page_title: Bolzano
section_title: Main sights
hierarchical_section_title: Bolzano / Main sights
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Bozen, Waltherplatz mit gotischem Dom Mariä Himmelfahrt &#160;&#160;This media shows the cultural heritage monument with the number 13892 in South Tyrol.
context_page_description: Bolzano is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in Tyrol. The greater metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants and is one of the urban centers within the Alps.
  Bolzano is the seat of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, where lectures and seminars are held in English, German, and Italian. The city is also home to the Italian Army's Alpini High Command and some of its combat and support units.
  In the 2014 version of the annual ranking of quality of life in Italian cities, Bolzano was ranked as the best.
  Along with other Alpine towns in South Tyrol, Bolzano engages in the Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention. The Convention aims to promote and achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc. Consequently, Bolzano was awarded Alpine Town of the Year 2009.
  Bolzano is considered a bridge between North and South due to the three spoken languages in South Tyrol and the confluence of Italian and German-Austrian culture.
context_section_description: Its medieval city centre, Gothic and Romanesque churches and bilingual signage give it the flavour of a city at the crossroads of Italian and Austrian cultures. This and its natural and cultural attractions make it a popular tourist destination.
  Among the major monuments and sights are:
  the Walther Square, with a statue of Walther von der Vogelweide, a German minstrel (minnesinger)
  the Laubengasse or Via dei Portici, a street 300 metres (980 ft) long, in the city centre with medieval carcades along its entire course, now housing countless high-street shops
  the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, which has the mummy of Ötzi the Iceman
  the Museion, the Museum of modern and contemporary art of Bolzano
  the Gothic Cathedral, started in 1184, expanded in the 14th century by architects Martin and Peter Schiche and completed in the early 16th century by Hans Lutz von Schussenried
  the Old Parish Church of Gries, with an altarpiece by Michael Pacher
  the benedictine monastery of Muri-Gries, with baroque paintings by Martin Knoller
  the Chiesa dei Domenicani/Dominikanerkirche (13th century), with a series of 14th-century Gothic paintings
  various castles, including Castle Maretsch, Runkelstein Castle and Firmian/Sigmundskron Castle
  Victory Monument, a triumphal arch built on the order of Benito Mussolini in 1928, site of a permanent exhibition on the regional history in the context of the two dictatorships of the Italian fascism and the German nazism
  the former Casa del Fascio, recontextualized in 2017
  Messner Mountain Museum of Reinhold Messner
  For more historical and geographical information see South Tyrol.
caption: Bolzano Cathedral
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