Banner of the Federation of the Sette Comuni

The (, ) are seven that formed a Cimbrian enclave in the

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

region of north-east Italy. The area is also known as the or Asiago Plateau, and it was the site of a major battle between Austrian and Italian forces on the Alpine Front of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The most important is that of

Asiago Asiago (; Venetian language, Venetian: ''Axiago'', Cimbrian: ''Slege'', German language, German: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) with the title of ciin the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' o ...

, for which Asiago cheese is named. Cimbrian, a variety of

Upper German Upper German ( ) is a family of High German dialects spoken primarily in the southern German-speaking area (). History In the Old High German time, only Alemannic and Bairisch are grouped as Upper German. In the Middle High German time, East F ...

, was the native language, and the area was ethnically and culturally distinct from the surrounding comuni. The Sette Comuni are located in mountainous territory, ranging from 500 to 2300 metres above sea level.

Comuni

File:Asiago vi.jpg, Altopiano of the Sette Comuni File:7 Comuni.jpg, Coats of arms of the on the municipal hall of .

History

Territorio vicentino Dall Acqua map 17th century

The seven comuni formed into a loose commonwealth in 1310. They were historically under the suzerainty of the Milanese House of Visconti and then under the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. Under both they enjoyed wide cultural and political autonomy in exchange for their loyalty. This autonomous status came to an end with the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and the demise of the ''Serenìsima'' in 1807.

World War I

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the territory was located along the border between the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

and the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. Many battles took place here between 1915 and 1918 (the most important one was the

battle of Asiago The Südtirol Offensive, also known as the Battle of Asiago or Battle of the Plateaux (in Italian: Battaglia degli Altipiani), wrongly nicknamed ''Strafexpedition'' "Punitive expedition" (this name has no reference in official Austrian document ...

). Almost all the towns were completely destroyed by the war. File:Asiago. Zerstörte Häuser. (BildID 15636522).jpg, Asiago destroyed during World War I File:Schützengraben am Monte Zebio. Im Hintergrund die Ortschaft Asiago K 24.222 (BildID 15626503).jpg, Austro-Hungarian soldiers in the woods of the Sette Comuni (Mount Zebio)

Cimbrian

Cimbrian has gone extinct in most of the comuni. Only in and its district of (, ) has Cimbrian survived. is home to the Agustin Prunner Cultural Institute, which is a repository of the Cimbrian culture and cooperates with other linguistic enclaves in , , Sappada, Sauris, the Thirteen Communities and Timau. Vestiges of the language are found in family and place names, which are mostly still Cimbrian.

References

External links