Monfalcone | ||
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Comune | ||
Comune di Monfalcone | ||
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Location of Monfalcone in Italy | ||
Coordinates: 45°48′N 13°32′E / 45.800°N 13.533°E | ||
Country | Italy | |
Region | Friuli-Venezia Giulia | |
Province / Metropolitan city | Gorizia (GO) | |
Frazioni | Archi, Aris, Bagni, Cima di Pietrarossa, Crosera, La Rocca, Lisert, Marina Julia, Marina Nova, Panzano, Pietrarossa, San Polo, Schiavetti, Serraglio, Via Romana-Solvay | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Anna Maria Cisint | |
Area | ||
• Total | 20 km2 (8 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 7 m (23 ft) | |
Population (2009) | ||
• Total | 28,101 | |
• Density | 1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi) | |
Demonym(s) | Monfalconesi | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
Postal code | 34074 | |
Dialing code | 0481 | |
Patron saint | St. Ambrose | |
Saint day | November 21 | |
Website | Official website |
Monfalcone [moɱfalˈkoːne] (in the local Bisiac dialect: Mofalcòn, Slovene: Tržič, German: Falkenberg) is a town and comune of the province of Gorizia (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy), located on the coast of the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means "Mount of Falcon" in Italian.
It is a major industrial centre for manufacturing ships, airplanes, textiles, chemicals and refined oil. It is the home of Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani.
Monfalcone is the fifth most populous town in Friuli - Venezia Giulia and the main centre of Bisiacaria territory. Joined to its neighbourhoods, it reaches about 50,000 inhabitants. The town lies between the Carso hills and the Adriatic Sea, being the northernmost port of the Mediterranean Sea.
In prehistoric times the area of Monfalcone housed several fortified villages called castellieri. After the foundation of the Roman city of Aquileia (181 BC), some thermal buildings were created on the hills, known as Insulae Clarae.
After the Ostrogoth, Byzantine, Lombard and Frank domination, Monfalcone was controlled by the Patriarch of Aquileia starting from 967. The Venetians conquered it in 1420 after three days of siege, keeping it until 1511, when it fell to the French. Conquered back by Venice, it was ravaged by the troops of emperor Maximilian I in 1513, who destroyed the Rocca. In 1521 it was returned to Venice, under which it remained until 1797. It was controlled by France until the fall of Napoleon, after which it became part of the Austrian Empire.