Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of the

province of Gorizia The Province of Gorizia ( it, Provincia di Gorizia, fur, Provincie di Gurize; sl, Goriška pokrajina) was a province in the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region of Italy, which was disbanded on 30 September 2017. Overview Its capital was th ...

Friuli Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...

, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain' in Italian (see '' Montfaucon'' in French and '' Falkenberg'' in Germanic languages). It is a major industrial centre for manufacturing ships, airplanes, textiles, chemicals, and refined oil, and the home of the Fincantieri cruise ship building company. Monfalcone is the northernmost city on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

Geography

Monfalcone is the fifth most populous town in

and the main centre of Bisiacaria territory. Joined to its neighbourhoods, it has about 50,000 inhabitants. The town lies between the

Karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

hills and the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...

coast, and it is the northernmost port of the Mediterranean Sea.

History

In prehistoric times the area of Monfalcone housed several fortified villages called '' castellieri''. After the foundation of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

city of

Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river ...

(181 BC), some thermal buildings were created on the hills, known as ''Insulae Clarae''. After

Ostrogoth The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, Lombard, and Frankish domination, Monfalcone was controlled by the

Patriarchs of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in cer ...

starting from 967. The Venetians conquered it in 1420 after three days of siege, keeping it until 1511, when it fell to the French. Conquered back by Venice, it was ravaged by the troops of

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

Emperor Maximilian I in 1513, who destroyed the Rocca fortress. In 1521 it was returned to the Republic of Venice, under which it remained until its dissolution by the 1797

Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...

From 1805 it was controlled by the French Empire until the fall of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

in 1814, after which it was included in the

Kingdom of Illyria The Kingdom of Illyria was a crown land of the Austrian Empire from 1816 to 1849, the successor state of the Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces, which were reconquered by Austria in the War of the Sixth Coalition. It was established according to th ...

, part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

. Incorporated into the crown land of

Gorizia and Gradisca The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (german: Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca; it, Principesca Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca; sl, Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled " ...

, it belonged to the

Austrian Littoral The Austrian Littoral (german: Österreichisches Küstenland, it, Litorale Austriaco, hr, Austrijsko primorje, sl, Avstrijsko primorje, hu, Osztrák Tengermellék) was a crown land (''Kronland'') of the Austrian Empire, established in 1849. I ...

from 1849. The first shipyards arose from about 1908 onwards, among them the

Cantiere Navale Triestino Cantiere Navale Triestino – abbreviated CNT, or in English Trieste Naval Shipyard – was a private shipbuilding company based at Monfalcone operating in the early 20th century. The yard still functions today, though under a different name. Hi ...

company building steamships for the Austro-Americana Line based in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the town was captured by Italian forces in 1915 and became the rear line during the bloody

Battles of the Isonzo The Battles of the Isonzo (known as the Isonzo Front by historians, sl, soška fronta) were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and the remaind ...

, being briefly recaptured by Austria-Hungary after the 1917 Battle of Caporetto, but returning to Italy in 1918. The shipyards were severely damaged by bitter fighting and had to be rebuilt afterwards. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the town was repeatedly bombed and heavily damaged, became a center of the

Italian Resistance The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Socia ...

after the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Bri ...

, and it was briefly occupied by Yugoslav troops at the end of the war.

Main sights

* Rocca fortress. Of medieval origin (according to a legend, it was founded by

Theoderic the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Ita ...

, King of the Ostrogoths), its current appearance dates to Venetian restorations in the early 16th century. The interior houses a speleology exhibition. * World War I Park *

area * Saint Ambrose's Cathedral * Roman villas and thermae: Several remains of Roman villas have been found on the territory of the municipality of Monfalcone. The sites are object of archaeological research but are not open to public. A ''

thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...

'' dating back to the Roman era is also present and what remains of the ancient edifice is now included in the current thermal establishment that was reactivated in 2014.

Transport

Monfalcone railway station, opened in 1860, is a

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

between the Venice–Trieste railway and the Udine–Trieste railway. The construction and design records of the ships produced in Monfalcone Shipyard Number 1 from 1909 - 1967 have been preserved in the Fondo Egone Missio Archives (Egone Missio Archives).

People

Enrico Toti Enrico Toti (20 August 1882 in Rome – 6 August 1916 in Monfalcone) was an Italian cyclist, patriot and hero of World War I. Life Enrico Toti was born and raised in San Giovanni, a popular district of Rome, by his father Nicola Toti, a r ...

(1882–1916), cyclist, was killed in the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo in Monfalcone *

Antonio Sant'Elia Antonio Sant'Elia (; 30 April 1888 – 10 October 1916) was an Italian architect and a key member of the Futurist movement in architecture. He left behind almost no completed works of architecture and is primarily remembered for his bold s ...

(1888–1916), architect, was killed in the Eighth Battle of the Isonzo in Monfalcone * Filippo Zappata (1894–1994), engineer, worked in Monfalcone * Mirko Gruden (1911–1967), footballer * Gino Paoli (born 1934), singer-songwriter * Paolo Rossi (born 1953), actor * Stefano Zoff (born 1966), boxer *

Mo-Do Fabio Frittelli (24 July 1966 – 6 February 2013), better known by his pseudonym Mo-Do, was an Italian musician. Mo-Do appeared in the 1990s as an Italian electronic music act. Although Mo-Do was Italian, his songs were in German. History Or ...

(Fabio Frittelli; 1966–2013), musician *

Elisa Toffoli Elisa Toffoli (born 19 December 1977), performing under the mononym Elisa, is an Italian singer-songwriter. She is one of few Italian musicians to write and record mainly in English. She draws inspiration from many genres such as pop, alternati ...

(born 1977), singer-songwriter, grew up in Monfalcone * Massimiliano Versace (born 1972), scientist

International relations

Monfalcone is twinned with: *

Neumarkt in Steiermark Neumarkt in der Steiermark is a municipality in the district of Murau in Styria, Austria. International relations Twin towns – Sister cities Neumarkt is twinned with: * Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; ...

, Austria *

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles s ...

, Italy * Karadeniz Ereğli, Turkey * Zonguldak, Turkey

References

External links

Official website
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