Mattarella in Merano for Trento and Bolzano autonomy: “You are not a foreigner in your own home”

Sergio Mattarella and Alexander Van der Bellen arrived at Merano’s Kursaal to mark the 80th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the accord that established autonomy for Trento and Bolzano.

Signed on September 5, 1946, the agreement, also known as the De Gasperi-Gruber Agreement, has become a model of peaceful coexistence over the decades. The two presidents received the Grand Order of Merit of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, its highest honor.

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The Paris Agreement was the result of the far-sighted determination of two statesmen who knew how to identify an innovative and courageous solution to the South Tyrol question.

Mattarella described the Paris accord as the product of the “far-sighted determination of two statesmen” who found an innovative and courageous solution to the South Tyrol question. He said the agreement reflected a principle later reaffirmed in Italy’s Constitution: people should not be considered outsiders or foreigners in their own homes.

“Republic and autonomy have accompanied the development of Italian democracy,” Mattarella said. He added that borders, once historic natural or artificial obstacles, had become meeting points for communities and peoples seeking to live in harmony and prosper together.

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Republic and autonomy have accompanied the development of Italian democracy in these decades.