South Tyrol

South Tyrol Autonome Provinz Bozen – Südtirol Provincia autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige Provinzia autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol Autonome Provinz Bozn – Sidtiroul
Autonomous Province
Flag Coat of arms
Map highlighting the location of the province of South Tyrol in Italy (in red)
Coordinates: 46°30′N 11°21′E / 46.500°N 11.350°E / 46.500; 11.350
Country	Italy
Region	Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Capital(s)	Bolzano
Comuni	116
Government
• Governor	Arno Kompatscher (SVP)
Area
• Total	7,399.97 km2 (2,857.14 sq mi)
Population  (31.12.2011)
• Total	511,750
• Density	69/km2 (180/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	39XXX
Telephone prefix	0471, 0472, 0473, 0474
Vehicle registration	BZ
ISTAT	021
Website	www.provinz.bz.it

South Tyrol, also known by its Italian name Alto Adige (German: Südtirol, Italian: Alto Adige, Southern Bavarian: Sidtiroul), is an autonomous province in northern Italy. Together with the province of Trento, it makes up the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of 7,400 square kilometres (2,857 sq mi). About 511,750 people live there (2011). The capital of the province is the city of Bolzano. The borders are Graubünden and Lombardia in the west, Tyrol and Salzburg in the north, Trentino and Veneto in the south.

Although it is part of Italy, most of the population speaks German. Around a quarter of the population speak Italian, most of whom live in the two largest cities (Bolzano and Merano). Italian and German are both official languages. In parts of the province, a third language, Ladin, is spoken and official as well. South Tyrol is the most common name for the province in ancient English.^[1] German and Ladin speakers usually refer to the area as Südtirol. The official name is the Province of Bolzano (in Italian: Provincia autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige; in German: Autonome Provinz Bozen – Südtirol; in Ladin: Provinzia autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol).

South Tyrol/Alto Adige is an autonomous province. It has its own legislature that makes many laws that are separate from those made by the Italian government. Luis Durnwalder has been the head of government since 1989. He belongs to the South Tyrolean People's Party, which has been governing since 1948.^[2]

1. ↑ Cf. for instance Antony E. Alcock, The History of the South Tyrol Question, London: Michael Joseph, 1970; Rolf Steininger, South Tyrol: A Minority Conflict of the Twentieth Century, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2003; Georg Grote, Hannes Obermair, A Land on the Threshold. South Tyrolean Transformations, 1915–2015, Oxford/Bern/New York: Peter Lang.
2. ↑ "The South Tyrol Success Story: Italy's German-Speaking Province Escapes the Crisis". 2010-08-25. Archived from the original on 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2012-11-24. Luis Durnwalder... has been president of South Tyrol since 1989....[and] Durnwalder's party, the South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP), ...has ruled the province with an absolute or relative majority since 1948.