2019 Volume 20 Bolzano

FILÃ’

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A Journal for Tyrolean Americans Volume 20

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An Introduction . . .

The Filò is to be published and distributed on a quarterly basis and is targeted to the children of our immigrant parents. The Filò (pronounced fee-lò) was the daily gathering in the stables of the Trentino where the villagers met and socialized. The intent is to provide a summary of our culture, history, and customs in plain English to inform and provide you with the background of your roots and ancestry.. If you wish to contact us, call Lou Brunelli at 914-402-5248. Attention: Your help is needed to expand our outreach to fellow Tyrolean Americans. Help us identify them, be they your children, relatives or acquaintances. Go to filo.tiroles.com and register on line to receive the magazine free of charge. You may also send your data to Filò Magazine, PO Box 90, Crompond, NY 10517 or fax them to 914-734-9644 or submit them by email to filo.tiroles@att.net.

Front cover: Piazza Walther and the Duomo

Today the signage in the South Tyrol is displayed both in German and Italian e.g. Bozen/Bolzano; Sudtirol/Alto Adige.

We choose to use the original and historical Bozen and Sudtirol or South Tyrol instead of the Napoleonic: Alto Adige.

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Intro to the City of Bozen

olzano‌Bozen in German is the largest and the capital city of the South Tyrol with a population of 107,436. It is situated in a basin where the valleys of Sarntal, Eisacktal, and Adige meet with their rivers: Talfer, Eisack and Etsch Adige meet. It should be noted that during Fascist Italy, locations had Italian names imposed. In the Middle Ages, there were two signifcant Alpine crossings, the Reschenpass and the Brenner Pass. Over these passes, there was the Via Claudia Augusta. They met in Bozen, making Bozen an important trading place. The Via Claudia Augusta was a Roman road whose construction dates back to the first half of the first century AD. Traditionally it is believed to have been built to connect the Roman world with the Germanic one, starting from the Po Valley and reaching, across the Alps.

Bozen was in ancient times a marshy region inhabited by the Rhaetian Isarci people traditionally believed to be descends of Etruscan refugees fleeing from the invading Gauls. The area was conquered by the Romans in 15 BC

by General Nero Claudius Drusus. With the decline of Roman influence in the 7th century, there was a Bavarian immigration and a Bavarian ruler around 679. The area villages were named Bauzanum. German populations have been present in this region of the Tyrol since that time. In 1027, the Emperor Conrad II created the Principato of Trento that included Bozen. In 1277, Bolzano was conquered by the Count of Tyrol, Meinhard II resulting in conflicts with the Lords of the Tyrol and the Prince Bishops of Trent. In 1363, the County of Tyrol that included Trento evovled into the Hapsburg Austria. When the Holy Roman Empire was disolved in 1806, Bozen became briefly part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. In 1814-1815, the Congress of Vienna returned Bozen to the County of Tyrol within the Austrian Empire and subsequently the Austrian Hungarian Empire. As Italy abandoned its non combatant pact with Austria in exchange for the Tyrol, World War I ensued throughout the South Tyrol and the Welchtirol (Trentino). Thousands of the population were evacuated to escape the hostilities. At its conclusion, the South Tyrol, Bozen, and Welchtirol currently called the Trentino were annexed to Italy. Bozen was subjected to an intensive Italianization programme, a programme that sought to outnumber the local German-speaking population by trippling Bozen’s population through Italian immigration from regions of Italy. References of Tyrol and Tyrolean were banned and punishable offence. At

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the conclusion of World War II, with 11 years of mediation and negotiation, Bozen and the South Tyrol were granted self-government as the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol.

Bozen is considered a bridge between North and South due to the three spoken languages in South Tyrol -Italian, German, and Ladin, and the confluence of Italian and German-Austrian culture. The city thrives on a mix of old and new high-quality intensive agriculture (including wine, fruit, and dairy products), tourism, traditional handicraft (wood, ceramics), and advanced services. Heavy industry (machinery, automotive, and steel) installed during the 1930s has now been mostly dismantled. The local economy is very dependent on the public sector and especially the provincial government. Bozen is the biggest city in South Tyrol, which is an autonomous province in Northern Italy with a special statute. This statute preserves the rights of the Germanspeaking minority.

Bozen`s Exhibition Center hosts tradeshows and conferences concentrated on topics relating to the economies of Alpine countries. There is thus a great focus on tradeshow subjects within the economic competence of South Tyrol and Trentino. The main focuses of dining and leisure time, sports, agriculture, and specific Alpine industries that attract an annual total of over 3,000 exhibitors and over 230,000 visitors from all over Europe. In 1996, the European Union approved further cultural and economic integration between the Austrian province of Tyrol and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino by recognizing the creation of the Euroregion Tyrol-South and Tyrol-Trentino. The annual ranking of quality of life in Italian cities, Bozen, Trento and Milan were ranked as having the Best Quality of Life in Italy. Bozen has a medieval city centre, Gothic and Romanesque churches and bilingual signage giving it the flavour of a city at the crossroads of Italian and Austrian cultures. This and its natural and cultural attractions make it a popular tourist destination. Among the major monuments and sights are the Walther Square,the Laubengasse or Via dei Portici, in the city centre with medieval arcades along its entire course, now housing countless high-street shops, the Gothic Cathedral. various castles, including Castle Maretsch, Runkelstein Castle and Firmian, Sigmundskron Castle. the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology and the Museion, the Museum of modern and contemporary art of Bozen.

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Walking the BOZEN WAY he good news is that the town centre of Bolzen is extremely compact and well-defined and within a couple of hours of being here you will be familiar with the main attractions and aspects of historical note. The area is highly pedestrianised and your walk around Bozen will be one of infinite pleasure. Add to this that the city and immediate area must be one of the most bike friendly in Europe and you have an assurance that you will be able to take in the beauty of all in a relatively short time (bikes can be hired at a nominal two Euro charge in Viale Stazione). One final introductory note is that as Bozen is surrounded by hills, access to the three cable cars of Renon, S. Genesio and Colle is within walking distance or no more than a 5-minute bus-ride away.

Hotel Laurin Now to a suggested walking tour itself, and one which will help you see Bozen in a revealing dimension. No better way to start a walk than with a coffee, and a departure point from the Laurin hotel is a wise move. Parkhotel Laurin was a cornerstone of Bolzano life in the 20th century and remains very much at the heart of town affairs today. The Laurin Park is the most relaxing of places, a veritable oasis less than a minute away from the train station and the main Piazza Walther square. Whether you choose a seat in the main frescoed lounge or the expansive garden a delight will be yours. A look at the hotel’s new website will surely confirm this choice as the ideal start for your walk.

Suitably refreshed let’s get moving and make our way across Piazza Walther. Nine times out of ten there will be an event going on. Depending on the season it might be a celebration of flowers, pumpkin or even Christmas angels (the Bozen Christmas market can truly be said to be the model for all others of the type in Italy). Keep to the left of the square and on passing the Cathedral you will come to Piazza Domenicani. If you wish, pop into Capuchin church, and a walk around the cloisters will give you a sensation of medieval life. At the end of the square on the left is the Temple Bar, a prizewinning Irish Pub. A handy place indeed if you wish to ask for some information in English, or of course enjoy a glass of Guinness. Above is the Claudio Monteverdi Music Conservatory and if your trip is in August or early September the sound of violins and instruments various will tell you that the European Youth Orchestra is in town. Be it the Jazz Festival at the end of June or the young pianists from all over the world talking part in the Busoni International Piano Competition in late summer, Bozen is enjoying a name as a location for music festivals of an international dimension.

To know more about Bozen’s growth in the last couple of decades a quick detour to Piazza Sernesi to your left, is recommended. Here is the main campus building of the Free University of Bozen, distinctive in that Bozen’s Christmas Market tuition is in Italian, German, and English. A quick look inside will acquaint you with the particularities of this trendsetting university. Now, returning on our steps, we take a right and continue from Piazza Domenica along the short streets of Via Adolf Kolping and Via Ospedale and soon we come face to face with Museion, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Opened in 2008 it is a striking piece of futuristic architecture inspired by the concepts of transparency and fluidity and this sense is heightened by the two ‘wavy’ bridges crossing the River Talvera immediately behind. If time is pressing, we recommend at least a visit to the bookshop and the expansive entrance foyer, and if you are in need of a second coffee then enjoy one here and gaze out across the river.Crossing the river, one gets a fine idea of Bozen’s wealthy status, considerable investment having been made on bicycle paths and landscaped walkways. Take a left and after less than 5 minutes, following the downward slope and passing under Ponte Druso (the bridge itself a symbol of tremendous import in the 20th century life of Bozen) Eurac comes into view.

EURAC 6

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The reasons for coming this far are two. Firstly, this European Academy Research Institute has become vital to the Bozen economy. Again, its architectural structure is significant, representing a fusion of the old and modern. Stepping inside one becomes immediately aware of the areas of research and the contribution the Institute makes to the understanding of the region’s identity and also to its future areas of specialisation. The second reason for our extended walk is that the ‘yellow bridge’ at Eurac’s location provides the perfect point to understand the geography of the region. Step to the middle of the bridge and you will appreciate the confluence of the 3 rivers of Talvera, Adige and Isarco, and there is a clear 360 degree prospective which highlights Bozen`s strategic position in Piazza Walther the Alps.

In the period from mid-May to mid-September, and if you have a little time on your hands, we would suggest to carry on south on the lower part of the walkway hugging the river. It is the most lush and pleasant area and plenty of shade is also on offer if you wish to relax by the river itself. Continuing on this loop you pass the athletics and boards standing high and you only need look up the names of Cagnotto and Dibiasi in association with diving, so as to understand the history and continued significance of Bozen on the world stage for the sport in question. In all this circular loop of 20 minutes will take you back to Eurac.

Let’s stop for a moment to behold one of the things Bozen is famous for..a direct view to one of the most beautiful ranges in the entire Dolomites. Let’s turn our eyes from buildings and sites and look up beyond the city and and look to the horizon and see the magnificence of the Rosengarten massif, the premier of the Dolomites, recognized by UNESCO as part of the World Heritage Bozen with its view of the Rosengarten known the world over for the many legends, fables and secrets. The spectacular hues of red, purple and orange cast on the pale rock are the continued fascination of the city’s people.

If your walk is of a Saturday you will enjoy the lively market which starts from the Piazza and winds its way down to Corso Italia. Now it is time to return to the centre and by crossing Ponte Talvera, and taking in the fine views to our left, we quickly come to the home of our iceman friend Otzi in the Archeological Museum of Alto Adige, it just across the road from the Civic Museum of Bozeb (on the corner of Via Museo and via Cassa di Risparmio). Having absorbed sufficient culture for one day it is time to enjoy the shops and the arcades of Bozen.

Continuing down Via Museo, crossing Piazza Erbe with its multitude of fruit and vegetable stalls, and carrying on down Via Portici the choice of boutique is yours. And, if you now feel justified in having a glass of wine and a snack just cut through one of the alleyways to the left in Via Portici, and you will be well pleased with the bars and bistros which greet you in Dr Streiter Gasse, it perhaps the most exuberant and joyful of Bozen’s streets. Written

by Geoffrey Barclay.

Via dei Portici

Archeological Museum 7

Museum of Modern &Contemporary Art

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The South Tyrol and...US

ith the focus on Bozen, the Filo’ enters the South Tyrol and crosses over and into another territoriality which got created by the tumultuous politics of what I refer to as the trinity of Irredentism, Nationalism and Fascism.

Almost every one of our American Tyrolean forbearers were from what is now called the Autonomous Province of Trentino. When our people left their valleys, the majority of our immigrants left from these valleys and before the Tyrol was annexed by the maneuvering of the Allies and without a plebiscite. They came with Austrian passports and while not speaking German, they belonged to the Austrian Hungarian Empire. They left their beautiful and beloved valleys where the aforementioned trinity created their havoc and political malice.

When our people left, there was one and only one Tyrol with a single jurisdiction and governance. It could be said that it went from Borghetto just south of Rovereto up to the Brenner Pass while prior to the time of the emigration, this area was further connected and unified with Contea di Austria, the County of Austria and Baveria…

Again, one Tyrol, one governance. During the few years that Napoleon annexed the area to the “Kingdom of Italy (it was truly not a Kingdom nor had Italy become a state or a country as yet), he changed the South Tyrol or the Sudtirol nomenclature to the Dipartimento dell`Alto Adige, the Department of the Higher Adige. Meanwhile what is now the Trentino was referred to as the Welchtirol but..to repeat and emphasize…it was one and one only Tyrol. The northern part was more German speaking as well Ladin while the Southern part was more Italian as a language but not as a jurisdiction. In 1774 while most of Italy was illiterate as were their emigrants to the USA, Maria Teresa, Empress of Austria mandated that children go to school and remain in school until they were 12 years old, our people were endowed by its governance to be bi-lingual. In 1863, only 2% of the peninsula of Italy spoke Italian while everyone spoke their respective dialect…except us by virtue of the Theresian Riform.

Let us admit that while we were one Tyrol, our valleys had created their dialects, their parlance that while having a common base were often not understood by other people in other valleys. This was the “mountain effect” where the topography of the mountains insulated them and differentiated them so that the entire area had these singular dialects as well as three distinct linguistic minorities: the Ladini, the Cimbri and the Mochen and finally

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the German speaking population of the South Tyrol.

They were all pronounced, certified Tyroleans. As the Civil War in the USA solidified and finalized our war of Independence, the Great War, World War I, brought together the Sudtirol and the Welchtirol who responded to the call to arms of Emperor Franz Joseph in 1914, to defend their historical homelands. Shoulder to Shoulder, 50,000 of the Welchtirol and as many thousands of the South Tyrol came forward and fought and died and were imprisoned together in the Great War. They were part of the Tiroler Kaiser Jaeger, the Tyrolean Hunters of the Emperor as well as Lansturn, Landesschutzen and the Standeschutzen.. They fought not only with the people of our Tyrol but they joined the forces of the other nations who were part of the polyglot empire of Austria Hungary. Meanwhile Italy, pledged to neutrality with the Central Powers, was secretly in London, working out a betrayal of that treaty as it joined the Allied Forces (Treaty of London) in the expectation that they would be given the Tyrol and other lands. The armies of our historical homelands fought back in a major battle defeating the Italian army at Caporetto. Following the annexation, the South Tyroleans were persecuted and subjected to an ethnic cleansing. They were forbidden to speak German, their schools closed. shut out of governance. The very mentioning of Tyrol and Tyrolean were forbidden and subject to imprisonment. Mussolini systematically imported Italians from all regions of Italy to outnumber them politically. They were given “options” that amounted to a horrendous choice to abandon their historic culture and folkways or leave the South Tyrol as their home and properties were forfeited while Mussolini, Hitler and Himmler prepared an alternative place for them to live.

It took the United Nations and the nations of the world to restore them to their legitimate culture and homeland and freedom. The South Tyrolese were our fellow citizens, our brothers and sisters in the family of the Tyrol.

Hence, the Filo` will continue its journey through ALL of our lands and ALL of our peoples. The proof of this perspective, the confirmation of this identity was affirmed and reaffirmed by none other than our noni, our paesani, our forbearers, our emigrants who with no hesitation declared we are Tyroleans. We will try to display the history of the South Tyrol, their magnificent lands and their common history with us. Fascist Italy divided the Tyrol drawing a line, the Filo` instead will draw a circle and embrace them.

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Wine Making in South Tyrol

inemaking has long historical origins in the Tyrol…. Seeds have been found dating back to the Iron age and there is evidence that winemaking went on 3000 years ago. Rhaetian tribes made wine. The Roman auther Cato the Elder in his De Agricoltura makes reference to their wine well before the area was conquered by the Romans.

According to Pliny, it was the Rhaetians who taught the Romans how to store and transport wine in barrels. The renown Emperor Ausgustus as well as Tiberius appreciated the area wine. South Tyrolean wine flourished during the late Middle Ages and during the times of the Hapsburgs. From the nineteenth century, families of wine makers were responsible for the enhanced sale and production of their wines followed in the twenthieth century by wine cooperatives. Production slowed in that period due to Grape Phylloxera which is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide as well as the breakdown of traditional markets e.g. Austria, Hungary and Bavaria.

The South Tyrolean wine-growing area is highly influenced by the Mediterranean climate, which in the Adige valley (Überetsch-Unterland, Überetsch, Bozen, Terlan, Burggrafenamt) arrives up to Meran. This allows a very versatile winemaking, which includes almost all the red grape varieties and a lot of white grape wines. The Vinschgau and the Eisacktal have a harsher climate and thus they are specialized in white wines. In South Tyrol there are three indigenous varieties: Schiava, Gewürztraminer and Lagrein. The South Tyrol wines have a special combination of historical culture..nordic and mediterranean, Austrian and Italian. Its unique history and location in the Southern Alps and the Dolomites permit grape varieties that are not present in any part of Italy. This includes Muller-Thurgau, Vernatch, Lagrein, Sylvaner, Reisling, Gewurztaminer, and Blatterie.

South Tyrol is a small but faceted winegrowing region.

Unique in its field in Italy, it is a region where 20 different grape varieties are cultivated on a land of 13,000 acres, which yelds 50,000 hectoliters (3.9 million cases) of wine. Thanks to its geographical position, between an Alpine climatic zone and a Mediterranean one and with vineyards growing at only 200 meters above sea level and at over 1,000, South Tyrol is Italy’s smallest winegrowing area. It has a high density of PDO wines (Protected Designation of Origin). The South Tyrolean winegrow-

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ing zone is divided into 7 PDO subregions: Merano, Val Venosta, Oltradige, Valle Isarco, Colli di Bolzano, Santa Maddalena north west of Bolzano. Among these zones and beyond, there are regions, which produce wines called simply “Alto Adige/Südtirol DOC”. The protected designations of origin rule the labelling of the south Tyrolean wines, according to the origin and guarantee to consumers, resellers and sommelier the source of wine. Approximately 5,000 wine producers deliver their grapes to the 160 wineries, which produce a great variety of wine, red and sparkling wines, despite of their small dimensions. Almost 70% of the south Tyrolean wine is produced in wineries run by social cooperatives, the remaining 25% comes from the association “Alto Adige Estate Wineries”, and the remaining 5% is produced by “Alto Adige Independent Winegrowers”.

Winemaking in South Tyrol is particularly intensive: often involving handwork, on steep terraced slopes, with environment-friendly techniques. Thanks to the so-called “integrated winegrowing”, South Tyrolean farmers strengthen the natural defences of the vineyards, protecting beneficial insects and supporting their spread.

Strict limitations of yields and the consistent conversion of the classical pergola to the modern wire frame (Guyot) improved the quality of the grapes. 58% of the Alto Adige’s wines are made with white grape varieties: Pinot Grigio, Gewürztraminer, Pinot bianco and Chardonnay are the most common. Also Sauvignon, Müller Thurgau, Sylvaner, Kerner, Riesling and Veltliner are produced. As regards the red grape varieties, in South Tyrol along with the two indigenous varieties of Schiava and Lagrein all other classic grape varieties have been produced for far more than one hundred years: Pinot nero, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

Nearly 42% of the grape growing area is planted with red wine varieties.Varieties produced are Pinot bianco, Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Sylvaner,Veltliner, Kerner, Müller Thurgau, Moscato, Schiava, Pinot nero, Lagrein, Merlot, Cabernet, Moscato rosa.

In Kaltern (Caldaro), there is a wine museum which will be featured in future issues of the Filò hoping to reach out to the various vinters and consortia of South Tyrol wines to provide our readers with a systematic introduction of area wines.

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The Duomo- Bozen’s Cathedra l

artistically chiseled and masterworks of High Gothic architecture. The church built at the end of the 14th century is divided into three naves by square pillars, with a choir surrounded by a ambulatory (a corridor) and a chapel in the apse, where the altar is placed or where the clergy are seated.. It is the first Gothic church with a long central nave and two side naves built in the form of a cross in the history of architecture. .The most arresting feature of the cathedral's interior is the pulpit, executed around 1507 by Hans Lutz von Schussenried. It is supported by a single pillar with a round base and is decorated with lizards. Four plaques on its hexagonal pedestal depict cherubs with stonemason's tools, while the pulpit itself is decorated with reliefs of the four Church Fathers and with the four evangelists.

iazza Walther is the epicenter of the city of Bozen and in the center of the epicenter is the statue of Walther von der Vogelweide, minstrel, a clear German-national symbolic power to mark and defend the border area of the German to the Italian language and cultural area looking to the south. Looking up from the piazza and dominating the piazza is the massive and magnificent Duomo, Cathedral of the dioceses of Bozen and Bressanone It is Bozen’s chief landmark and at the same time a gem of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, a symbol of the sustained and enriched combination of southern and northern influences in Bozen. Situated in the South Tyrol, it is a bridge between north and south absorbing so many features created in different periods by different craft persons and artists. The Duomo sustained significant damages during the Allied bombing prompting not only repairs but the discovery of former churches dating back to paleo Christians periods.

The history of the Duomo dates back to the fourth century AD church and was likely consecrated to San Virgilio as is the Duomo in Trento. He was the bishop saint who is credited of bringing Christianity to the Tyrol. It had a rectangular plan, side walls held by eight buttresses in the style widespread in Noricum (Austria).

Further excavations revealed yet a longer wall dated back to Carolingian age and fragments of a wall painting of that period indicating an early medieval church of VIII century AD. Further excavations reveal a medieval church XI-XII century AD in Romanesque style with one row of columns that created asymmetrical aisles and a mighty tower with thick walls.

The medieval church, late Gothic church: XV-XVI century AD stood on the remains of the early Christian basilica of the 6th century: the Gothic structure was completed in 1519 with the erection of the 65-meter late-Gothic bell tower by the architect Burkhard Engelberg of Augsburg and Hans von Lutz. The architects and master builders, the Schiche brothers from Augsburg gave the cathedral its Gothic appearance in the 14th century, built of reddish sandstone from Val Gardena and yellow sandstone from the south of South Tyrol. The tiles of the cathedral roof are in an interesting multicolored and patterned decorative style while inside the cathedral there are some interesting medieval (and later) paintings and frescoes.

The gargoyles reminiscent of Notre Dame in Paris are

The steeple, completed in 1517 by the Swabian Hans Lutz von Schussenried is one of the finest achievements of the art of Gothic stonemasonry. He built a square structure with ornamental tracery on top of the Romanesque base and then a six-cornered ascent to the belfry. This is surmounted by artistically worked flying buttresses with figures. The alternating structure of lancet windows, blind and fenestrated tracery conveys the impression of lightness. Each element tapers and produces thereby an impression of depth. An entrance called the "Leitacher TĂśrl". is one of the finest High Gothic portals in the whole of Tyrol. Beside this entrance, directly beneath the tower there is a fresco dating from 1400. The vivid portrayal and depth of perspective reveal that it was painted by a pupil of Giotto's.

Before entering the church through the Romanesque main portal you pass a Madonna portrait named "Plappermuttergottes", painted in strong white, red and black by Friedrich Pacher. Originally the entire interior of the church was frescoed, though only a few portrayals of saints remain, painted around 1360 - 1370 by pupils of Giotto. On the walls of the cathedral of Bozen, surviving the time, there are remains of frescoes ranging from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century: they embellish the church and testify to the perfect fusion between the Nordic and Renaissance cultures. At the foot of the tower the cathedral holds a literal treasure, the "Treasury Museum" containing one of the finest and richest collections of sacred items in all Tyrol, dating from the medieval and baroque periods.

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Interfacing Statues

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iazza Walther is the epicenter of Bozen and in its center stands the statue of Walther von der Vogelweide while in the center of the epicenter of Trento there stands a statue of Dante Alighieri. Neither were politically significant, led no armies, ruled no countries. Both were poets who lived in Medeval times; Walther, a minstrel in the South Tyrol and Dante, a poet in Florence of the Papal States. Nonetheless, they have become highly significant, deliberate symbols derived from the intentions of those who erected them to affirm an historical, political and cultural differentiation.

Looking south towards Italy, Walther von der Vogelweide stands as a clear German-national symbolic power to mark and defend the border area of the German to the Italian language and cultural area.

Pointing north, Dante neither native to nor ever affiliated with the Tyrol is irrelevant to the history and politics of over 1200 years of Germanic sovreignty but it is rather the significant punctuation of the Irredentists seeking to usurp the Tyrol for the 1861 newly created nation of Italy. The Irredentist gained permission to erect the statue in Trento as a sign…quite minimally to Trento itself of the alleged Italianicity of the Tyrol. But who were these Irredentists and what was the Irredentism that motivated them?

appeared and was regenerated and totally usurped, changed and transformed by Barbarian invasions that hardly support some mythical and yet recognizable any existant ethnicity. Ancestry studies differentiates the Tyrol from Mediterranean races supporting the notion of a middle European ancestry with similarities of the Tyrolean groups with Austria and Switzerland, descendents of Rhaetians and Celts. If indeed the Italian penisula was a polyglot of ethnicities formed by a multiplicity of invasions and intermingling, what is indeed the meaning of the Tyrol being lost or in need of redemption when it existed with a consistent and differentiated governance for over 1250 years.

Since the Irredentist thesis that there was an Italian language as represented by Dante that established an ethnic and linguistic affinity with its “unredeemed”, lost territories, in 1863, only 2% in the entire penisula spoke “Italian” while all spoke their dialects while our people were being made to go to school from 1774 and learned Italian. In 1914, Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia while Italy, bound by a Triple Alliance pact to remain neutral was nonetheless treacherously betraying their pledge, manuevered to obtain the Tyrol by joining the Allies in the Treaty of London. This was done by the manuvering of the Allies and our own President Wilson Irredentism is any political or popular movement that without any plebiscite of the people of the Tyrol. seeks to claim/reclaim and occupy a land that the move- Prominent and forceful in this usurpation of the Tyrol ment's members consider to be a "lost" (or "unre- was Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, an arch Irredentist. deemed") territory from their nation's past. Such territo- With the advent of Fascism, Italy's territorial claims were rial claims seek justification on the basis of real or imag- on the basis of re-establishing a Romanesque Empire, a ined national notions of historic territorial, religious or fourth shore according to the concept of Mare Nostrum ethnic affiliations. In this context, let’s recognize objec- (Latin for 'Our Sea') and traditional ethnic borders. Truly tively that Italy became a nation soley in 1861. Prior to it was not a principle but simply an imagination of that, Southern Italy was a possession of the Regno delle Irredentism evident in Italy's rapid takeover of surDue Sicilie under the sovereignty of Spain while all of rounding territories under Fascist leader Benito Central Italy were part of the Papal States. What is now Mussolini. When Fascism emerged with its Irredentists Northern Italy belonged piecemeal to the Venetian sense of entitlement, it persecuted the South Tyroleans, Republic and Austria. What is the basis of real or imag- depriving them of their culture and language and by ined national notions of historic territorial, religious or deliberately importing Italians in great numbers to mainethnic affiliations.? Was there truly a historic territorial tain their subjugation of the native population. Was the affiliation.? Hardly! The Principato of Trento, the Tyrol indeed “annexed” or was it usurped not by the will Bishopric of Trento and Bressanone ruled a state, a ter- of it citizens but by the political manuvering of ideoritory for 800 consecutive years followed by 115 years of logues, politicians with an imaginative sense of historical the Austrian Hungarian Empire. Classical Rome had dis- entitlement. What say you interfacing statues????Speak up and speak truth to power!

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Bozen’s Foremost Citizen… e is not the mayor or some city official. He does not reside at the Town Hall yet he is internationally known, well maintained and has scores of people at his service. He is none other than Ötzi the Iceman, the Similaun Man , the Man from Hauslabjoch, the Tyrolean Iceman, and the Hauslabjoch mummy. He is the wellpreserved natural mummy of a man who lived between 3400 and 3100 BCE. The mummy was found in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, hence the nickname "Ötzi", near Similaun mountain and Hauslabjoch on the border between Austria and Italy. He is Europe's oldest known natural human mummy, and has offered an unprecedented view of Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Europeans. His official archeological name is Homo Tyrolensis, the Tyrolean Man and as so named, he is linked to all of us in our Tyrolean family. His body and belongings are displayed in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bozen in the South Tyrol.

The South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology was opened on the 28th of March, 1998. In its 1,200 square meters of exhibition rooms, it documents on three floors the chalcolithic mummy and the artifacts found with him. The finds which came to light in 1991 at the glacier's edge is the discovery of a fullyclothed, fully-equipped mummy, providing a glimpse of the clothes and technical abilities of the late Neolithic Age (3,300 to 3,100 B.C.). Prior to this, the only apparel of those times were the relatively fragmentary remains found in the lake dwellings in the circum-alpine region; generally, these consisted of woven or knitted plant fibers. Animalderived materials (furs, etc.) were absent there. Thus, the complex of "Ice Man" finds offer a snapshot of a man from Chalcolithic times who was underway in the Upper Alps. His clothing consists of a cap, a fur coat, a pair of trousers, a leather loin cloth, and a pair of lined shoes.

His equipment included an unfinished bow stave, a quiver and arrow shafts, a copper hatchet, a dagger with a silex (flint) blade, a retoucheur, a birch bark container,

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a backpack, as well as various spare materials and bone tips. Many of the artifacts preserved in the ice are one of a kind in the world. In the absence of organic remains, it was not clear from previous finds how these objects were made and how they worked

The fascination exerted by the world's oldest ice mummy is undiminished even now, more than 20 years after its discovery. Visitors are especially fascinated by the equipment – preserved for the first time – of a Chalcolithic man which they find so enthralling: Frozen together with the man, his clothes, tools, and personal effects have withstood the millennia. Carefully restored and reconstructed by the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz (Germany), his "thermal shoes," "backpack," and the dagger and sheath make it apparent how expediently equipped the Iceman was. It is amazing to note how little difference there is between the Neolithic implements and the standard equipment of a modern mountaineer.

Only the materials have undergone a fundamental modernization. Archaeo-technicians from all over Europe has repeatedly created and tested replicas of the finds discovered along with the Iceman. They were astonished at how functional the bow and arrows were, the hatchet (which could also be used to fell trees), and the tinder polypore from Oetzi's belt, with which he could (together with pyrite nodules) start a fire regardless of wind and weather.

He was at 46 a relatively old man for his time and he must have suffered from arthritis. In an attempt to treat it, he had tattoos applied at specific neuralgic points. He also suffered from intestinal whipworms. There was an arrowhead in Ötzi’s left shoulder, and probably bled to death. There was an unhealed laceration on his right hand, indicating that he had engaged in hand-to-hand combat some hours or days before his death and may have suffered cranio cerebral trauma before his death.

These discoveries have shed light on Ötzi’s personal tragedy but at the same time raise more questions about the cause of his violent death.

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Mountains in the South Tyrol

The South Tyrol is a small mountainous region that was historically and naturally integrated and geographically united as one and one only Tyrol. The area as now designated Alto Adige (Napoleon’s nomenclature) or the Sudtirol yet the Southern Tyrol really encompassed the Trentino as well. The current Sudtirol is an area of 740,000 acres of which 60% is at 1600 meters. Only a small part of can be built on and cultivated in this huge rugged area of mountains, forests, and rock. A considerable part of this Alpine landscape is covered by peaks that distinguish its landscapes. There are 350 famous peaks that are more than 3000 m high. The highest peak is the legendary Ortles that has an altitude of 3905 meters, formed by Dolomites and immense glaciers. Josef Pichler, a deer hunter and alpine guide climbed the mountain for the first time on 17 September 1804. It was one of the most important mountaineering events of the century. In the middle of the 19th century there was a rush to climb the most famous peaks in the Sudtirol, including the Dolomites, to take accurate measurements and prepare maps. Mainly English climbers explored the mountains of the Alto Adige and attempted the first ascents of the Dolomites. The most famous ascents of the Dolomites are certainly the Peak of Antermoia and the Rosengarten. From 1865 to 1868, Julius Payer, an Austrian Officer, accompanied by Johann Pinggera, an alpine guide from Solda, climbed at least 60 peaks in the Ortles group. Around 1870 all the highest peaks in Sudtirol had been climbed and some alpine associations were founded. Alpine guide activities also started.

The characteristic rock of the Dolomites consists of fossilized coral reefs formed during the Triassic Period (around 250 million years ago) by organisms and sedimentary matter at the bottom of the ancient tropical Tethys Ocean. The Alps arose as a result of the collision of the African and European tectonic plates, forcing the rocks at the point of impact to soar skyward. The western part of the Tethys Ocean which formerly divided these two continents disappeared. The Dolomites became mountains. The varied composition of the rock formations is striking. The Sciliar/Schlern and Sella massifs take the form of table mountains with extensive high areas of grassy meadows such as the Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm between them. Elsewhere rugged, fractured massifs soar in sharp contrast, for example the Tre Cime di Lavaredo/Drei Zinnen and the Catinaccio/Rosengarten.

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The reason for this lies in the base rocks which are volcanic in origin. They erode more easily, giving rise to fracturing and rounded-off areas of level land. The only remaining glacier in the Dolomites is the Marmolada.

The Dolomites in northeastern Italy form a part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley (Pieve di Cadore) in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Pusteria Valley and the Valsugana. The Dolomites are nearly equally shared between the provinces South Tyrol, Trentino and the Province of Belluno. There are also mountain groups of similar geological structure that spread over the River Piave to the east – Dolomiti d'Oltrepiave; and far away over the Adige River to the west – Dolomiti di Brenta (Western Dolomites). There is also another smaller group called Piccole Dolomiti (Little Dolomites) located between the provinces of Trentino, Verona and Vicenza (see map). In August 2009, the Dolomites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Dolomites may be divided into the following ranges: Sella, Marmolada, Tofane, Langkofel group, Geisler group, Peitlerkofel Group, Puez Group, Fanes Group, Schlern Group, Rosengarten, Latemar, Pala, Lusen Mountains, Civetta, Pelmo, Marmarole, Cadini Group, Cristallo Group, Sorapiss, Antelao, Bosconero, Vette Feltrine, Schiara, Prague Dolomites, Sexten Dolomites, Friulan Dolomites.

Museo della Montagna-The Museum of the Mountain is located in the city of Trento has been an important resource, consultant and contributor to the Filo` highlighting the features of the mountains and mountianeering in the Trentino. They have an enormous archive of materials regarding all the mountains of the world.

Ricardo De Carli has been our special collaborator and guide to the mountains of the Trentino and will accompany the Filò as it begins its journey through the South Tyrol with its fascinating and special features. Riccardo has coauthored a guide to the efugi, Mountain Hostels.

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SudTirol’s Magnificent Mountains

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The Duomo’s Lions...Roar...

the Mass on Christmas Eve, the two lions roar but not everyone can hear them ".

he statues of two lions, symbol of strength, support the columns at the entrance to the Cathedral of Bozen. They are curious figures that highlight the Romanesque portal. They must have always been intriguing, since there are more than one legend about the two lions stilofori. In a collection of South Tyrolean sagas curated by the historian of Bruno Mahlknecht we read: "At the main entrance of the Cathedral of Bozen there are two stone lions. During

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But even more famous is another legend. The two stone animals are tame during the day, but come to life at night.

It happened one night that a young Bozen wanted to show his immeasurable courage and put a hand in the jaws of the lion on the right, looking at the façade. When the cathedral bell tolled midnight, the lion came alive, trapping the hand of the brave young man. At the first light of the following morning, the first faithful who came for Mass found him there, in the grip of shame and fear of being laughed at. The priest was called, who tried in vain to bless the lion to save the boy's hand. Only then did he decide to have a stonemason work that struck so much on the animal's face and finally succeeded in freeing it. And it is for this reason that, if you look carefully, you can see that the lion lacks a jaw. Writen by Verena DePaoli, Writer, Historian, Assessore, Terlago, Italy

The Legend of King Laurino The Two Lions flanking the Duomo’s Portal

ne of the most enchanting legends of the Dolomites , explains why these mountains , at sunset, are tinged with pink .

According to this legend, the Rosengarten , where today you can see through until late spring a big patch of snow encased in a kind of basin is reclined once the rose garden of King Laurino . This is why in German the Catinaccio is called Rosengarten , that is, the Garden of Roses .

King Laurino reigned over a people of dwarves digging in the bowels of the mountain in search of crystals, silver and gold and also possessed two magical weapons: a belt that gave him a force equal to that of 12 men and a hood that made him invisible. One day the king of the Adige decided to marry the beautiful daughter Similde and for this reason invited all the nobles of the district to a trip in May, all except King Laurino. He decided then to participate anyway, but as an invisible guest. When on the field of the knightly tournament he saw Similde, struck by her stupendous figure, he fell in love with her instantly, he loaded her on his horse and fled. The fighters immediately launched in pursuit to bring back Similde, siding shortly in front of the Rose Garden. King Laurino

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twelve men and threw himself into the fight. When he realized that in spite of everything he was about to succumb, he put on his cape and hopped around in the garden, convinced he was not seen. But the knights managed to spot it by bserving the movement of the roses under which Laurino tried to hide. They grabbed him, cut off his magic belt and imprisoned him. Laurino, irriated by the adverse fate, turned to the Rosengarten, who had betrayed him and threw him a curse: neither by day nor by night any human eye could have admired him.

Laurino, however, forgot the sunset and so it happens that the Catinaccio, both at sunset and at dawn, colors like a garden of unparalleled beauty.

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Torta Bolzanina-Buchweizentorte

rain was first grown in South Tyrol in around 4500 BC, including barley, oats and buckwheat. Farina Saracena (buckwheat) is a constant in so many of the characteristic breads of the South Tyrol.The recipes behind bread from South Tyrol have been passed down from generation to generation over the centuries. Every baker has their own recipe, lending the same type of bread a different taste, depending on the bakery. The typical types of bread from South Tyrol are 'Pusterer Breatl', the 'Vinschger Paarl'and, of course, 'Schüttelbrot'.In the Trentino, farina saracena is added to the yellow polenta meal to make polenta nera, black polenta. Buchweizentorte is indeed made with buckwheat flower and served with a filling of priselbeeren or mirtilli rossi (literally, red blueberries.) Austria, especially Vienna, has long enjoyed the reputation of being the world capital of pastries. Bozen is well represented with many wonderful pastry shops reflecting this tradition and competence.

Ingredients 12 tablespoons(1 ½ sticks) of unsalted butter 3/4 cup sugar 4 large eggs separated 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 ½ cups of unbleached almonds, ground ½ cup of buckwheat flour (available in health food stores) ½ cup of raspberry preserves Confectioners` sugar for finishing

Torta Bolzanina-Buchweizentorte

Procedure Beat butter until soft and light. light.

Beat half of sugar until light and fluffy. (3 minutes). Beat in egg yolks one at a time until smooth. Stir in vanilla and ground almonds.

Whip the egg whites with salt in a clean, dry bowl until they peak.Stir 1/4 of egg whites into the batter.

Stir 1/3 of the buckwheat floor over the batter and fold in. Continue alternating the flour and egg whites.

Preparing and baking...

Butter a 9 inch pan that is 2 inches deep and line bottom with parchment or wax paper, cut to fit. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of cake comes out dry. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a reack to complete cooking. When cool, slice in two horizontally, spread the raspberries preserves. Before serving, dust with confection sugar.

Ingredients

1-Beating the egg whites

2-Mixing yolks & nuts

Combine buckwewheat flour+1+2

Fold the 3 ingredients

Line a 9 inch pan & bake

Spread raspberry preserves

Buckheiznweisen Torte!!!

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The Greenwich Village Tyroleans

Greenwich Village is nestled in the very heart of Manhattan. Looking south, one sees the towers of Wall street; north, the Empire State Builing and the spires of Mid-town.; looking west..three blocks away were the docks, the Hudson River with its cargo ships and ocean liners. It was historically known as an important landmark on the map of American Bohemian culture in the early and mid-20th century. The “Village” was a focal point of new movements and ideas, whether political, artistic, or cultural.

This tradition as an enclave of avant-garde and alternative culture was established during the 19th century and continued into the 20th century, when small presses, art galleries, and experimenOur Lady of Pompeii Church tal theater thrived. The Village was the epicenter of the city's 1960s counterculture movement, a hub of popular cafes, bars and restaurants, jazz clubs and Off-Broadway Theaters amid the brownstones and New York University buildings. At its heart is Washington Square Park, where people mingle around the central plaza.

There was yet another culture of its tenements populated by Sicilians, Neopolitans, Calabrese and Genovesi each group destined to reside in a particular street…and scattered, there was the bare and tiny remnant of Tyroleans…almost all of them from the Val delle Giudicarie. Their village was a counter culture to the counter culture. All through the village, there were tiny stores and shops selling bread, pastries, sausage,salami, fresh ravioli and pasta, cheeses from Italy, fish, and restaurants that were regional and important to the different groups. For four blocks on Bleeker Street , in the street, opposite the stores, there were the green grocers barking their produce in the various dialects and facing the Village mothers bargaining and negotiating with the merchants for a better pick and a better price. There was a live chicken market, livery stables, indoor Bocce courts and the Amato Opera house. Also on Bleecker St was the Mills Hotel where our Tyroleans (including my nono) would spend the night when going and coming from the Tyrol as was their custom.Around the corner was the Children’s Aid Society serving hot lunches and providing

the kids with recreation, arts and crafts, and guidance. Across the street, like in the Bronx Tale, was the store front for the arch typical Bleecker St merchants with the Our Lady of Pompeii “boss of the village” who sold us firecrackers and patrolled the streets keeping us safe…making us avoid delinquency and drugs far more effectively than our Irish Police Precinct that could never understand our ways.When Bobby Thompson hit a homer in the ninth and beat the Dodgers, to win the penant, the wise guys on McDougald St made a killing and closed Bleecker St, and had three horse drawn flatbeds bring beer, soda and sandwiches and a band and we partied all night.

But the heart and soul of the community was something that no other community had. We lived in between two extraordinary national churches dedicated to the Italian immigrants: Our Lady of Pompeii on Carmine St and St Anthony on Sullivan St. (scene of the Godfather movie).

Pompei was staffed by the Scalabrinian Fathers, totaly dedicated to the Italian immigrants and who were instrumental in disuading Saint Mother Cabrini (first American to be canonized) to abandon China and come to the USA to follow the Italian immigrants. She served in our parish. St Anthony`s was staffed by the Franciscans of the Italian Province. The Southern Italians went to St Anthony’s while the Northern Italians went to Pompeii.

Our parents heard Mass, said the rosary, attended benediction and devotions all in Italian. All the kids went to their respective grammar schools.

Who were these Tirolesi? Almost all of them were refugees from the Pennsylvania coal mines There was Carlo and Meri Berasi Caliari from Marazzone in the Bleggio and lived on Sullivan St. Carlo had worked in Brandy Camp Coal mines where he lost two fingers between the coal cars but told me that cat has eaten them.. Their children was Tarcisio and Emma. Meri’s two sisters married my two uncles so that she was declared “la zia”. On Sixth Avenue, there was Flora and Frank Benini with their two daughters.There was Narcisio and Lina Ballina from the Bleggio and lived on Cornelia St in shadow of the Bleecker Street merchants. Narciso was

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in construction but specifically something that our paesani did and described. as “timber men”, digging NYC’s subways and erecting the retaining walls for the construction of the tunnels. Their children were Cora, Georgie, and Rudy who got his doctorate in Chemical Engineering. There was Rico, another refugee of the coal mines and Gigiotta Donati from Bivedo of the Bleggio with their chidlren Ancilla, Aldo and Bice. There was Almida Di Pre and her son Charlie who returned after many years to Stenico to open Hotel American. There was Rico Berasi and his wife Rose who had Peter and triplet daughters. Rico, at first a coal miner, became too the consumate timber man. At a holiday meal, when someone new to the family, referred to Rico as Italian, he stood up, pounded the table and said: We are not Italian . My family lived next door. My parents were Agostino Brunelli of Rango and my mom was Adele Bellotti of Cavaione. Like all of our paesani we multi-tasked serving as the janitors of our tenements to gain free rent. My dad, known as the Austrian, came with an Austrian passport worked in coal mines, came to the city and worked as a timber man, then for years as a longshoreman and finally as the sacristan of Pompeii church. Mom swept and mopped the tenement`s 6 flights, kept house, clean offices and with her Tyrolean girl friends assembled calendars in a religious article store. There was my brother Nino, sister Rita and brother Tommy. Nino became a social worker, Rita a homemaker with 5 children, Tommy, lives in Virginia with three children, Alexander, Matthew and Adele and his wife Ruth while Louie…was the community organizer of baseball teams, stick ball, swam in the polluted Hudson, and was the main event boxer at the yearly fund raiser and wound up in the seminary and then the dad of 5 children.. There was Louie Mascher and his wife Silvia from St Lorenzo in Banale and Silvia Delana from Poia. There was Basilo Pedrini from Cavedine, a fellow longshoreman with dad with several daughters who attended Pompei with me and my sister. From other parts of city, there was Tilio Brochetti from Cavrasto, Vittorio and Erminia Fenice with their sons Ludovico, Frankie and Anthony. Erminia came from Brooklyn by subway every Tuesday to attend devotions at St Anthony’s. There was Toni Riccadonna from Marazzone, another coal miner, turned timber man and his wife Ambrosina who cleaned offices and Macy’s at night with their children John, Elgido and Lydia.

Few as they were, they had a whole and consistent ritural of gathering, popping in, unannounced..no telephones.

“Dele..ghe set? Vegni denter…”and the ritual ensued… pleasantries, coffee with grappa of course, a bicherin of

cherries macerated in grappa and then the all important exchange of news from the villages, exchanging letters… often ending with one of their alpine songs. They gathered in the summer time, in the evening, often after the rosary and benediction in the epi center of the village: Washington Square Park, replete with artists and poets, several hundred feet from Eleanor Roosevelt’s apartment on Fifth Avenue where they commandeerred at least 20 feet of park bench with the children running around with 10 cents to buy a Good Humor bar…It was the closest thing to their historical filò gathering in their villages. But the most revered gatherings were the Sundays from May to October…where the Village Tyroleans gathered with the Tyroleans from the other boroughs of NYC…going to mass first and then safari-like carrying their boxes of polenta, spezzatin, krauti, wine for an hour ride on the subway way up to the Bronx to Van Cortlandt Park…walking another ½ hour to get to their secluded gathering spot…Arriving the bottles of wine were inserted into the stream to cool them, laying out their blankets, eating with their families…and then they gathered, they talked, they laughed, they reminisced, they exchanged the news of their relatives in the villages of their valley…recreating their village piazzas while we children played soft ball and our sisters paraded around draped with the blankets playing brides. Towards the end, they performed…each and every one became a part of a spontaneous improvised coro…singing and singing their songs in harmony. “La Violetta la va la va.” The mericani that came by, stopped and were fascinated.

There was the “box” in our kitchen..as well as in those of our paesani. Into the box, there was placed sugar, tobacco for a nono, chocolate, a baby doll, a first communion dress, sneakers and other goodies. The box was then covered with a cloth, sewn at the edges, marked with a indelible pencil and sent over to the Bleggio for our families and friends. It was both a presence of our villages and our friends and relatives…and a bridge and symbol of our unbreakable ties to their beloved Tyrol.

Our people, I nossi, knew that they were different in their dialect, their Tyrolean origins, their citizenship, their food and their associations. Unknowingly, they were differentiating themselves while at the same time, adapting and adjusting to “la merica” and diligently prompting their children to be genuine Americans…and yet providing them with the image of who we are while they showed us who we were. Their pathways took them out of the Tyrol but they could not take the Tyrol out of them.

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Bozen & Vicinity

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Andreas Hofer-a Tyrolean Hero!

From our earliest days as we sat in our classrooms as Americans, we learned how the Revolutionary War had made us a nation. With pride and fascination, we came to know how ordinary citizens imbued with the desire for liberty and freedom became citizen soldiers leaving their families and farms to take up arms against the mightiest and most disciplined armies of the British Empire.Without uniforms, with little equipment, with no military training, they battled the British from behind trees and rocks as minute men in Lexington and Concord, at Bunker Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Valley Forge and Yorktown. We salute, admire and thank these patriots, our forbearers and American heroes! Our Tyrolean ancestors have enriched us further providing us with yet another Revolution for liberty related to our ancestral identity. It too involved ordinary citizens, simple contadini who became citizen soldiers led by yet another ordinary citizen, a shepherd and farmer who became the inspired leader who led his peasant army against powerful forces to preserve the Tyrol …Andreas Hofer, the hero and very icon of the Tyrol. His struggles and achievements belong to the essential history of the Tyrol of our ancestors…and therefore to us as well. We salute, admire and thank these Tyrolean patriots. However, Andreas Hofer is hardly known by us in the USA since so much if not all of our Tyrolean history and identity have been suppressed and separated from our historical and ancestral awareness. The Filò in contrast and in justice to us will present in future issues of Filò a series of articles about this historic champion of the Tyrol. The times and events of Hofer is replete with the complexities of the power struggles and movements of his time. What follows is a brief outline of the life and events of his life followed by an interpretation of who he was and what he did.

The Times…European politics, philosophy, science and communications were radically reoriented during the course of the “long 18th century” (1685-1815) as part of a movement referred to as the Age of Reason, or simply the Enlightenment. The American and French Revolutions were directly inspired by Enlightenment ideals.Yet another product was Napoleon Bonaparte who engulfed all of Europe in an upheaveal, a maelstrom of invasions and acquisitions of Europe’s countries. Along

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with the territorial acquistions, there was the imposition of those Enlightment philosphies embraced by the French Empire.A microcasm of what was taking place across Europe during that period, distilled into a very distinct geographical area at a very particular time. That area was the Tyrol, a small region perched between Switzerland, Austria and Italy. The Tyrol region had been part of the Holy Roman Empire under the rule of Bishoprics since 1004 and Hapsburg royal family since the 14th century. Integral to the Tyrolean identity was Roman Catholicism. Following the defeat of Austria by Napoleon at Austerlitz, the Tyrol was ripped from Austria and placed into the hands of the emerging Kingdom of Baveria, an ally and client state of France.The new regime caused great disturbances to the Tyrolean population and to their essential character and traditions. Baveria imposed religious reforms that were viewed by the Tyroleans as a plan to destroy Catholicism within the region: abolishing midnight mass in 1806, the closure and sale of Tyrolean convent properties, the expulsion of bishops, and the harsh treatment of Pius VII by Napoleon.

Who was Andreas Hofer? Andreas Hofer was born 1767 in St. Leonhard in Passeier, a valley in the what is now the South Tyrol but was then the Habsburg “crown land” of Tyrol. His father was an innkeeper of the Sandhof Inn and Andreas followed in his footsteps when he inherited the establishment. He also traded wine and horses in adjacent Northern Italy . He was a paysan, a paesano or simply a contadino, a type of cowboy transporting cattle to various locations. Andreas was a devout Catholic and a devoted citizen of the Emperor and the Empire. He became a sharpshooter, Schutzen, and later a militia captain in the Austrian Imperial and Royal Army. Reputedly he was so much on the move that he signed his messages"Andreas Hofer, from where I am" and letters to him were addressed to "wherever he may be".

At the same time other leaders organized their own forces elsewhere in the Alps. The Tyrolean Rebellion began on April 9, 1809 in Innsbruck. Church bells summoned men to fight with muskets and farmyard implements. They soon over ran a smaller Bavarian garrison and surprised a column of French infantry’ that was passing through the area.On April 11, a Tyrolean militia defeated a Bavarian force in Sterzing which led

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to the occupaton of Innsbruck before noon that day.

Subsequently the Tyroleans fought them in the First Battle of Berg Isel. Hofer and his allies won on the morning of the 13th. While Austrian forces moved into the Tyrolean capital, Hofer advanced south, taking Bozen and Trento. Hopes of a successful rebellion waned when Napoleon defeated the Austrians on May 13 in a bloody skirmish at Wörgl. The Bavarians re-occupied Innsbruck on May 19. However, when their French allies left, the rebellion flared up again. Hofer became the effective commander-in-chief of the Tyrolean rebels, with the support of other leaders such as Josef Speckbacher and Father Joachim Haspinger. He commanded a force of Tyroleans approximately 20,000 strong, together with a couple of hundred Austrian soldiers in the second Battle of Berg Isel from May 25 to May 29 1809, Hofer's troops again defeated the Bavarians, driving them out of the country and retaking Innsbruck on May 30. On May 29th, Hofer had received a letter from Emperor Francis in which he promised not to sign any peace treaty that would include giving up the Tyrol. An Austrian intendant came to rule Tyrol and Hofer returned to his home. However, Napoleon again defeated the Austrian troops in the Battle of Wagram on July 6 and ceded Tyrol to Bavaria again. Napoleon sent 40,000 French and Bavarian troops to take over Tyrol and they re-occupied Innsbruck. . On August 13–14, in the third Battle of Berg Isel, Hofer's Tyroleans defeated the French troops in a 12-hour battle after a downhill charge. The Tyroleans retook Innsbruck. Hofer declared himself Imperial Commandant of the Tyrol in the absence of any ruler and for two months ruled the land from Hofburg in the name of the Emperor of Austria.

On September 29 he received a medal from the emperor and another promise that Austria would not abandon the Tyrol. Hofer's hopes were dashed on October 14 when the Treaty of Schönbrunn again ceded Tyrol to Bavaria.

French and Bavarian troops advanced and Hofer retreated to the mountains. Promised amnesty, Hofer and his followers laid down their weapons on November 8.

Hofer retired to his home where he was betrayed by a mercenary neighbor, captured, brought to Mantua and executed.

Napoleon never fully understood the insurrection or the reasons for which Hofer was fighting. Despite the mantra by which Hofer lived, “for God, the Emperor and the fatherland”, Napoleon never appeared to grasp that it was an ideological war against the French revolution and everything that it sought to eradicate, including conservative, traditional social hierarchy and the Catholic

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Andreas Hofer liberating the Tyrol religion, as much as a war of liberation in reaction to the reforms implemented by Bavaria. Hofer's devoted loyalty to the Hapsburgs, although with hindsight misguided, remained incomprehensible for the pragmatist Napoleon, who never hesitated to dethrone a king or lock up the pope if it suited his needs. His strongly held ideological views and devotion to the Austrian crown made him a perfect figurehead in the rebellion against the Bavarian forces. Equally, he rarely intervened in tactical discussions of a military nature. His leadership and his worth in battle came from his presence, the strength of his belief, and the moral and symbolic authority that he brought. Jean Sévillia notes that “Hofer's legitimacy was neither purely of a military nature, nor purely political. It was based on feudal order founded on a moral pact which linked him and the Archduke Johann and, above that, the Emperor Francis I.” He embodied the Tyrol region: a paysan, deeply religious, profoundly loyal and reservedly modest. His regency was characterised by the emphasis he placed on hospitality, piety and tradition.

Hofer remains a Tyrolean national hero, the very symbol of Tyrolean identity, and, to a certain extent, of Tyrolean independence. The “freedom-fighter” hero remains a popular image; the reluctant one, even more so.

“Suffering, endurance, the building of character, and the offer of hope constitute the substance of Hofer's myth.”

The fatherland, a distant third in Hofer's triumvirate, has taken precedence, usurping the other more conservative tenants that Hofer valued more highly. The image that many have of Hofer today is that of a revolutionary, fighting for his homeland and for individual freedom.

Yet Hofer's insurrection was very anti-revolutionary in its ideals: this was not self-determinism and he was not looking forward. His regard was firmly set on the past, on a more conservative time, and more conservative values. Although without battles, our Tyrolean community in the USA were unknowlingly and unwittingly followers of Andreas Hofer as they gave witness to both their Tyrolean identity and devotion to their Catholicism 1.

Hail, our hero…truly our brother!!!

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Family Stories: Bellotti - Nardin

I am a 2nd-generation Tyrolean-American - on both sides of my family. My paternal grandparents (Fortunato and Mary (Dalfior) Bellotti), were born in Bleggio Superiore, in Val Giudicarie. My maternal grandparents (Luigi and Margarita (Casagranda) Nardin) were from Segonzano (Val di Cembra) and Bedollo (Altopiano di Pine'). All of them left their homes and families, immigrating through New York and settling in the coal mining communities of southern Colorado. Growing up in Walsenburg, Colorado, I remember many families with Tyrolean surnames (Andreatta, Antonelli, Benedetti, Bressan, Brunelli, Dallafior, Stringari, Toller, among others). I never knew either of my grandfathers. They died long before I was born, their lives undoubtedly shortened due to the many years they worked in the coal mines. But I remember both of my grandmothers very well, matriarchs of their ever-growing families. It is unfortunate that none of my grandparents ever made a return trip to their homeland, but they always kept in touch with their separated families. My grandmothers were devout and maintained the traditions of their culture (for example, polenta and canederli meals). A special heirloom I have from my family is an authentic "parol" (copper pot for making polenta) that my uncle gave me. I remember a photograph of my grandmothers and other Tyrolean women with Father Bonifacio Bolognani when he was in

Luigi and Margarita Nardin with their sons Severino and Louis

Colorado doing research for his book, "A Courageous People from the Dolomites". And I remember them talking in the dialect that I was never taught. My parents and their brothers and sisters, most of whom grew up in the Colorado coal mines before moving to Walsenburg, 24

Maria and Fortunato Bellotti

assimilated into the American culture. Neither of my parents graduated from high school; they quit school and went to work. My father and his siblings established several successful family businesses (U-B Grocery, Major Coal Company, Walsenburg Music Company, Scientific Credit Corporation). My mother worked as a waitress in several Walsenburg restaurants before managing her own diner, along with her two sisters. When World War 2 broke out, my father and nearly all of my uncles served in the Army, with one uncle participating in the battles in the South Pacific with an anti-aircraft artillery unit. My parents and all of my uncles and aunts are gone now.

They never got to visit the homeland of their parents. I have been fortunate, as well as many of my siblings and cousins, to have traveled there. I got to see the ancestral homes of my grandparents and meet many extended cousins, some of whom have visited us in America.

There's a special connection with them. Social media makes it easy to keep in touch. My Tyrolean heritage is special and important to me, and I am grateful for the sacrifices made by my grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts. Their legacy will live on in my large and extended family. I have honored the memory of my grandparents by having their names engraved on the Wall of Honor at Ellis Island. Written by John Bellotti, Torrance, California

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The Prisoners of Asinara

ccording to some estimates, at the end of postponed, so 1914 in Serbia there were over 60,000 pris- between December oners of the German and Hapsburg army: 16 and 30, 1915, an impressive number for such a small state, 21.388 prisoners especially after six months of conflict. From the very were transferred beginning, in fact, the prison camps proved to be inade- with 10 steamers to quate to host a similar number of prisoners: the episodes Asinara; another of typhus were soon added to the episodes of ill-treat- 2,618 soldiers were ment and violence, to the robberies and hunger, to the transported between hard work in civil and military works. cholera and dysen- January 2 and March tery, which quickly decimated the prisoners. In the 8, 1916. autumn of 1915, the German army and the Austro- Even the prisoners, Hungarian army from the north and the Bulgarian army already exhausted, were dragged into flight and subjected that had just entered the war from the east launched a to exhausting marches and privations of all sorts. But ferocious offensive against Serbia, succeeding finally in Italy and France were competing for control over the occupying it. When Belgrade was occupied in October operation. Italy, which proved to be the right to handle 1915, the Serbian army, government and population the emergency, but then proved completely unprepared. were put to flight. It was a humanitarian catastrophe: a In mid-December 1915 the prisoners were transferred to sea of people was forced to leave their homes suddenly, the island of Asinara, where since 1885 there was an isopursued by soldiers. Many died of hunger, cold and sick- lation center for infectious patients. Asinara, which could ness, while the survivors poured into the Albanian accommodate a thousand patients at a time.In just 8 coasts. When the armies of the central Empires began to weeks, 24,000 men reached the small island near the move towards Montenegro and the borders of Albania, Sardinian coast. More than 1,500 men, already affected the eviction of the exiles became urgent. The Italian, by the epidemic in Vlora, died during the trip or while French and British marines organized the transportation they waited to disembark. The ideal conditions were creof Serbian civilians and soldiers to the south, to the ated for the spreading of diseases, especially of cholera, Greek islands and especially to Corfu. Even the prison- so that the commanders of the steamers were forced to ers, already exhausted, were dragged into flight and sub- take several times offshore to abandon the corpses at sea. jected to exhausting marches and privations of all sorts. Meanwhile on the mainland from January 7th to 14th They too had to be transferred as soon as possible, but 1916 more than 1,300 prisoners were killed. Conditions Italy and France were competing for control over the on the island were dramatic: 7,000 prisoners died in the operation. Italy, which aimed to secure a leading role in first 3 months the Balkans, finally succeeded in getting the right to han- A new book has just been published about the sad events dle the emergency, but then proved completely unpre- of the Trentino-Tyrolean prisoners during the First pared.In mid-December 1915 the prisoners were trans- World War, in particular those captured by the army of ferred to the island of Asinara, where since 1885 there the Kingdom of Italy.The book "From the Balkans to was an isolation center for infectious patients. Most of Asinara", written by Giovanni Terranova and Marco them showed the symptoms of cholera, so according to Ischia tells the story of the 4,000 Tyrolean LandstĂźrmer the original plans the prisoners had to be visited before of the 1st regiment and of the 27th march battalion that, boarding and then transferred to small groups in the with the outbreak of the First World War, were sent to health center at Asinara, which could accommodate a the Balkan front, to fight against Serbia. For the first time thousand patients at a time. After the necessary disinfec- the story of these men is told in Italian and completely. tion procedures and a period of quarantine, the healed Written by Daiana Boller, Unione delle Famiglie Trentine prisoners would be sorted and transferred to other all`Estero The Union of the Trentino Families Abroad camps in Italy, thus allowing the arrival of a new group has publishes a newsletter in several languages and has a of soldiers to Asinara. But the situation quickly precipi- website (www.famiglietrentine.org} and a very active tated, like the sanitary conditions of the prisoners piled Facebook page on the pier of Valona. The eviction could no longer be 25

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Grappa...Q & A...Continued

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This Q & A is the third installment of the Grappa lessons. The material is presented as a Q&A of the Grappa Institute of t Trento. Review the previous installments...and be prepared for a Quiz!!!

How Should Trentino Grappa be tasted?

There are few things to observe when tasting Trentino Grappa to appreciate the quality and aroma completely.

The Glass: the right kind of glass is essential to serve and taste grappa properly. It should be a clear thin glass slightly rounded and with a narrow mouth but not too narrow. The tulip shaped glass that can be found and purchased.

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Nosing; This is most important and with a bit of patience, it is easy to learn to recognize and appreciate the delicacy, quantity and quality of the fragrance of Trentino Marketing.

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Tasting: this is a magical moment.Grappa should be drunk in tiny sips and diluted with the saliva so that the flavor lingers on the palate and its aroma is released and confirmed by the after taste.In this way the harmony and persistence of the aroma of the Trentino Grappa is intensified.

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The Color: Trentino Grappa is particularly appreciated for its transparency and purity, and in the case of matured or arromatized grappa, for the tonalities and gradation of its color.

then the Institute’s seal with the words “Trentino Grappa”and a trident in the background, can be affixed to the bottles of Trentino Grappa.

How Can You Recognize Trentino Grappa?

Since 1968, the Institute for the Protection of Trentino Grappa has been operating in the Province. Over 39 firms belong to the Institute.Its purpose is to “protect and promote”the original Trentino Grappa with precise and strict regulations that control the “origin”of the marc and the “quality” of the grappa produce. If these conditions are not met.

The Seal is not just an Embem then?

The seal is a genuine and reputable guarantee of TRENTINO MARKETING. In fact, before the grappa is bottled, the distiller must submit a sample of it, together with documents attesting to its origin and to analyzed in the laboratroy at the San Michele all’ Adige Agrarian Institute. If the sample passes the laboratory, it is sent to the Chamber of Commerce in Trento for further and final review.

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Ciantia da Mont...

The song or, rather, the hymn is the tender recollection of the joy and delight is hiking upto a mountain pasture to gather hay amidst the beauty of the mountains, the fragrance of the grasses, the breezes and breath taking views of their valley. In those alpine environments, work is joy that provides privacy and company inspiring song and the gathering to rest by a fireside in a crude mountian hut. The song is one of the Ladini, those unique and special people that have maintained their folk ways and enjoy their very own language. The song is displayed in Ladino, a language that derived from a mixture of ancient Latin, dialect and German.

They never emigrated to the USA but went seasonally to the lands of the Hapsburg, working as the painters of beautiful house murals, craftmen of wrought iron and sculptures and thereby were never separated from their culture and traditions.

The Ladini

Sa mont sën van d’inviërn y d’instà, plu in sù che ved y plu bel che me sà.

Ilò pon s’la dé bona y’n pue s’la cianté, ma zënza desturbé.

Da duman abenëura lev’n a laurè, setëur’s a sië y restl’s a restlè, da sëira s’cunforten a fe mo drët bel pra fuech it’ te medel.

’L tëmp da mont iè tan riësc passà, ’n pënsa do tan bel che’l iè stà, ch’la bela Secëda y Mont de Mastlé, ne pudrei me desmincé.

Cororosalpina

Ciantia da Mont

In winter and summer, we go up to the mountain The higher I go, the more I like it There we can play and sing Without disturbing anyone.

Early in the morning we rise to work The mowers and the mower and the girls to rake In the evening we rest and enjoy ourselves Close to the fireplace of the hut.

The spent working on the mountain is short One remembers how beautiful that time was The beautiful Mountain Seceda and the Mount Mastle I can never forget it

Immediately after the war, some young people with a shared love for their mountains and their traditional songs, gathered…and sang together. Their singing and gathering evolved in June 1945 into the Rosalpina Choir which later became the Chorus of the Italian Alpine Club of Bozen. For seventy years, the Rosalpina choir struggled, worked hard, renewed its members, received significant acknowledgement as they performed over 1500 concerts. The concerted Europe or significantly said in each and every one of countries represented on the flag of the European Union including Malta, Lebanon and Syria. Their performances have been recorded both on radio, television as well via satellite and the internet. Maestro Aldo Sacchi, Director of the Choir.

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Genealogy Corner # 8

Last time, we looked at how to use cemeteries to grow your family tree. Unfortunately, the formatting of that article came out a bit ‘jumbled’ when it was published in the magazine, but Lou has promised to republish it in a later issue.

Today, I’d like to talk about something that has been an especially hot topic on television and social media over the past year: DNA tests.

The purpose and value of DNA testing is widely misunderstood by the public – something that is not made any easier by misleading marketing campaigns and television shows that often over-simplify how these tests may be used. As a result, many people are confused, disappointed, and occasionally upset by the results they receive from such tests.

For that reason, my next few articles here on Filò will be aimed at explaining some of the basics of DNA testing, and how people interested in tracing their Trentino ancestry can best use them.

Three Types of DNA Tests Before spending your money on any DNA test, it is essential to know what you wish to gain from being tested, as that will determine which type of DNA tests is best for you.

Y-DNA. This test is for tracing your patrilineal ancestry (your father, his father, his father’s father, etc.). This test is good if you are interested in tracing the history of a surname, for example. I have one client who is using YDNA testing to reconstruct the history of a specific Trentino family throughout the centuries. It is only available to men, but a female can explore this by asking her father, brother or a male cousin (a son of her father’s brother) to get a Y-DNA test.

Mitochondrial (mtDNA). This test is for tracing your matrilineal ancestry (your mother, her mother, her mother’s mother, etc.). It does NOT tell you about all your female ancestors (it cannot tell you about your paternal grandmother, the mother of your maternal grandfather, etc.), but only the direct line of females from your mother back in time. Both men and women can take an mtDNA test.

Autosomal. This is the most commonly chosen and widely available DNA test. You would choose this kind of test you if you are interested in learning about your recent ancestry (the last few hundred years) and/or connecting with living people who are biologically related to

you. Autosomal tests are also used by some companies to create health profiles or tell you about various inherited traits. Autosomal DNA tests are available to both men and women.

Only a few companies offer Y-DNA or mtDNA tests.

Most (including AncestryDNA and 23AndMe) only offer autosomal DNA tests.

How DNA Changes Over Time

Both Y-DNA and Mitochondrial DNA change very slowly over time. Thus, these kinds of tests can reveal more about your ancient ethnicity/ancestry than autosomal testing.

In contrast, autosomal DNA changes at every generation. We inherit 50% of our autosomal DNA from each of our parents; our parents received 50% of their autosomal DNA from THEIR parents, and so on, back to the beginning of time.

But parents do not transmit the same proportion of their own inherited DNA to their children. For example, you might have received a lot more DNA from your father’s mother than from his father, while your sibling may have inherited just the opposite. That’s why siblings (except for identical twins) and cousins can look so different from one another, and why their DNA results can also be very different.

Coming Next Time…

That’s all I have room for in this issue. Next time, we’ll look at how DNA testing is no replacement for traditional genealogy. Then, in the next article, we will look at how to understand the results you might receive in ethnicity reports.

Until then, I have published a series of articles on my Trentino Genealogy blog, where I discuss DNA tests and ethnicity reports in detail. You can read that series at www.TrentinoGenealogy.com, in the articles called ‘DNA Tests, Genealogy, Ethnicity and Cultural Identity’.

And as always, I invite you to join our thriving Trentino Genealogy group on Facebook.

LYNN SERAFINN is an author, marketing consultant and genealogist specializing in the the families of the Giudicarie, where her father was born in 1919.

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Family Story: Maffei-Rossatti I never knew my Nonni. They died before my parents were married. Alfonso Maffei and Ercolina Rossatti were born respectively in 1870 and 1874 in Cavrasto, Italy (Austria at that time) and immigrated to the U. S. in 1892 and 1895. They married in 1898 and gave life to 11 children between 1899 and 1918 with my father, Joseph James Maffei, being the youngest. Thirty three grandchildren were born between 1918 and 1963. My dad’s oldest sister, Filomena, gave birth to a son, Lou Gosetti, 6 weeks before my Dad’s birth, making my dad a Zio in-utero! Like Lou, many of my first cousins were much closer in age to my Dad. In my mid 60’s, I felt a deep yearning to know my Nonni.

My dad, his siblings and many cousins were gone so I sought help from the only eleven living cousins who could possibly have memories of our Nonni. Most had been under the age of seven when Nonno died and under the age of ten when Nonna died. I interviewed each one, in person or by phone. At first, many doubted they could remember. But I asked questions requiring them to use their senses of smell, taste, hearing, sight and touch to unlock memories: What smells do you associate with Nonna/Nonno?; What sounds do you remember?; What tastes do you recall?, etc. Soon the stories flowed and my Nonni “came alive” for me. This is a small sampling from the many pages of stories I recorded: Gloria Lamber Spera*: “I used to run to Nonna and lay my head in her lap. She rubbed my face and her hands smelled like celery because she made soup every day for the family and her boarders. It was comforting.

To this day when I smell celery, I think of Nonna.”Rosie Passerini Rocco*: “Nonno had a barn at the top of the hill with 3 cows…he would jog up and down the hill… he was very athletic. He would do pushups then get to a standing position from that push up position!” Carol Gosetti Levri: “I remember us kids running back and forth on the big front porch.” Al Maffei: “I remember an old fashioned phone in the kitchen. We would crank it up and ring it.” Bob Brochetti: “I remember the wrap-around porch and the sun room…all us kids played there. Nonna had a sewing room where she went to pray”.Norma Brochetti Perotti: “I remember the mealtimes.

The women would cook and serve the men first. The kids would eat out on the porch. When we finished eating, Nonno would start to sing and we all sang along in harmony.”Rosalie Brochetti Sotock: “I was only 5 when Nonna died. I remember she was laid out in the house

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and we kids ‘ran the stairs’, up one side and down the other again and again. ” Darlene Brochetti Pnakovich: “Nonna made good risotto. We ate it by going around the plate in a circle, first on the outside where it was cooler and then into the middle.” Anita Piscolish Baker: “I was their first great-grandchild. I remember Nonna would give me candy from the candy jar in her sewing room.” Peggy Passerini Hansley: “The highlight was going to Yatesboro for Easter. After an Easter egg hunt we lined up our eggs along the wall of the porch and all the uncles threw coins at them…they kept the ones stuck in the eggs but the coins on the floor went to all the kids.” Corrine Avi Cicchiani*: “Nonno would sit by the kitchen door...when us kids came in he would give us a sip of his coffee and whiskey. I waited to be last so I could get the sugar on the bottom! We would go to the barn to watch Nonno milk the cows. He would tell us to open our mouths and squirt milk at us. Nonna grew beautiful flowers and I always won the flower arrangement contest at school because Nonna helped me make mine. Nonna and Nonno were good people. They were hard workers and they loved their family.”

So 70 years after they died, I finally got to know my Nonni through the memories shared and the amazing stories told by my cousins: a tradition that likely started many years ago with the filo in the stables of Cavrasto. *Cousins who were in their 80’s and 90’s when interviewed just 5 years ago and have since died.

Written by Jolene Maffei Formaini married to Guido Formaini, whose parents were also from Cavrasto.

The photo of my Nonni Maffei was taken in 1930.

Back row: Dominic, Filomena "Minnie", Eda, Louisa, Mary, Tony Front row: Giuseppina "Pini", Adeline, Nonna Ercolina, Joseph "JJ" (my dad), Nonno Alfonso, Emma and Anna

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Nos Dialet . . . Our Dialect # 20

Continuing our dialect lessons, please make sure that you will have read Dr David Tomasi’s narrative in this issue about the very guts and foundations of our language and culture. As the Filò addresses you as Tyrolean Americans (without an hyphen), remember the constant theme of the Filò…Who we are is Who we were. Our forebearers…parents, noni, paesani declared affirmatively that we were Tyroleans. These witnesses of our identity outnumber any of the Trentini revisionists that might suggest otherwise. Our forebearers came from the Tyrol…period…period…period. Their lives confirmed this as did their passports. Yet the nomenclature of what was the one and only genuine Tyrol and now named the Trentino is not the South Tyrol even though we too were indeed the Tyrol and we too were indeed South!!! The word is the Welschtirol. Welsch is a German expression utilized to define people who were not ethnically German or did not speak a German(ic) language. The Greeks did the same thing referring to non Greeks as barbaroi…literally foreigners. Since I have encountered many Trentini in the Trentino, somewhat Irredentist, who point to the adjective Welsch as negative and denigrating proof and argument that we were poorly treated by Austria and thereby separate us from our Tyrolean history, I simply remind them to update their understanding of the etymology of the word, the historical facts and of our Tyrolean authenicity andequality of 1250 years Tyrolean history and how we equally gave our lives to protect and maintain the Empire in the Great War. VERB PARADIGMS As the Filo` continues to struggle to”teach” or “illustrate” our dialect, an effort will be made to present in a better order the paradigms of the our verbs which are quite divergent from Italian...It is our Lingua nossa..our language!

The Auxiliary Verbs eser essere to bè

Singular stá been stada been

Singular mi sò I p.

Ti te se II p.

III p. èl el è/èl lè èla la è

Plural stadi stade

been been

Plural I am Noaltri/Nualtri sòm We are You are Voialtri/vualtri se You are She is èi I è/èle le è They are

Empress Maria Theresa of Austria who in 1774 obliged that all children of the Tyrol atend school until 12 years old-(Theresian Reform)

LISTEN TO THE DIALECT Make an effort to go to the website to hear the sounds and nuances of our people communicated: http://www.museosanmichele.it/alfabeto-delle cose/ DIALECT SHOW & TELL Let’s look to the illustrations on the opposite page, observe their labels of the items. Starting from the top and going left to right…We will cite the dialectal word in the illustration and translate literally it into English.

COMPARISONS pianta-tree The importance of comparisons (Beautiful as...;Sleep like…Ugly mola-seed pirèr-pear tree scalin-small ladder as…have been from time immemorial the significant way that a brol- orchard pirol-ladder rungs linguistic community interprets their realities ram-branch ceresèra-cherry tree spuzar come na carogna smell like carrion piratol-small pear cerese-cherries tremar come na foia tremble like a leaf pir-pear segheta-small saw pianger come na vigna cry like a vine dent/brancol-tines pègol-stem ostiná come n mul stubborn like a mule pomarola- apple picker fior-blossom sòrt come na campana deaf like a bell podatrice-fruit picking tool manach-handle sediá come n can thirsty like a dog pomèr-apple tree canestro-basket bestemioár come un turco curse like a Turk bociol-unblossomed stropa-fastner porèt èome en sas poor like a rock pòmorza-skin gròs come en bò obese like an ox 30

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The illustrations opposite are those of Helen Lageder; they appear in the Dizionario del Dialetto di Montagne di Trento by Corrado Grassi, produced and distributed by the Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina, San Michele all’Adige

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The Horrific Choices... ery few tragedies had the impact to the native population of Tyrol as the “Optionen.” As part of the 1939 agreement between Hitler and Mussolini the members of the German and Italian population in the historical Tyrol were forced to either migrate to Nazi Germany and become fully (ethnically and linguistically) “Pure Germans,” or stay in their ancestral lands and become “Pure Italians.”

Of course, the very definition of purity in the ethno-linguistic sense does not make much sense, particularly when we address the specific features of Tyrolean history. In this context it is useful to remember that in the Alpine region of Europe, the so-called “two sisters” Switzerland and Tirol are the two Euregiones (transnational cross-border regions) with a common heritage and tetralingual background. Aside from anthropological and archeological considerations, and differences in governing structure (Switzerland is an autonomous country, not part of the EU, while Tirol is an autonomous entity formed by autonomous provinces in autonomous Regioni/Länder shared by two countries, Italy and Austria, both members of the EU – Italy being an actual founding member of the Union), these two regions of Europe share a lot in common. Traditions, economic and political strength, cuisine, folklore, music, and four main languages – all 4 recognized in Switzerland (German, Italian, French, Rumantsch) and 3 recognized (German, Italian, Ladin) + 1 minority language (Slovenian, spoken mostly by individuals in the historical regions of Lienz/Osttirol + Kärnten, in Tirol. Of course, the biggest difference is that while in Switzerland, all primary languages and dialects (including the Schwyzerdütsch) are connected to either Germanic or Italic languages, in Tirol you also have the presence of the third biggest language family of Europe, i.e. the Slavic branch of Indoeuropean. To make things even more complex, in Switzerland and Tirol there is a continuum between Rumantsch, Ladin, and Furlan, a language whose prede-

cessor is found in the ancient Rhaetic language merged with Germanic and Italic (Roman/Latin in particular) elements. Of course, things gets even more complex.

The term “Ladin” should not be confused with “Ladino.” The first refers to a language and ethnicity originating and still living in Tirol. The latter refers to the Judaeo-Spanish language, spoken primarily by Sephardic Jews in Spain. Furthermore, given that Sephardic Judaism is one of the most ancient branches of Italian and Austro-Hungarian (thus Tyrolean as well, particularly in the city of Meran, and the capital city of Dorf Tirol in South Tyrol), Judaism (together with the very specific Italkim, originating in the Italian peninsula, especially the capital city of Rome, since before the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem) and the fact that the Tyrolean language “Ladin” is spelled and pronounced as “Ladino” in Italian, makes things very confusing – aside from the fact that both Ladin and Ladin(o) are both Italic and Romance languages.

To summarize – since the original and most ancient inhabitants of Tyrol were Ladins-Rhaetian people, how could any Tyrolean family choose between Germany and Italy at that time? The artificial divide between NordicTeutonic-Germanic and Mediterranean-Roman-Italic ethnicity is a distortion of what it means to be Tyrolean.

In other words, being Tyrolean certainly includes elements of German and Italian history, culture, and language, but if we have to identify the primacy source of ancient, aboriginal-autochthonous Tyrolean “core” we have to include much more complex and profound elements, connected to the Rhaetic populations living in these lands from time immemorial. While both Germanic and Italic Languages (thus, including Romance Languages) are part of the same IndoEuropean family, some historians argue that the Rhaetian people were non-Indoeuropean.

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The Tyrolean par excellence, the iceman Ötzi (Europe's oldest known natural human mummy, displayed in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology) is the best example of this identity.

How is then possible, that forced Germanization and Italianization attempted to destroy the very core of Tyrolean sense of self ? Certainly the intent of Hitler and Mussolini was primary political, racist, and opportunistic.

However, the destruction it represented for Tyrolean families came when these families were forced to chose between Optanten (the ones who moved across the border to be fully assimilated in the III Reich), and the Dableiber or “Here-stayers.” Thus, the Dableiber were condemned as traitors by Tyroleans who chose to reconnect to the ancestral Germanic homeland, while the Optanten were defamed as Nazis by those Tyroleans who chose “land over language” or, more precisely “heritage over Nationalsocialism.” Of course, neither option was optimal, and the outcomes are still felt to this very day. At the end of WWI – Tyroleans who identified themselves as “Italians” viewed Tyroleans who chose to be close to German(ic) culture and language as “Nazis,” while Tyroleans who identified themselves as “Germans” viewed Tyroleans who chose to be close to Italic/Italian culture and language as “Fascist.”

Historical events also shaped this viewpoint. While the historical region of Tyrol shares a millennia-old common tradition and heritage, the connection-disconnection between Germanic and Italic elements shaped the very sense of self of the region. If the Roman Empire and subsequent Romanization of the Alpine people is truly a primary cultural influence throughout the history of Tyrol, the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires, truly shaped the more modern and continuous history of Tyrol. In this sense it is relevant to note that to this day, the National Anthem of Germany still says “From the Meuse to the Neman, From the Etsch (South & Welsh Tyrol main river) to the Belt - Germany, Germany above all, Above all in the world!” In other words, for a primarily German-speaker Tyrolean, true Tyrolean identity might mean to liberate oneself from the Roman-Italian domination, while for an Italian-speaker Tyrolean, true Tyrolean identity might mean to liberate oneself from the German-Austrian domination. To be fair and historically accurate, there were abuses on both sides of the spectrum (although claiming that modern Italians are exactly the same as Ancient Romans in every single aspect, and modern Germans exactly the same as the Germanic tribes in Northern and Central Europe can raise some further questions).

The original Tyroleans, the Ladins were subject to a forced germanization since the Fall of Rome (and more strongly under the Austrian Empress Maria-Theresia) to the unification with Italy. At the end of WWI many Ladins felt that, at least to some extent, they were “liberated” by Italy, in the sense that their Latin identity was respected. Does this means that Ladins and Latins are the same (or that Rumantsch and Roman is the same)?

The term “Ladin” meant to identify an ethnicity which was different from the German(ic) counterpart – they spoke a language closer to the language spoken by the Italic people, particularly the Roman/Romance branch.

That is why in German the term utilized to define people who were not ethnically German or did not speak a German(ic) language is Welsh – the same term identifying Celts living in Gaelic/Goidelic-speaking areas in Ireland and the UK, or in non-German areas in the former German/Austro-Hungarian empire.

“Welsch/Welch/Welch” means “foreigner, different from us Germanic people,” more specifically someone of Celtic-Italic heritage. To this day, the southernmost area of the historical Tyrol is “Welschtirol” in German.

In short, Germanic domination meant an attempted suppression of Ladin-Latin elements (albeit built a nonIndoeuropean Rhaetic substratum) in the Tyrolean population.

The same, in reverse, happened to the German-speaking population (particularly Deutsch-Südtiroler, Mocheni and Cimbri) in South and Welsh Tyrol during the Italian Fascist Regime. More specifically, teaching of and in the German language was completely banned, including the dissolution of German nursery schools and all higher German language-based educational institutions, as well as the forced Italianization of German first and surnames. In an ironic yet tragic way, some family names went from (for instance) the original Ladin Ruac/Robač to the Germanized Robatscher (“back” to, according to certain Italian scholars, and certainly according to the regime) the Italianized Ruazzi.

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Of course, Tyroleans continued teaching both Ladin (this was not only permitted, but also encouraged in part, as long as this was identified as an Italian dialect, and not as a separate, albeit Italic and Romance language) and German. The latter, given that is was forbidden, was taught in the so-called Katakombenschulen, or catacomb schools.

Therefore, an increasing suspiciousness and resentfulness toward ‘the other” was perceived from both sides of the spectrum, namely the “Germans” and the “Italians.”

Of course, we could rightfully argue that the true Tyrolean identify goes beyond either of these opposites, finding perhaps in the “Ladin” heritage the common denominator. The annexation of the southern part (South and Welsh Tyrol) to Italy after WWI and the forced Italianization during WWII represent an incredible traumatic experience for Tyroleans. Until very recently however, a certain form of “cold war” still existed between the two (or three) communities. The most famous example in this sense, is the history of the “South Tyrolean Liberation Committee” (Befreiungsausschuss Südtirol or BAS), the underground secessionist organisation in the mid-1950s which aimed to achieve the right for self-determination for South Tyrol and the related secession from Italy via bomb attacks. To this very day, the government of Italy classifies the BAS as a terrorist organization, while the Austrian government awarded its members highest honors. Other organizations, such the “Ein Tirol” committee of the 1980s were also at the center of similar events, and were classified as Nazis, Neo-Nazi, or terrorist organizations by the Italian press and certain governmental offices.

Now, of course, one might ask why there should be any identification, except commonalities between language and certain cultural elements, between Germany and Austria –particularly between Nazi Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire–, from a Tyrolean point of view. It is important to note that while the AustroHungarian Empire represented the “home political institution” for Tyrol for almost 1200 years, it is imprecise to think that Tyrolean-Austrian identify was completely separated from a German one. The “German Question” was a debate in the 19th century, especially during the Revolutions of 1848, over the best way to achieve the unification of Germany – a nation-state unification of all German lands, including Austria, and thus Tyrol. This was partially achieved multiple times in the long history of Europe, first through the Holy Roman (German) Empire, and then with the Republic of German-Austria

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(Republik Deutschösterreich), created following World War I as a state for areas with a predominantly Germanspeaking population within what had been the AustroHungarian Empire. Another very difficult element to understand, particularly from the perspective of emigration from areas which belonged to the empire before the annexation to Italy, is that toward the end of WWI, the whole region of South and Welsh Tyrol (including the traditional areas of the “Ladinia” such as part of the province of Belluno, in modern Veneto) were an integral part of the Third Reich (the so-called Operationszone Alpenvorland). Thus, for many Tyroleans (especially in South Tyrol), Austrians, and Germans, Tyrol was a full member of the Nazi Empire, to be defended against the Italian partisans and the Allies, while for many other Tyroleans (especially in Welsh Tyrol) and Italians, Tyrol was to be liberated from the Nazi-German domination and fully included in the liberated, newly-funded and catholic-socialist-democratic Italian Republic.

In more recent times, this ethnic dividing line became fully physical, not just metaphorical. To give a personal example, when I was in grade school (we are talking about the 1980s and 1990s, not the 1940s), the school’s courtyard and garden was still divided in two by the “ethnic line.” On one side “German” children, on the other “Italian” ones. We were not allowed to “cross over” and play or just communicate with the other part. Penalty: a series of time outs, extra assignments or simply being suspended from school. This continues, albeit in much milder and less invasive ways through the “Declaration of Ethnicity” for every South Tyrolean: Ladin, German, or Italian ethnicity, with related separation in specific public offices, job opportunities and titles, funding and research grants, etc. For someone like me (and I am certainly not the exception – this is the norm in South Tyrol), being born in pretty much the same area where my ancestors lived for the last 1,000 years, with one parent coming “from the north” (German-South Tyrol) and one “from the south” (Italian-Welsh Tyrol), this ethnic divide and hatred simply does not make sense. Of course, as it is often the case, politicians are extremely good at “dividing and conquering” by appropriately mixing language, culture, and ethnicity for their own political purposes. Something which should be regarded as a true treasure such as the multilingual component of being Tyrolean, is often misused and abused. It is my wish and hope for future generations of Tyroleans that the tragedies of the past will be fully remembered but not to be repeated, ever again. Written by Dr. David Låg Tomasi, University of Vermont

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Announcing a Filò Initiative...

The Filò initiative looks to the future of our Tyrolean American community’s ability to maintain its self awareness, its cultural identity. It cannot do this by occasional meetings, the memories of nona’s polenta, bi-annual minimally attended conventions, publications or albums of images of our people drinking coffee, eating polenta…and always in the shadow of a Trentino banner. These are strategies that will guarantee the disappearance rather than the survival of our cultural awareness. There is essentially one strategy going forward to know who we are is to learn and understand who we were. Better said and expressed the acquisition of cultural literacy is the knowledge of who we were. The Filò represents that strategy by serving as a teacher, a companion examining the past of our ancestors and forbearers.

The Filò website can be said to be an important resource since it serves as our virtual library available to everyone every where. We have a wonderful site and it has the capacity of becoming ever more useful and productive especially in this day and age and with our young people. I want to make it better and purposeful by organizing the many and various articles by arranging them under categories or in folders or tabs. A person seeking information regarding recipes or music or history or the valleys, could click on a particular tab or topic and read as many as 20 the articles regarding the topic that appeared in the last twenty issues. To do this, I will need to engage a webmaster to accomplish this organizational structure and methodology. I do not have competence to do this or the time to pursue this. A web master will require funding. To engage a web master, I will pursue funding from the Province, ITTONA and possibly from our readership and or community. Stay tuned.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Our Partners are . . .

Alberto Chini, President of Father Eusebio Chini Museum, Segno Italy Alberto Folgheraiter- Author, journalist and specialist in Trentino culture, Trento Christian Brunelli. Teacher & Technical Consultant, Cornwall, NY Dr. David Tomasi, Professor at University of Vermont Tomaso Iori, Museo della Scuola, Rango, Val di Giudicarie Luca Faoro, Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina. San Michele Daniela Finardi, Communications Dept.- Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina. San Michele Ricardo di Carli -Biblioteca della Montagna-SAT, Trento Alexander DeBiasi Trentino Sviluppo SpA erena Di Paoli.Writer, Researcher, Scholar, Terlago We Remember…Veronica Coletti has left us. She was a dedicated teacher and a special friend of the Filò. She offered her assistance in translating articles and providing us with her insights. Truly...our sister!!!

Our Contributors are . . .

Roberta Agosti, APT Bolzano Geoffrey Barclay, UK John Bellotti, Torrance, California Veronika Burgmann-Sudetirol Marketing Jolene Formaini, Kittaning, PA Lynn Serafinn, Geneology specialist,UK Martina Spinel-APT Bolzano

Photo Credits

Bolzano APT; Martina Spinell; Sudetirol Marketing; Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina; Bruno Faganello; Provincia di Trento; Valentin Pardeller; Friedler Blicke; Clemens Zahn; Helmuth Rier; Harald Wistahler; Daniel Geiger; Elena Botoeva; Herbert Berberich;Thomas Grüner;Helmuth Rier; Artist: Bela de Tirefort 1 DAVEY WRIGHT Hamish 35

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Filò Magazine PO Box 90 Crompond, New York 10517

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