Pontebba
Encyclopedia
Pontebba is a comune
(municipality) in the Province of Udine
in the Italian
region Friuli-Venezia Giulia
. It is located about 100 km northwest of Trieste
and about 50 km north of Udine
, on the border with Austria
. As of 31 December 2004, Pontebba had a population of 1,683 and an area of 97.7 km².
The municipality contains the frazioni
(subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Aupa, Frattis, Laglesie San Leopoldo, Studena Alta, Studena Bassa and Pietratagliata.
Pontebba borders the following municipalities: Dogna
in the south, Hermagor-Pressegger See
(Austria) in the north, Malborghetto Valbruna
in the east and Moggio Udinese
in the west.
, the former Lombard
duchy of Friuli
in the south and the Bavarian
march of Carinthia
in the north. After the 1420 conquest of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, the Pontebba settlement south of the creek belonged to the terra firma
of the Republic of Venice
; it was twinned with Pontafel north of the bridge, at first part of the Carinthian
Canal Valley exclave held by the Imperial
Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg
, since 1759 incorporated into the Inner Austria
n territories of the Habsburg dynasty.
After World War I
by the order of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye the border of the Kingdom of Italy
with the Federal State of Austria
was shifted up the Canal Valley north to the town of Tarvisio
. The two settlements of Pontebba and Pontafel finally merged on 15 August 1924. During World War II
, the rail road line through the town was the target of heavy aerial bombardment by the United States Army Air Forces
as it was used by Germany
to transport supplies to Italy. However, the aerial bombardment did not succeed in damaging the rail line, which is still in use today.
team, plays its home games at the PalaVuerich arena in Pontebba and is affiliated with the local ice sports society Sport Ghiaccio Pontebba. The team is a member of the Serie A
and won the 2008 Italian Cup.
, running from Palmanova
and the A4 to Tarvisio and the Austrian A2 Süd Autobahn
, as well as by the parallel Strada Statale 13 Pontebbana. Here the Strade Provinciale 110 to the Naßfeld Pass
branches off.
The Pontebba train station is at the new Pontebbana railway line from Udine to Tarvisio and the Austrian border. Opened in 2000 it replaces the old k.k. Staatsbahn Tarvis-Pontafel built in 1879.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
(municipality) in the Province of Udine
Province of Udine
The Province of Udine is a province in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Its capital is the city of Udine....
in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
region Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...
. It is located about 100 km northwest of Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
and about 50 km north of Udine
Udine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...
, on the border with Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. As of 31 December 2004, Pontebba had a population of 1,683 and an area of 97.7 km².
The municipality contains the frazioni
Frazione
A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
(subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Aupa, Frattis, Laglesie San Leopoldo, Studena Alta, Studena Bassa and Pietratagliata.
Pontebba borders the following municipalities: Dogna
Dogna
Dogna is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 100 km northwest of Trieste and about 45 km north of Udine. , it had a population of 235 and an area of 70.0 km²....
in the south, Hermagor-Pressegger See
Hermagor-Pressegger See
Hermagor-Pressegger See is the administrative centre of the Hermagor district in the Austrian state of Carinthia. The town is named after Saint Hermagoras, the first bishop of Aquileia.-Location:...
(Austria) in the north, Malborghetto Valbruna
Malborghetto Valbruna
Malborghetto Valbruna is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 100 km northwest of Trieste and about 50 km northeast of Udine, on the border with Austria. , it had a population of 1,025 and an area of 120.5 km²...
in the east and Moggio Udinese
Moggio Udinese
Moggio Udinese is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 100 km northwest of Trieste and about 40 km north of Udine, on the border with Austria...
in the west.
History
Pontebba, named after meaning "bridge", is situated at the confluence of the Pontebbana creek and the Fella river, itself a tributary to the Tagliamento. Since the early 10th century the Pontebbana formed the border between the March of VeronaMarch of Verona
The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast march in northeastern Italy during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Except for Venice, it included the territories of the modern-day regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia as well as Istria and Trentino up to the Adige...
, the former Lombard
Kingdom of the Lombards
The Kingdom of the Lombards or Lombard Kingdom was an early medieval state, with its capital in Pavia, established by the Lombards on the Italian Peninsula between 568-569 and 774 .Effective control by the rulers of both the major areas that constituted the...
duchy of Friuli
Duchy of Friuli
The Duchy of Friuli was one of the great territorial Lombard duchies, the first to be established. It was an important buffer between the Lombard kingdom of Italy and the Slavs...
in the south and the Bavarian
History of Bavaria
The history of Bavaria stretches from its earliest settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman Empires to its status as an independent kingdom and, finally, as a large and significant Bundesland of the modern Federal Republic of...
march of Carinthia
March of Carinthia
The March of Carinthia was a frontier district of the Carolingian Empire created in 889. Before it was a march, it had been a principality or duchy ruled by native-born Slavic princes at first independently and then under Bavarian and subsequently Frankish suzerainty...
in the north. After the 1420 conquest of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, the Pontebba settlement south of the creek belonged to the terra firma
Terra firma
Terra firma is a Latin phrase meaning "solid earth" . The phrase refers to the dry land mass on the earth's surface and is used to differentiate from the sea or air.Terra Firma may also refer to:...
of the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
; it was twinned with Pontafel north of the bridge, at first part of the Carinthian
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
Canal Valley exclave held by the Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg
Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg
The Bishopric of Bamberg was established in 1007, to further expand the spread of Christianity in Germany. The ecclesiastical state was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from about 1245 until it was subsumed to the Electorate of Bavaria in 1802...
, since 1759 incorporated into the Inner Austria
Inner Austria
Inner Austria was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and the Windic March, the County of Gorizia , the city of Trieste and assorted smaller possessions...
n territories of the Habsburg dynasty.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
by the order of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye the border of the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
with the Federal State of Austria
Federal State of Austria
The Federal State of Austria refers to Austria from 1934 to 1938, according to its self-conception a non-party, in fact a single-party state led by the fascist Fatherland's Front...
was shifted up the Canal Valley north to the town of Tarvisio
Tarvisio
Tarvisio is a town in the Province of Udine, in the northeastern part of the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region in Italy...
. The two settlements of Pontebba and Pontafel finally merged on 15 August 1924. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the rail road line through the town was the target of heavy aerial bombardment by the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
as it was used by Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
to transport supplies to Italy. However, the aerial bombardment did not succeed in damaging the rail line, which is still in use today.
Sports
Aquile Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the region's flagship ice hockeyIce hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team, plays its home games at the PalaVuerich arena in Pontebba and is affiliated with the local ice sports society Sport Ghiaccio Pontebba. The team is a member of the Serie A
Serie A (hockey)
Serie A is the name of the top tier of professional ice hockey in Italy, which first began play in 1924. They are conducted under the authority of the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio...
and won the 2008 Italian Cup.
Transport
Pontebba can be reached via the A23 autostrada, European route E55European route E55
European route E 55 is a E-route. It passes through the following cities:Helsingborg … Helsingør – Copenhagen – Køge – Vordingborg – Nykøbing Falster – Gedser … Rostock – Berlin – Lübbenau – Dresden – Teplice – Prague – Tábor – Linz – Salzburg – Villach – Tarvisio – Udine – Palmanova – Mestre...
, running from Palmanova
Palmanova
Palmanova is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, close to the border with Slovenia. It is located 20 km from Udine, 28 km from Gorizia and 55 km from Trieste near the junction of the Autostrada Alpe-Adria and the Autostrada Venezia-Trieste .Palmanova is famous for its fortress...
and the A4 to Tarvisio and the Austrian A2 Süd Autobahn
Autobahns of Austria
The Austrian autobahns are controlled-access highways in Austria. They are officially called Bundesstraßen A according to the Austrian federal road act...
, as well as by the parallel Strada Statale 13 Pontebbana. Here the Strade Provinciale 110 to the Naßfeld Pass
Naßfeld Pass
Naßfeld Pass is a 1552 m high mountain pass in Austria in the Carnic Alps in the Bundesland of Carinthia, leading into Italy.It connects the Gail River valley with Italian Valcanale...
branches off.
The Pontebba train station is at the new Pontebbana railway line from Udine to Tarvisio and the Austrian border. Opened in 2000 it replaces the old k.k. Staatsbahn Tarvis-Pontafel built in 1879.