Sëlva (; it, Selva di Val Gardena ; german: Wolkenstein in Gröden ) is a ''

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 ...

'' (municipality) in the

Val Gardena Val Gardena (; german: Gröden ; lld, Gherdëina ) is a valley in Northern Italy, in the Dolomites of South Tyrol. It is best known as a tourist skiing, rock climbing, and woodcarving area. Geography The valley's main river is the Derjon, a ...

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous area, Autonomous Provinces of Italy, province , image_skyline = ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, located about east of the city of

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

. The

Ladin Ladin may refer to: * Ladin language, a language in northern Italy, often classified as a Rhaeto-Romance language *Ladin people, the inhabitants of the Dolomite Alps region of northern Italy See also *Laden (disambiguation) * Ladino (disambigua ...

place name derives from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''silva'' ("wood").

History

Coat-of-arms

The emblem is

quarterly A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

, the first and third corners are per bend and per fess nebuly of

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

and gules; the second and third corners are indented of azure and argent on a sable top. The emblem represents the insignia of the Lords of ''Wolkenstein'' who built the local castle in 1291. The emblem was adopted in 1968.

Geography

As of 30 December 2010, it had a population of 2,637 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute

Istat The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic ...

. Sëlva borders the following municipalities: Badia,

Campitello di Fassa Campitello di Fassa ( Ladin: ''Ciampedèl'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about northeast of Trento (100 km by road). In the census of 2001, 625 inhabitant ...

Canazei Canazei ( Ladin: ''Cianacéi'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located in the upper part of the Val di Fassa, about northeast of Trento. Its name derives from the Latin ...

, Corvara,

San Martin de Tor San Martin de Tor ( it, San Martino in Badia ; german: St. Martin in Thurn ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about northeast of the city of Bolzano. Geography As of 30 November 2010, it had a population ...

, and

Santa Cristina Gherdëina Santa Cristina Gherdëina (; it, Santa Cristina Valgardena ; german: St. Christina in Gröden ) is a Ladin ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about east of the city of Bolzano. Its Saslong ski run is home of the ...

. It is perhaps best known as one of the starting points of the

Sella Ronda The Sellaronda is the ski circuit around the Sella group in Northern Italy. The Sella massif lies between the four Ladin valleys of Badia, Gherdëina, Fascia, and Fodom and is divided between the provinces of South Tyrol, Trentino and Bellu ...

ski tour.

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2011 census, 89.74% of the population speak

, 5.15% Italian and 5.11% German as first language.

Demographic evolution

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:455 height:303 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:3000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:200 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from: 0 till:0 bar:1871 from: 0 till:0 bar:1881 from: 0 till:0 bar:1901 from: 0 till:0 bar:1911 from: 0 till:0 bar:1921 from: 0 till:999 bar:1931 from: 0 till:999 bar:1936 from: 0 till:1102 bar:1951 from: 0 till:1282 bar:1961 from: 0 till:1604 bar:1971 from: 0 till:2137 bar:1981 from: 0 till:2294 bar:1991 from: 0 till:2394 bar:2001 from: 0 till:2513 PlotData= bar:1861 at:0 fontsize:XS text: ? shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at:0 fontsize:XS text: ? shift:(-8,5) bar:1881 at:0 fontsize:XS text: ? shift:(-8,5) bar:1901 at:0 fontsize:XS text: ? shift:(-8,5) bar:1911 at:0 fontsize:XS text: ? shift:(-8,5) bar:1921 at:999 fontsize:XS text: 999 shift:(-8,5) bar:1931 at:999 fontsize:XS text: 999 shift:(-8,5) bar:1936 at:1102 fontsize:XS text: 1102 shift:(-8,5) bar:1951 at:1282 fontsize:XS text: 1282 shift:(-8,5) bar:1961 at:1604 fontsize:XS text: 1604 shift:(-8,5) bar:1971 at:2137 fontsize:XS text: 2137 shift:(-8,5) bar:1981 at:2294 fontsize:XS text: 2294 shift:(-8,5) bar:1991 at:2394 fontsize:XS text: 2394 shift:(-8,5) bar:2001 at:2513 fontsize:XS text: 2513 shift:(-8,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from ISTAT

Climate

Sëlva is characterized by a typical

Alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions o ...

. Summers are rather short and relatively wet. The average daily temperatures in summer lie between 18 and 21 °C, while at night temperatures usually drop to between 6 and 9 °C. Winters are typically cold, long and relatively dry. The average daily temperatures in winter lie between 0 and 2 °C, while at night temperatures usually drop to between -6 and -9 °C. The wettest month is August with 142 mm, while the driest is February with only 21 mm. This data was measured at the weather station in Plan at an altitude of 1,594 metres between 1991 and 2020.

Gallery

File:Piciulëi_in_La_Poza_Sëlva.jpg, The farmhouse Piciulëi in Sëlva Gherdëina. Southern aspect.

Notable people

* Ferdinando Glück (1901–1987) cross-country skier, competed in the men's 50 kilometre event at the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...

* Hans Nogler (1919–2011 in Sëlva) alpine skier, competed in the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...

* Carlo Senoner (born 1943) retired alpine skier, competed in slalom events at the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

and

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...

Adolf Insam Adolf Insam (born 4 August 1951) is an Italian ice hockey player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games ( Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''X ...

(born 1951) ice hockey player, competed in the men's tournament at the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...

* Werner Perathoner (born 1967) former Alpine skier, specialized in downhill and super-G, competed at the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

and

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

* Peter Runggaldier (born 1968) former Alpine skier, who specialized in downhill and super-G disciplines, competed at the

and

, lives in Sëlva *

Karl Unterkircher Karl Unterkircher (27 August 1970 – 15 July 2008) was an Italian mountaineer. He is mostly known for opening new mountain routes. Unterkircher was born in Sëlva. In 2004, he was the first alpinist to climb the two highest peaks on Earth ( M ...

(1970–2008) mountaineer, opened new mountain routes.

References

External links

Homepage of the municipality
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selva Municipalities of South Tyrol