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. During the Austrian time it was known by its German toponyms Rofreit and Rovereith.
Geography
Rovereto is east of Riva del Garda. Rovereto is the main city of the Vallagarina district. The town is located at the southern edge of the Italian Alps, near the Dolomites. It is bordered by Monte Cengialto to the east.
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 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 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.
The Casa d'Arte Futurista Depero, Italy's only museum dedicated to the Futurist movement, containing 3,000 objects. The Casa d'Arte Futurista Depero is one of MART's venues. Closed for many years for extensive refurbishment, it reopened in 2009.
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 was mentioned 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".
Economy
In the past Rovereto was an important centre for the manufacture of silk fabrics. Currently, wine, rubber, chocolate, glasses and coffee are the town's main businesses. Rovereto is the birthplace of Sferoflex eyeglasses, now taken over by Luxottica. Other relevant companies located in Rovereto are Marangoni Pneumatici, Sandoz Industrial Products S.p.A., Cioccolato Cisa, and Metalsistem. Rovereto is also home to Pama S.p.A machine tool builder.
