Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy
The for GermanEars unusual-sounding name Friuli-Venezia Giulia denotes an autonomous Italian region. It is located in the far north of the country. In total, the territory of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region covers 7,845 square kilometers. About 1.2 million people live in the area of the region. The capital Trieste plays a central role in terms of economy and finance.
Landscapes of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region
Contrary to what the name might suggest, Friuli-Venezia Giulia is not composed of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto. The region consists of 90 percent of the area of the Friuli region and 10 percent of the Julian Veneto region. Whereby Julian Veneto can also be found on the Istrian peninsula. This has belonged to the territory of Yugoslavia since the end of the Second World War.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia got its name from its longstanding association with the Republic of Venice.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia is located directly on the Adriatic Sea and has as neighboring countries Austria and Slovenia as well as the Italian region Veneto, which borders in the west.
The region has long mountain ranges. The Friulian Dolomites, the Carnic Alps and the Julian Alps shape the image of the area. These mountain landscapes merge into a hilly and extensive landscape. This is followed by the Po Valley which, however, only makes up a minor part of the region.
The history of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region In
1866 the Friuli region was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy. This happened after the end of the Third War of Independence. Originally the area belonged to Austria, but the Prussians, allied with Italy, were victorious over the Austrians in the Battle of Königgrätz and Austria was forced to surrender Friuli to France. France passed the area on to Italy.
Austria had a similar experience with the area around the city of Trieste. The region of Julisch Veneto became Austria after the end of the First World War denied. With the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the entire area became the property of Italy.
After Italy suffered a defeat in World War II, no one doubted that Friuli belonged to Italy, but the fact that it belonged to Venezia Giulia was vehemently questioned. A large part of the Istrian region was cut off and handed over to Yugoslavia. This left 300,000 Italians homeless because they were driven out by the Yugoslavs. These evictions were bloody and brutal massacres. Many of the Italian residents did not have a chance to leave their former properties, but fell victim to the Foibe massacres victim during the war.
The question of Trieste occupied politics for a long time. In the Allied peace treaty of February 10, 1947, Trieste was to be divided into two parts. Similar to Germany, it should be divided into two zones (Zone A and Zone B). This decision could never be carried out, as the members of the UN Security Council could not agree on a governor, even seven years after the establishment of the Terretorium. Due to the lack of a joint governor, the independent administration for this district could not be enforced and the project to partition Trieste failed. It was not until November 1975 that the Trieste area became between Italy and Yugoslavia At present borders divided.
The merger of the two regions of Friuli and Venezia Giulia to form the common region of Friuli Venezia Giulia took place in 1963. The area was given a special status to protect the Slovenian residents, who were in the minority.
Calabria in Italy
The Calabria region is located in southern Italy. Right at the tip of the “boot”, so to speakItaly. Over 2 million people live in an area of 15,080 square kilometers. The capital of the region is Catanzaro.
The north of the region Calabria borders on Basilicata, the west is bounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea. To the south and east is the Ionian Sea. In total, Calabria has a coastal region of over 780 kilometers in length. The road from Messina separates Calabria from the island of Sicily.
Geography of the region of Calabria
The entire region is criss-crossed by long and extensive mountain ranges. In addition, a large number of rivers flow here. In summer, however, many of them have no water and there are numerous dry river beds. The only river that carries water all year round is the Crati. It is also the largest river in the Calabria region.
Other bodies of water in Calabria are the large reservoirs Lago di Cecita, Lago Arvo and Lago Ampollino. Unfortunately, the population of Calabria is repeatedly hit by natural disasters brought into problems. Regular heavy earthquakes cause destruction. The situation on the southern side of the region is particularly dramatic. This is because this is where the Messina Fault is located.
One of the worst earthquakes in the history of Calabria occurred on February 5, 1783. In these very strong tremors around 300 villages were destroyed and around 30,000 people were killed. The aftershocks on February 6th and 7th and March 1st and 28th were also devastating. A historically documented earthquake is that of 1908. Almost all of Calabria was destroyed here and had to be painstakingly rebuilt.
The flora and fauna of Calabria
Lots of very old trees stand in the region. Magnificent stands of beech and pine trees grow here. These tree species in particular can live up to several centuries. The most beautiful and lush forests are in Aspromonte. The wonderfully fragrant citrus plants such as bergamot also grow here. Also pines can be found here, they grow especially in Pollinogebirge. The Lorica pine, which thrives particularly well here, is one of the oldest tree species in Europe.
The dense forests offer the numerous animals an optimal habitat. Wolves, wild cats, birds of prey and snakes still live here. In parts of the forest areas of the Calabria region one can find places rich in fungi. Many of the local mushrooms are very tasty and serve as a tasty ingredient in some dishes from the Calabrian specialty cuisine. Palm trees, cacti, olive trees and the famous lemon and orange trees grow in the coastal areas. Eucalyptus is also native here.
Calabria takes its nature very seriously. To protect this beauty, a total of three regional parks were established.
History of the region of Calabria
Carved depictions and other finds from the Stone Age were found. It is assumed that the first people in the Calabria region must have lived here as early as the Stone Age. You could also prove that in the 16th century to the 8th century BC here settlements of Enotriern and Bruttians and Italians and Sicels have passed.
