Monfalcone

Monfalcone
Comune
Comune di Monfalcone
La Rocca

Coat of arms
Monfalcone
Location of Monfalcone in Italy
Coordinates: 45°48′N 13°32′E / 45.800°N 13.533°E / 45.800; 13.533
Country Italy
Region Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Province Gorizia (GO)
Frazioni Archi, Aris, Bagni, Cima di Pietrarossa, Crosera, La Rocca, Lisert, Marina Julia, Marina Nova, Panzano, Pietrarossa, San Polo, Schiavetti, Serraglio, Via Romana-Solvay
Government
 • Mayor Anna Maria Cisint (Lega Nord)
Area
 • Total 20 km2 (8 sq mi)
Elevation 7 m (23 ft)
Population (2009)
 • Total 28,101
 • Density 1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Monfalconesi
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 34074
Dialing code 0481
Patron saint St. Ambrose
Saint day November 21
Website Official website

Monfalcone (Italian pronunciation: [moɱfalˈkoːne]; Bisiacco: Mofalcòn; Friulian: Monfalcon; Slovene: Tržič; archaic German: Falkenberg) is a town and comune of the province of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means "Mount of Falcon" in Italian.

It is a major industrial centre for manufacturing ships, airplanes, textiles, chemicals and refined oil. It is the home of Fincantieri cruise ship building company.

Geography

Monfalcone port

Monfalcone is the fifth most populous town in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the main centre of Bisiacaria territory. Joined to its neighbourhoods, it reaches about 50,000 inhabitants. The town lies between the Carso hills and the Adriatic coast, being the northernmost port of the Mediterranean Sea.

History

In prehistoric times the area of Monfalcone housed several fortified villages called castellieri. After the foundation of the Roman city of Aquileia (181 BC), some thermal buildings were created on the hills, known as Insulae Clarae.

After the Ostrogoth, Byzantine, Lombard and Frank domination, Monfalcone was controlled by the Patriarchs of Aquileia starting from 967. The Venetians conquered it in 1420 after three days of siege, keeping it until 1511, when it fell to the French. Conquered back by Venice, it was ravaged by the troops of the Habsburg emperor Maximilian I in 1513, who destroyed the Rocca. In 1521 it was returned to the Republic of Venice, under which it remained until its dissolution by the 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio.

Adria factories in Monfalcone under Austrian bombradment in WWI

From 1805 it was controlled by the French Empire until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, after which it became part of the Austrian Empire. Incorporated into the crown land of Gorizia and Gradisca, it belonged to the Austrian Littoral from 1849. The first shipyards arose from about 1908 onwards, among them the Cantiere Navale Triestino company building steamships for the Austro-Americana Line based in Trieste. During World War I, the town was captured by Italian forces according to the 1915 London Pact. Upon the bloody Battles of the Isonzo, Monfalcone was briefly recaptured by Austria, after the 1917 Battle of Caporetto, but returned to Italy in 1918. The shipyards were severely damaged by bitter fighting and had to be rebuilt afterwards.

Main sights

  • Rocca (Castle). Of medieval origin (according to a legend, it was founded by Theoderic the Great, King of the Ostrogoths), its current appearance dates to the Venetian restorations in the early 16th century. The interior houses a speleology exhibition.
  • Park of World War I
  • Karst (Carso) area
  • Cathedral of Sant'Ambrogio
  • Roman villas and thermae: Several remains of roman villas have been found on the territory of the municipality of Monfalcone. The sites are object of archeological research but are not open to public. A thermae dating back to the roman era is also present and what remains of the ancient edifice is now included in the current thermal establishment that has been reactivated in 2014.[1]

Transport

Monfalcone railway station, opened in 1860, is a junction between the Venice–Trieste railway and the Udine–Trieste railway.

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

Notable people

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Monfalcone is twinned with:

References

  1. ↑ "Il Friuli - Monfalcone riscopre le terme romane". www.ilfriuli.it. 2016-08-12.


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