Prior to World War One, Bolzano (or Bozen as it's known in German – both names are official) was the largest city in South Tyrol, a mountainous province within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Both city and province were overwhelmingly German speaking, but at the 1919 Peace Conference they were awarded to Italy on security grounds. South Tyrol would provide Italy with a natural northern border along the ridgeline of Alps, and grant it control of the strategic Brenner Pass.
