Triora ( lij, Triöra) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the

province of Imperia The Province of Imperia ( it, Provincia di Imperia, french: Province d'Imperia, Ligurian: ''Provinsa d’Imperia'') is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the west, and the L ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

, located about southwest of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

and about northwest of

Imperia Imperia (; lij, Inpêia or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the Regions of Italy, region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Muss ...

, on the border with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 416 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute

Istat The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic ...

. The municipality of Triora contains the ''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist era (1922–1943) as ...

'' (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Bregalla, Cetta, Creppo, Goina, Loreto, Monesi, Realdo, Verdeggia, and Saccarello. Triora borders the following municipalities:

Briga Alta Briga Alta is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont. Geography The village is located about south of Turin and about southeast of Cuneo, on the border with France. Briga Alta borders the followi ...

Castelvittorio Castelvittorio ( lij, Caste, locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Imperia. Castelvittorio borders the following municipalities: Ap ...

La Brigue La Brigue (; lij, Briga; oc, La Briga; it, Briga Marittima) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. La Brigue became part of France after World War II, when Italy was forced to hand it over in September 1947 u ...

(France),

Mendatica Mendatica ( lij, Mendaiga or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northwest of Imperia. Mendatica borders the following municipalities: Briga Alta ...

Molini di Triora Molini di Triora ( lij, Moin de Triêua) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northwest of Imperia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 741 ...

Montegrosso Pian Latte Montegrosso Pian Latte ( lij, Montegrosso Cian de Laite) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northwest of Imperia. Geography As of 31 December 200 ...

, Pigna and

Saorge Saorge (; Royasc: ''Sauèrge''; Brigasc: ''Savurgë''; it, Saorgio, oc, Saorj, lij, Savurgiu) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Highway E74 which runs north from Menton, passes through Saorge on its way ...

(France).

Culture

The town is an elite member of , a list of the top 100 most beautiful medieval citadels in Italy. It also has been awarded a , a similarly prestigious achievement recognizing the best places for tourists to enjoy. Triora was the site of the last

witch trials A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern per ...

held in Italy, during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

. As such it has been selected as the location of a series of folklore- and horror-themed events and festivals in recent years. It has three annual festivals: a summer witchcraft festival, in August; and two autumn celebrations: the mushroom festival in September; and Halloween, at the end of October. Then there are the many smaller fairs of the year, including the Christmas bonfire on 24 December; St. John of the Meadows, the local patron saint's day, on 23 June; a chestnut fair in October; an All Souls Day fair, at the start of November; and a series of Easter parades, before, during and after Holy Week, each Spring.

Demographic evolution

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John of Triora

John of Triora, a Franciscan missionary martyr in China, was born near Triora in 1760.

Francesco Moraldo from Creppo

During all the period of the German occupation and of the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

, in the village of Creppo Francesco Moraldo (born Creppo, 30 December 1906 – 28 April 2001) hid in his house and protected from deportation two German Jewish orphans, nine and eleven years old. Moraldo had been a butler in

of the Italian banker

Angelo Donati Cavalier Angelo Donati (3 February 1885 – 30 December 1960) was a Jewish Italian banker and philanthropist, and a diplomat of the San Marino Republic in Paris. Biography Donati was born in Modena. Himself a Jew he was famous for saving Je ...

who had taken the children under his protection in July 1942 when their parents had been deported from

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. When Donati had to take refuge in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

after the Armistice of 8 September 1943, Moraldo took the children with him to his home village. The whole population of the village, informed of the situation, helped actively with their protection, despite the danger due to fights and frequent Germans roundups in the area. For this commitment to solidarity on 11 February 1999, the

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

Institute of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

awarded Francesco Moraldo the title of

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sav ...

.Israel Gutman, Bracha Rivlin e Liliana Picciotto, ''I giusti d'Italia: i non ebrei che salvarono gli ebrei, 1943-45'' (Mondadori: Milano 2006), pp. 170–1.

Twin towns — sister cities

Triora is twinned with: *

, France (2006)

Notes

References

External links

Official website

{{authority control Cities and towns in Liguria Rescue of Jews during the Holocaust