Laives is a town and a comune (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about 8 km south of the city of Bolzano. It is one of only five mainly Italian speaking municipalities in South Tyrol, and the fourth largest municipality in the province.

Geography

As of November 30, 2010, it had a population of 17,168 and an area of 24.3 km2.

Subdivisions

The municipality contains four urban centers: Laives is the seat of the town hall, Pineta and San Giacomo are two frazioni (hamlets), while La Costa is - according to the municipal statute - a località (inhabited locality), but it is often referred to as a frazione also in the official documentation. The Brantental valley connects it with Deutschnofen.

History

Coat-of-arms

The emblem consists of an argent pile, with concave sides on azure and a chapel on a mountain of gules. The sign, similar to that of the Counts of Lichtenstein who lived in the castle on Mount Köfele, represents the church of Peterköfele. The emblem was adopted in 1970.

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2011 census, 71.50% of the population speak Italian, 27.99% German and 0.51% Ladin as first language.

Culture

The carnival of Laives is one of the most important carnivals of Trentino-South Tyrol. The city is also the headquarters of the Coro Monti Pallidi, an all-man a capella chorus founded in 1967 by Sergio Maccagnan and conducted since 2004 by Paolo Maccagnan.

Notable people