf di Montasio Jof Fuart High Mount Kanin Important passes of the Julian Alps are, The Vršič Pass,1,611 m, links the Sava and Soča valleys. It is the highest mountain pass in Slovenia
Julian Alps
–
The Eastern Julian Alps and Mount Triglav
Julian Alps
–
Triglav from Debela peč
Julian Alps
–
View from
Mangart toward east (from left to right: Ponca,
Špik, Mojstrovka,
Škrlatica,
Razor,
Prisank, Travnik,
Triglav,
Kanjavec,
Jalovec, Lepo špičje),...
Julian Alps
–
The Julian Alps seen from the
Vršič Pass.
17.
Trentino
–
Trentino, officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the countrys far north. Trentino is, along with South Tyrol, one of the two provinces making up the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, which is designated a region under the constitution. The province is divided into 178 comuni and its capital is the city of Trento. The province covers an area of more than 6,000 km2, Trentino is renowned for its mountains, such as the Dolomites, which are part of the Alps. The province is known as Trentino. The name derives from Trento, the city of the province. Originally, the term was used by the population only to refer to the city. In its wider sense, Trentino was first used around 1848 in an article by a member of the Frankfurt National Assembly, since the new 1972 autonomous status, the administrative name of the province is Autonomous Province of Trento. The history of Trentino begins in the mid-Stone Age, the valleys of what is now Trentino were already inhabited by man, the main settlements being in the valley of the Adige River, thanks to its milder climate. In the early Middle Ages, this area was included within the Kingdom of Italy, in 1027, the Bishopric of Trent was established as a State of the Holy Roman Empire by Emperor Conrad II. It was a territory, roughly corresponding to the present-day Trentino. The Council of Trent, held in three sessions from 1545 to 1563, with the first at Trento, was one of the important councils in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. It was an articulation of Roman Catholic doctrine in response to the Protestant Reformation, and specified doctrine on salvation, the sacraments, after the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, the bishopric was secularized and absorbed into the Austrian County of Tyrol. It was governed by the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, the region was the location of heavy fighting during World War I, as it was directly on the front lines between Austria-Hungary and Italy. Trentino remained a part of Austria-Hungary until after the end of the war in 1919, since this treaty, Trentino enjoys considerable autonomy from the Italian central government in Rome. It has its own elected government and legislative assembly, in 1996, the Euroregion Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino was formed between the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Italian provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino. The boundaries of the association correspond to the old County of Tyrol, the aim is to promote regional peace, understanding and cooperation in many areas. The regions assemblies meet together as one on various occasions and have set up a liaison office to the European Union in Brussels
Trentino
–
Buonconsiglio Castle in Trent was the seat of the prince-bishops from the 13th century to 1803.
Trentino
–
Map highlighting the location of the province of Trentino in Italy
Trentino
–
The
Marmolada in the northeast is the highest mountain of the Dolomites
Trentino
–
A view of Lake Garda from
Riva del Garda in the south. Tourism is one of the main factors of the Trentine econonmy.
18.
Adige
–
The river sources near the Reschen Pass close to the borders with Austria and Switzerland above the Inn valley. It flows through the artificial alpine Lake Reschen, the lake is known for the church tower that marks the site of the former village of Alt Graun, it was evacuated and flooded in 1953 after the dam was finished. Near Glurns, the Rom river joins from the Swiss Val Müstair, the Adige runs eastbound through the Vinschgau to Merano, where it is met by the Passer river from the north. The section between Merano and Bolzano, is called Etschtal, meaning Adige Valley, the Chiusa di Salorno narrows at Salorno mark the southernmost part of the predominantly German-speaking province of South Tyrol. The Adige was mentioned in the Lied der Deutschen of 1841 as the border of the German language area. In 1922 Germany adopted the song as its anthem, although by that time Italy had taken control of all of the Adige. Near Trento, the Avisio, Noce, and Fersina rivers join, the Adige crosses Trentino and later Veneto, flowing past the town of Rovereto, the Lagarina Valley, the cities of Verona and Adria and the north-eastern part of the Po Plain into the Adriatic Sea. The Adige and the Po run parallel in the river delta without properly joining, the Adige is connected to Lake Garda by the Mori-Torbole tunnel, an artificial underground canal built for flood prevention. The Adige is a home to the Marble trout, but at far lower populations than in the past, fish stocking is one of the most significant causes of the sharp reduction in the original fish population of this subspecies. It will spawn with and interbreed with brown trout, which are stocked in the river
Adige
–
The true source of Adige inside a
bunker of the
Alpine Wall
Adige
–
Map of Adige River
Adige
–
The false source
Adige
–
Graun, the
bell tower in the
Reschensee.
19.
Lagoon
–
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by barrier islands or reefs. Lagoons are commonly divided into coastal lagoons and atoll lagoons and they have also been identified as occurring on mixed-sand and gravel coastlines. There is an overlap between bodies of water classified as coastal lagoons and bodies of water classified as estuaries, lagoons are common coastal features around many parts of the world. Lagoons can also be man-made and used for treatment, as is the case for e. g. aerated lagoons. Lagoons are shallow, often elongated bodies of water separated from a body of water by a shallow or exposed shoal, coral reef. Some authorities include fresh water bodies in the definition of lagoon, the distinction between lagoon and estuary also varies between authorities. Richard A. Davis Jr. restricts lagoon to bodies of water with little or no fresh water inflow, and little or no tidal flow, Davis does state that the terms lagoon and estuary are often loosely applied, even in scientific literature. Timothy M. Kusky characterizes lagoons as normally being elongated parallel to the coast, while estuaries are usually drowned river valleys, coastal lagoons are classified as inland bodies of water. Many lagoons do not include lagoon in their common names, in England, The Fleet at Chesil Beach has also been described as a lagoon. In Latin America, the term laguna in Spanish, which translates to. However, sometimes it is used to describe a full-sized lake, such as Laguna Catemaco in Mexico. The brackish water lagoon may be explicitly identified as a coastal lagoon. In Portuguese the same usage is found, lagoa may be a body of sea water. Lagoon is derived from the Italian laguna, which refers to the waters around Venice, Laguna is attested in English by at least 1612, and had been Anglicized to lagune by 1673. In 1697 William Dampier referred to a Lagune or Lake of Salt water on the coast of Mexico, captain James Cook described an island of Oval form with a Lagoon in the middle in 1769. Atoll lagoons form as coral reefs grow upwards while the islands that the reefs surround subside, unlike the lagoons that form shoreward of fringing reefs, atoll lagoons often contain some deep portions. Coastal lagoons form along gently sloping coasts where barrier islands or reefs can develop off-shore, coastal lagoons do not form along steep or rocky coasts, or if the range of tides is more than 4 metres. Due to the slope of the coast, coastal lagoons are shallow
Lagoon
–
Balos coastal lagoon of northwestern
Crete. The shallow lagoon is separated from the Mediterranean sea by narrow shoals connecting to a small, rocky mountain.
Lagoon
–
Garabogaz-Göl lagoon in
Turkmenistan
Lagoon
–
Coastal lagoon landscapes around the island of
Hiddensee near
Stralsund,
Germany. Many similar coastal lagoons can be found around the
Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park.
Lagoon
–
Aerial photograph of the Rakaia river-mouth and associated hapua
20.
Republic of Venice
–
It was based in the lagoon communities of the historically prosperous city of Venice. It was a leading European economic and trading power during the Middle Ages, the Venetian city state was founded as a safe haven for people escaping persecution in mainland Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. In its early years, it prospered on the salt trade, in subsequent centuries, the city state established a thalassocracy. It dominated trade on the Mediterranean Sea, including commerce between Asia, Europe and North Africa, the Venetian navy was used in the Crusades. Venice achieved territorial conquests along the Adriatic Sea, the city became home to an extremely wealthy merchant class, who patronized renowned art and architecture along the citys lagoons. Venetian merchants were influential financiers in Europe, the city was also the birthplace of great European explorers, including Marco Polo, as well as the classical music composer Vivaldi. The republic was ruled by the Doge, who was elected by members of the Great Council of Venice, the ruling class was an oligarchy of merchants and aristocrats. Venice and other Italian maritime republics played a key role in fostering capitalism, Venetian citizens generally supported the system of governance. The city-state enforced strict laws and employed ruthless tactics in its prisons, the opening of new trade routes to the Americas and the East Indies via the Atlantic Ocean marked the beginning of Venices decline as a maritime republic. The city state suffered defeats from the navy of the Ottoman Empire, in 1797, the country was colonized by Austria and France, following an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte. Venice became a part of a unified Italy in the 19th century and it was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in reference to its title as one of the Most Serene Republics. He was the first historical Doge of Venice, whichever the case, the first doges had their power base in Heraclea. Ursuss successor, Deusdedit, moved his seat from Heraclea to Malamocco in the 740s and he was the son of Ursus and represented the attempt of his father to establish a dynasty. Such attempts were more commonplace among the doges of the first few centuries of Venetian history. They desired to remain well-connected to the Empire, another faction, republican in nature, believed in continuing along a course towards practical independence. The other main faction was pro-Frankish, supported mostly by clergy, they looked towards the new Carolingian king of the Franks, Pepin the Short, as the best provider of defence against the Lombards. A minor, pro-Lombard faction was opposed to close ties with any of these further-off powers, the successors of Obelerio inherited a united Venice. By the Pax Nicephori, the two emperors had recognised that Venice belonged to the Byzantine sphere of influence, many centuries later, the Venetians claimed that the treaty had recognised Venetian de facto independence, but the truth of this claim is doubted by modern scholars
Republic of Venice
–
Sack of Constantinople
Republic of Venice
–
Flag
Republic of Venice
–
Voyage of
Marco Polo into the Far East during the
Pax Mongolica
Republic of Venice
–
The
Piraeus Lion in
Venice - a spoil from Constantinople
21.
Adriatic Sea
–
The Adriatic Sea /ˌeɪdriˈætᵻk/ is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula and the Apennine Mountains from the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto to the northwest, the countries with coasts on the Adriatic are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro and Slovenia. The Adriatic contains over 1,300 islands, mostly located along its eastern, Croatian and it is divided into three basins, the northern being the shallowest and the southern being the deepest, with a maximum depth of 1,233 metres. The Otranto Sill, a ridge, is located at the border between the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. The prevailing currents flow counterclockwise from the Strait of Otranto, along the eastern coast, tidal movements in the Adriatic are slight, although larger amplitudes are known to occur occasionally. The Adriatics salinity is lower than the Mediterraneans because the Adriatic collects a third of the water flowing into the Mediterranean. The surface water temperatures range from 30 °C in summer to 12 °C in winter. The Adriatic Sea sits on the Apulian or Adriatic Microplate, which separated from the African Plate in the Mesozoic era, the plates movement contributed to the formation of the surrounding mountain chains and Apennine tectonic uplift after its collision with the Eurasian plate. In the Late Oligocene, the Apennine Peninsula first formed, separating the Adriatic Basin from the rest of the Mediterranean, all types of sediment are found in the Adriatic, with the bulk of the material transported by the Po and other rivers on the western coast. The western coast is alluvial or terraced, while the eastern coast is indented with pronounced karstification. There are dozens of protected areas in the Adriatic, designed to protect the seas karst habitats. The sea is abundant in flora and fauna—more than 7,000 species are identified as native to the Adriatic, many of them endemic, rare and threatened ones. The Adriatics shores are populated by more than 3.5 million people, the earliest settlements on the Adriatic shores were Etruscan, Illyrian, and Greek. By the 2nd century BC, the shores were under Romes control, following Italian unification, the Kingdom of Italy started an eastward expansion that lasted until the 20th century. Following World War I and the collapse of Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, the former disintegrated during the 1990s, resulting in four new states on the Adriatic coast. Italy and Albania agreed on their maritime boundary in 1992, Fisheries and tourism are significant sources of income all along the Adriatic coast. Adriatic Croatias tourism industry has grown faster economically than the rest of the Adriatic Basins, maritime transport is also a significant branch of the areas economy—there are 19 seaports in the Adriatic that each handle more than a million tonnes of cargo per year. The largest Adriatic seaport by annual cargo turnover is the Port of Trieste, in the southeast, the Adriatic Sea connects to the Ionian Sea at the 72-kilometre wide Strait of Otranto
Adriatic Sea
–
Bay of Kotor, a
ria in the Southern Adriatic
Adriatic Sea
–
Map of the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
–
Adriatic islands off
Croatia 's coast
Adriatic Sea
–
A
submarine spring near
Omiš, observed through sea surface rippling
22.
Dolomites
–
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form a part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east, the northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley. The Dolomites are nearly equally shared between the provinces of Belluno, South Tyrol and Trentino. There are also groups of similar geological structure that spread over the River Piave to the east – Dolomiti dOltrepiave. There is also another group called Piccole Dolomiti located between the provinces of Trentino, Verona and Vicenza. The Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park and many other parks are located in the Dolomites. In August 2009, the Dolomites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, during the First World War, the front line between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces ran through the Dolomites and there was fierce mine warfare. There are now open-air war museums at Cinque Torri and Mount Lagazuoi, many people visit the Dolomites to climb the vie ferrate, protected paths created during the First World War. A number of long distance footpaths run across the Dolomites, which are called alte vie, such long trails, which are numbered from 1 to 8, require at least a week to be walked through and are served by numerous Rifugi. The first and, perhaps, most renowned is the Alta Via 1, radiocarbon dating has been used in the Alta Badia region to draw a connection between landslide movement and climate change. The layering of rocks and organic matter make for a trove of material that can used to perform these scientific investigations. Landslides are caused by processes, most notably the humidity of soil. The region is divided into the Western and Eastern Dolomites. Free climbing has been a tradition in the Dolomites since 1887, the Maratona dles Dolomites, an annual single-day road bicycle racing race covering seven mountain passes of the Dolomites, occurs in the first week of July. Other characteristic places are, Mount Pasubio and Strada delle 52 Gallerie Altopiano di Asiago and Calà del Sasso, with 4444 steps, nomination of the Dolomites for inscription on the World Natural Heritage List UNESCO. Walks and Via Ferrata in the Dolomites, franco Grisa Timelapse Italian official cartography, on-line version, www. pcn. minambiente. it
Dolomites
–
View from Pordoi
Dolomites
–
View of the Dolomites
Dolomites
–
Tofana Group
Dolomites
–
Winter view of the
Sella Group
23.
Carnic Alps
–
The Carnic Alps are a range of the Southern Limestone Alps in Austria and northeastern Italy. They are within Austrian East Tyrol and Carinthia, and Italian Friuli and they are named after the Roman province of Carnia, which probably has a Celtic origin. The mountains gave their name to the stage on the time scale known as Carnian. They extend from east to west for about 100 km between the Gail River, a tributary of the Drava and the Tagliamento, forming the border between Austria and Italy, in the Carnic Alps is the southernmost glacier in Austria, the Eiskar, nestling in the Kellerwand massif
Carnic Alps
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Volaia Lake in the Carnic Alps
Carnic Alps
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Wind turbine on the Austrian side of the Plöcken Pass
24.
Carnia
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Carnia is a historical-geographic region in the northeastern Italian area of Friuli. Its 28 municipalities all belong to the Province of Udine, which itself is part of the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, starting from 400 BC, the demographic growth and the pressure of the Germanic peoples, originated a migratory flood towards the south. The Carni crossed the Alps via the Plöcken Pass and settled in the region which is nowadays named Carnia, during the hard winters the herders used to move with their cattle down to the piedmont plains. Also they were iron and wood manufacturers. The Carni were headed by a king and a caste of druids. The new settlement was named Aquileia, after the former Celtic name Akileja, the triumvirs that founded that settlement were Publius Scipio Nasica, Caius Flaminius and Lucius Manlius Acidinus. In order to stem the Roman expansion and to acquire the fertile and more hospitable plains, the Carni tried to form alliances with the Histrian, the Iapode, and the Taurisci Celts. Later on, the Carni, characterised by a docile temper, the mixing of the two languages would give rise to the Friulian language. In the mean time Aquileia enlarged its importance and it became a Municipium Romanum in 90 BC, it was an important commercial and hand-craft production centre. Also it was the port on the Adriatic sea and a garrison settlemnent. With adjacent Carantania, Carnia was conquered by Frankish forces in the 774 campaign of Charlemagne. In the 843 Treaty of Verdun, the south of the main chain of the Carnic Alps was attributed to the realm of Emperor Lothair I, it was inherited by his eldest son. In 951 Berengars grandson King Berengar II of Italy had to lay down arms against the forces of King Otto I of Germany. At the 952 Imperial Diet of Augsburg, he had to himself an East Frankish vassal. In 976 it became part of the newly established Duchy of Carinthia, as the patriarchate was gradually conquered by the Republic of Venice, Carnia had passed from the Holy Roman Empire to the Venetian Domini di Terraferma by 1420. Nevertheless, Friulian, a Rhaeto-Romance language, is widely spoken, the German Southern Bavarian dialect is spoken in the linguistic enclaves of Sauris and Paluzza-Timau, as in the neighbouring regions of Veneto and Trentino. oh noci della Carnia addio. Erra tra i vostri rami il pensier mio sognando lombre dun tempo che fu. oh walnuts of Carnia and my thought is roaming through your branches, Dreaming of the shadows of the time that was. Carnia is located south of the chain of the Carnic Alps, in the northwest of the Udine province, it is bounded to the north by Austria
Carnia
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Monte Bìvera near
Sauris
Carnia
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Settlement area of the Carni in Roman
Cisalpine Gaul
Carnia
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Volaia Lake
Carnia
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Forni Avoltri View
25.
Po Valley
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The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. The flatlands of Veneto and Friuli are often considered apart since they do not drain into the Po, the plain is the surface of an in-filled system of ancient canyons extending from the Apennines in the south to the Alps in the north, including the northern Adriatic. Geo-political definitions of the valley depend on the defining authority, the Po Basin Water Board, authorized in 1989 by Law no. The law defines the Po basin as the territory from which rainwater or snow and glacier melt flows on the surface, the valley is crossed by a number of affluents running down from the Alps in the north and from the Apennines in the south. The Pos major affluents include the Tanaro, Scrivia, Trebbia, Panaro and Secchia in the south, Dora Riparia, Dora Baltea, Sesia, Ticino, Lambro, Adda, Oglio and Mincio in the north. Since the Messinian the system has been filling with sediment mainly from the older Apennines, the shoreline of the Adriatic depends on a balance between the sedimentation rate and isostatic factors. Until about 1950 the Po delta was prograding into the Adriatic, where the land surface now dips below sea level the river must run at a relative elevation between dikes. The Po Valley is often regarded as a syncline, or dip in the crust due to compression at the edges. Regardless of whether this concept accurately describes its geology, the valley is manifestly a sediment-filled trough, or virtual syncline, the upper areas of the Po valley take local names which reflect in their meanings their being modestly suited for farming. It varies from a few kilometres to as much as 50 km wide, the fontanili line is the outcrop, or intersection, of the anticlines water table with the surface at the edge of the bassa. The rock above the line is porous, surface water in the intermittent streams of the mountains tends to disappear below ground only to spring out again in the spring zone. The spring zone is called the middle valley. Surface runoff water is not of value to the valleys dense population for drinking and other immediate uses, being unreliable, often destructive and heavily polluted by sewage. Its main anthropic value is for power, irrigation and industrial transport. The cost of purifying it for consumption makes that process less feasible. The fresh drinking water comes from hundreds of thousands of wells concentrated especially in the fontanili zone, the older and smaller cities deriving from ancient times are still located there. The Po Valley has a subtropical climate. The conformation of the plain, surrounded by the Alps and the Apennines, the climate of the Po Valley becomes increasingly warmer and more humid farther south and east
Po Valley
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Po River near source in the western Alps
Po Valley
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Map showing the
river Po in the Padan Plain
Po Valley
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Rice fields in the
province of Vercelli, eastern
Piedmont.
Po Valley
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Landscape of the Bassa: a farm in the
province of Cremona, southern
Lombardy.
26.
Euganean Hills
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The Euganean Hills are a group of hills of volcanic origin that rise to heights of 300 to 600 m from the Padovan-Venetian plain a few km south of Padua. The Colli Euganei form the first Regional park established in the Veneto, enclosing fifteen towns, the name memorializes that of the Euganei, an ancient people who inhabited the region upon contact with the Romans. The Euganean Hills, just visible from Venice, have celebrated for their picturesque beauty. In the Euganean Hills, at Arquà, which now bears his name attached to it, Petrarch found peace, the Parco Regionale dei Colli Euganei was established in 1989 by the Veneto Region. It covers an area of about 18,000 hectares, the park offers a wide choice of recreational, natural world, historical and tourist activities
Euganean Hills
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Monte Gemola seen from Monte Rusta
27.
Venetian Prealps
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The Venetian Prealps are a mountain range in the south-eastern part of the Alps. They are located in Triveneto, in the part of Italy. Administratively the range is divided between the Italian provinces of Trento, Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, Belluno and Pordenone, the Venetian Prealps are drained by the rivers Adige, Brenta, Piave and other minor rivers and streams, all of them tributaries of the Adriatic sea. The chief summits of the Venetian prealps are, Italian official cartography, on-line version, www. pcn. minambiente. it Grappa and Prealpi Prealpi Veronesi
Venetian Prealps
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Monti Lessini in winter
Venetian Prealps
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Northern slopes of Col Nudo
28.
Lake Garda
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Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is a holiday location and is located in northern Italy. Glaciers formed this region at the end of the last Ice Age. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the provinces of Verona, Brescia, and Trentino, the name Garda, which the lake has been seen referred to in documents dating to the eighth century, comes from the town of the same name. It is the evolution of the Germanic word warda, meaning place of guard or place of observation, the northern part of the lake is narrower, surrounded by mountains, the majority of which belong to the Gruppo del Baldo. The shape is typical of a valley, probably having been formed under the action of a Paleolithic glacier. Nearby to the south is Isola San Biagio, also known as the Isola dei Conigli, both are offshore of San Felice del Benaco, on the lakes western side. The three other islands are Isola dellOlivo, Isola di Sogno, and Isola di Trimelone. The main tributary is the Sarca River, others include the Ponale River, if the water level of the Adige river is too high, excess water is diverted to the lake through the Mori-Torbole tunnel. The particularly mild climate favours the growth of some Mediterranean plants, citrus trees can also be found, which are extremely rare at this latitude. This greatly favoured the development of tourism since the end of the world war. In ancient times, poets like Catullus wrote about Lacus Benacus with its mild climate vivified by the winds, the bottleneck formed by the lake basin affects the timing of the winds, many of which happen on a regular daily basis. The winds are all named, most in regional Italian dialect so a single wind may have different names, salmo carpio, also known as the carpione is a rare salmonid fish endemic to Lake Garda. It has been introduced to a number of lakes in Italy and elsewhere. The population in Lake Garda has been declining, and is considered critically endangered. The main threats are due to overfishing, pollution and possibly competition from introduced species such as Coregonus, adult lake trout outside the mating season are silvery with very few black spots on the body and almost none on the head. During the mating season males develop some a dark mottled body coloration, Garda lake trout reach a length of up to 50 centimeters. They live primarily in depths of 100 to 200 metres and they feed on zooplankton and bottom-dwelling crustaceans in summer
Lake Garda
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Nago–Torbole and the northern part of the lake
Lake Garda
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Lake Garda from space.
Lake Garda
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View from Torbole, looking south, over the water.
Lake Garda
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View of south lake near Peschiera del Garda (Verona, Italy) (probably with Lake Frassino or River Mincio), at the top off the painting are the mountains of Brescia (Italy). Painted after 1533 by Girolamo dai Libri.
29.
March of Tuscany
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The March of Tuscany was a frontier march of the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. Located in northwestern central Italy, it bordered the Papal States to the south and it comprised a collection of counties, largely in the valley of the Arno River, originally centered on Lucca. The march was a Carolingian creation, a successor of the Lombard duchy of Tuscia. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Tuscia from 568 had been part of the Italian Kingdom of the Lombards until, in 754, Lombardy proper became the nucleus of the Imperial kingdom of Italy, together with the marches of Tuscany and Verona. The first Tuscan margrave was Adalbert I, who was granted title in 846. The Bonifacii held the march until 931, during the late ninth and early tenth century, the support of the margraves of Tuscany was instrumental for any candidate intent on becoming King of Italy. In 931, Hugh of Arles, who had made himself King of Italy and he granted Tuscany to his brother Boso. It remained in the hands of members of the known as the Bosonids down to 1001. It also retained its influence regarding royal elections, as late as 1027, Rainier was deposed from the march by Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II for opposing him as king. In 1027, the duchy was granted to the counts of Canossa, boniface III used the title dux et marchio, duke and margrave. He was an ally of the Holy Roman Emperors, but his power was so great that he threatened that of the Emperors in Italy and he united the Canossa inheritance, which was largely in the Emilia, to Tuscany and passed it on to his daughter Matilda. Besides her vast Emilian allods, her greatest possession was Tuscany, held in feudal tenure, with Matildas death in 1115, the era of the feudal princes had passed in northern Italy, to be replaced by the dominance of the city-states, maritime republics and communes. List of rulers of Tuscany Italian city-states Wickham, Chris, early Medieval Italy, Central Power and Local Society 400–1000
March of Tuscany
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The March of Tuscany in the political context of Italy around AD 1000
30.
Udine
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Its population was 99,244 in 2016,176,000 with the urban area. Udine was first attested in medieval Latin records as Udene in 983, the origin of the name Udine is unclear. It has been suggested that the name may be of pre-Roman origin. The Slovene name Videm is a hypercorrection of the local Slovene name Vidan, the Slovene linguist Pavle Merkù characterized the Slovene form Videm as an idiotic 19th-century hypercorrection. Udine is the capital of Friuli. The area has been inhabited since the Neolithic age, and was later, most likely and he established the town there, and built a square-shape tower. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the increased in importance after the decline of Aquileia. In AD983 Udine was mentioned for the first time, with the donation of the Utinum castle by emperor Otto II to the Patriarchs of Aquileia, then the main feudal lords of the region. In 1223, with the foundation of the market, the city became finally the most important in the area for economy and trade, in 1420, it was conquered by the Republic of Venice. In 1511, it was the seat of a civil war, which was followed by an earthquake. Udine remained under Venetian control until 1797, being the second largest city in the state, after the short French domination which ensued, it was part of the Austrian-puppet Lombardy-Venetia Kingdom, and was included in the newly formed Kingdom of Italy in 1866. During World War I, before the defeat in the battle of Caporetto, after the battle, it was occupied by Austrians in 1918 until after the Battle of Vittorio Veneto in 1918. After the war it was capital of a short-lived province which included the current provinces of Gorizia. After 8 September 1943, when Italy surrendered to the Allies in World War II, the city was under direct German administration, Udine has a humid subtropical climate. Precipitation is abundant year round with spring and fall being the wettest seasons, the highest temperature recorded was 38.2 °C on July 21,2006 while the lowest temperature recorded was −18.6 °C on December 19,2009. In 2007, there were 97,880 people residing in Udine itself, located in the province of Udine, Friuli Venezia Giulia, minors totalled 14.36 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 24.27 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent and 19.94 percent, the average age of Udine residents is 47 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Udine grew by 1.48 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent
Udine
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Piazza San Giacomo
Udine
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Udine as it appeared in 1650.
Udine
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Piazza della Libertà and the Loggia di San Giovanni
Udine
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Loggia di San Giovanni, clock tower (Torre dell’Orologio)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
