Rovereto

For the village in Liguria, see Sestri Levante Rovereto 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 Italian War museum (Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra) is located inside the castle. The Italian War Museum was founded in 1921 in remembrance of the First World War and in it are preserved arms and documents relating to wars from the 16th to the 20th centuries. 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, Sandoz Industrial Products Spa, Cioccolato Cisa, Metalsistem. Transport Rovereto railway station, opened in 1859, forms part of the Brenner railway, which links Verona with Innsbruck. Notable people Gaspare Antonio Cavalcabò Baroni (1682–1759) Baroque painter 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 Maria Pia Gardini (1936–2012), entrepreneur and critic of Scientology Marco Martinelli (born 1965), a former volleyball player who earned 155 caps for the Italy men's national volleyball team Giuliano Pontara (born 1933), professor of philosophy, Stockholm University 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 Massimo Parziani (born 1992), Motorcycle racer Twin towns – Sister cities Rovereto is twinned with: 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 Italian War Museum in Rovereto ViaggiaRovereto(Android Application) -- Implemented as part of SmartCampus project, the research project founded by TrentoRise, UNITN, and FBK