Trento History

Trento was a place of some importance from an early period by virtue of its commanding situation at the junction of the trading route from Venice up the Val Sugana with the road over the Brenner and was strongly fortified. From 1027 to 1803 is was the residenace of the prince-bishop directly subject to the emperor. From 1545 to 1563 it was the meeting place of the council of Trent, who liad down the of the Counter-Reformation. Between 1814 and 1918 it belonged to Austria, after the peace treaty of Saint Germain to Italy. In 1948 the province of Trento was combined with the province of Bolzano, which included the German-speaking Alto Adige or South Tirol to form the region of Trentino-Alto Adige. To this day, even though this area is a part of Italy, there are many areas in which the people speak German, as we found out on our visit to Bolzano.