Historical archive of the Municipality of Tuenno

Fonds of Tuenno’s municipality

The historical archive of Tuenno is fundamental for the reconstruction of the history of Tovel valley territories. The territory of the municipality has a rich history within the Tovel valley, from the north of Brenta Group, it is one of the most ancient centres of Val di Non.

In the research carried out at the Tuenno archive, specific documents on the Tovel lake reddening phenomenon are not present, except for one sub-file named “Note di limnologia trentina” that contains an article written by Giuseppe Merciai in 1935 about the first reddening phenomenon observations.

However, the archive is fundamentally important because there are documents on land use in the Tovel valley by the local population, focusing on wood utilization and timber rights of the homonym valley.

In this respect, we note many records of the period from 1612 up to 1859 (but also earlier, starting from the 14^th century) regarding disputes on the valley timber rights between the Tuenno community and the Counts Spaur of Castel Valer; controversy about the borders of Tovel wood among the municipalities of Flavon, Terres and Cunevo on one side and Tuenno on the other. An analysis of the documents shows how the forest has an important role in the Tuenno village economy, specifically during the second decade of the eighteenth century (for further details see Franceschini, 2006).

Such documentation, which allows us to understand activities related to the Tovel valley environment, was also found to be present in a later period.

In the late 19^th century and throughout the 20th the exploitation of wood was present in the livelihood activities of local populations and also new activities were added such as the building of hotel facilities near the lake.

Of particular historical significance for the Tovel basin are the documents dated around the first quarter of the 19^th century: the deed of sale from when the municipality of Tuenno bought the lake in 1924 for the sum of 21,000£ from Counts Firmian.

The events surrounding disputes regarding the lake between the Trentino power company and the municipality happened in the same years.

Furthermore, in the archive there is a statement of the then Ministry of education (Directorate-General for Antiquities and Fine Arts) that, in accordance with Article 2 Law No 778 of 11 June 1922, considered lake Tovel a national monument to be protected. The lake, therefore, was included in the Italian cultural heritage.

Moreover, there is also a remarkable statement on the lake, by the same Ministry, declared during the Convention on Wetlands signed in Ramsar on 2 February 1971 that included the lake among the wet areas of international value to be protected.

The archive is a must-see for any researcher seeking to deepen their knowledge and investigate issues related to human activities in relation to the Tovel valley environment, starting from the first half of the 14^th century until today.