Brixen - Bressanone

Brixen (Italian: Bressanone) is a town in South Tyrol. The first human settlements in the area date back to the Mesolithic age. During the restoration and consolidation of Piazza Duomo (1996), the remains of a hut dating back to around 2,500 years ago were discovered, at a depth of about 4 meters underground. The area was conquered by the Romans, who had their main settlement in the nearby Säben (Italian: Sabiona). They held it until around 590, when it was occupied by Bavarians. Between 960 and 990 the town's influence and participation in the Catholic Church grew dramatically. It was during this era that the first version of the current Cathedral of Brixen was built. Brixen became the seat of an independent ecclesiastical principate when the bishops from Säben moved the bishopric from there in 965 AD. In 1027, the entire Isarco Valley and the Inn Valley (including Brixen) were given as a gift to Bishop Hartwig by Emperor Conrad II. In 1179, Emperor Frederick I granted the royal rights of sovereignty. The bishops effectively ruled this area until March 23, 1797 when 12,000 men of Napoleon's troops, arrived and occupied the town.The bishopric was secularized in 1803 and annexed by the Austrian Empire. With the outbreak of the First World War, the city found itself a short distance from the Italian front. In November 1918, Italian troops occupied Brixen, which together with the whole of South Tyrol (Italian: Alto Adige) became part of the Kingdom of Italy.

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Brixen - Bressanone is a stopover point on The Via Romea Germanica. You can reach Civitas Vaticana - Città del Vaticano in 43 days and Bolzano - Bozen in 3 days.