Cavalese (''Cavalés'' in local dialect) 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 ...

'' of 4,004 inhabitants in

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous regio ...

, 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 ...

, a ski resort and the main center in the Fiemme Valley. It is part of the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme (Magnificent Community of Fiemme) and, together with

Predazzo Predazzo (, literally big meadow) is a village and ''comune'' in the province of Trento, northern Italy. Predazzo is located about 58 kilometres northeast of Trento in Val di Fiemme. It is one of the main centers of Val di Fiemme (the other is ...

, is the administrative, cultural and historical center of the valley. The town is a renowned tourist location, during winter for cross-country and alpine skiing, and during summer for excursions. The cable car from Cavalese to the nearby mountain Cermis has been the site of two major cable-car accidents, one in 1976 and one in 1998.

History

The origins of Cavalese can be dated back to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

, with the creation of a small settlement. The proper village developed during the 12th century, with the creation of mills, sawmills and blacksmiths for copper manufacturing along the Gambis brook. By that time, the Fiemme Valley was ruled by prince bishop of

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th cen ...

, which allowed a broad autonomy to the local community (from here the name, Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme). During the 16th and 17th centuries Cavalese became the vacation resort of bishops and aristocrats from the region, who greatly contributed to the development of the village. The palace of the bishops will eventually became the abode of the Magnificent Community during the 19th century. During the 1900s, and especially in the years following the end of

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 underwent an impressive growth thanks to the development of the construction industry, craftsmanship and tourism, with the creation of numerous hotels and more accessible ways of communication. The cable car from Cavalese to the nearby mountain Cermis has been the site of two major cable-car accidents, one in 1976 and one in 1998 (due to a

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler The Northrop Grumman (formerly Grumman) EA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, four-seat, mid-wing electronic-warfare aircraft derived from the A-6 Intruder airframe. The EA-6A was the initial electronic warfare version of the A-6 used by the United ...

aircraft cutting the cable during a training exercise, killing 20 people). In both cases the car, descending from Cermis, fell to the ground.

Demography

Cavalese is undergoing a steady demographic evolution: from the 2,801 inhabitants of 1921, it has recently passed the threshold of 4,000 inhabitants.Fonte: ISTAT - Unità amministrative, variazioni territoriali e di nome dal 1861 al 2000 -

Economy

A prominent role in the economic activity is occupied by the touristic sector, with the presence of numerous hotels, restaurants, and ski resorts. Of notable importance are the construction industry, craftsmanship (wood, iron and marble) and the social cheese factory.

Notable people

* Narciso Bronzetti (1821–1859), Italian patriot who fought in the second war of independence with his brother Pilade. *

Giovanni Antonio Scopoli Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinized as Johannes Antonius Scopolius) (3 June 1723 – 8 May 1788) was an Italian physician and naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first anational European" and the "Linnaeus of the Au ...

(1723–1788) physician and naturalist * Michelangelo Unterperger (1695–1785) Baroque painter *

Ignaz Unterberger Ignaz Unterberger (24 July 1748, Cavalese – 4 December 1797, Vienna) was an Italian and Austrian painter and printmaker, who was also an inventor. He was a member of a large dynasty of Tyrolean artists. Biography Unterberger was probably b ...

(1748–1797) artist * Benedetto Riccabona de Reinchenfels (1807–1879) Austrian prince bishop of Trento

Photogallery

File:Parco-della-pieve.JPG, Panorama from Parco della Pieve File:Cavalese Torre-Civica.jpg, the civic tower File:Cavalese Chiesa Santa Maria Assunta.jpg, Santa Maria Assunta Parish church File:Cavalese Banco de Reson Banco della Ragione.jpg, the “Banco della Reson” File:Cavalese centrum 1.jpg, Piazza dei Francescani

References

External links

{{authority control Cities and towns in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Ski areas and resorts in Italy