Rovereto

For the village in Liguria, see Sestri Levante

Rovereto
—  Comune  —
Comune di Rovereto
Panorama of Rovereto
Coat of arms
Rovereto Location of Rovereto in Italy
Coordinates: 45°53′N 11°3′E
Country	Italy
Region	Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Province	Trentino (TN)
Frazioni	Borgo Sacco, Lizzana, Lizzanella, Marco, Mori Stazione, Noriglio, San Giorgio, Santa Maria, Sant'Ilario
Government
• Mayor	Andrea Miorandi
Area
• Total	50 km2 (19.3 sq mi)
Elevation	204 m (669 ft)
Population (31 December 2009)
• Total	37,549
• Density	751/km2 (1,945/sq mi)
Demonym	Roveretani
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	38068
Dialing code	0464
Patron saint	Saint Mary of the Snow
Saint day	August 5
Website	Official website

Rovereto Castle

The Rosmini Fountain in Rovereto

Rovereto (German: Rofreit) is a city and comune in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River.

History

Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier between the bishopric of Trento - an independent state until 1797 - and the republic of Venice, and later between Austrian Tyrol and Italy.

Main sights

• The castle, built by the counts of Castelbarco in the 13th-14th centuries, and later enlarged by the Venetians during their rule of Rovereto.
• The mighty bell Maria Dolens, one of the largest outside Russia and East Asia, and the second-largest swinging bell in the world after the St. Peter's Bell of the Cologne Cathedral. Maria Dolens ("the grieving Virgin Mary") was built under the inspiration of a local priest, between 1918 and 1925, to commemorate the fallen in all wars, and to this day it sounds for the dead every day. Originally a patriotic rather than pacifist idea, it is today regarded as a shrine to peace.
• MART, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto offers temporary exhibitions, educational activities, and has a remarkable permanent collection.

In the area of Lavini di Marco footprints of dinosaurs have been found. The species have been identified as the herbivorous Camptosaurus and carnivorous Dilophosaurus.

Marco also hosts a large landslide which has been reported by Dante Alighieri in his Divina Commedia: "Qual è quella ruina che nel fianco di qua da Trento l'Adice percosse, o per tremoto o per sostegno manco" (Inferno, canto XII).

Economy

In the past Rovereto was an important centre for the manufacture of silk. Current production include those of wine, rubber, chocolate, glasses and coffee.

Rovereto is the birthplace (1941) of Sferoflex eyeglasses, now taken over by Luxottica. Other relevant companies located in Rovereto are Marangoni Pneumatici, Lepetit, Cioccolato Cisa, Metalsistem.

Transport

Rovereto railway station, opened in 1859, forms part of the Brenner railway, which links Verona with Innsbruck.

Notable people

• Antonio Rosmini-Serbati (1797–1855), priest and philosopher
• Gustavo Venturi (1830–1898), a bryologist whose herbarium is now kept at the Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali in Trento.
• Armando Aste (born 6 January 1926), influential Italian alpinist of the postwar period
• Valerio Fioravanti (born 28 March 1958), founder of the neo-fascist terrorist group Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari
• Marco Martinelli (born 1965), a former volleyball player who earned 155 caps for the Italy men's national volleyball team
• Paolo Seganti (born 20 May 1965), actor, author
• Elena Tonetta (born 1988), archer and 2005 Junior European Champion
• Girolamo Tartarotti (born 1706), author
• Riccardo Zandonai (born 1883), composer

Twin towns

• Bento Gonçalves, Brazil
• Dolní Dobrouč, Czech Republic
• Forchheim, Germany
• Kufstein, Austria

See also

• Vallagarina (district)

External links

Media related to Rovereto at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Mart, Museo di Arte Moderna di Trento e Rovereto
• Rovereto Student Forum
• Blog OcchioDiRovereto
• Massa Critica Rovereto