Crocetta del Montello

Crocetta del Montello
Comune
Crocetta seen from Collalto
Location of Crocetta del Montello
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	31035
Dialing code	0423

Crocetta del Montello (or Croseta del Montel in the local Venetian dialect), formerly Crocetta Trevigiana, is a comune (municipality) in the province of Treviso, in the Italian region of Veneto, located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northwest of Venice and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of Treviso. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,807 and an area of 26.4 square kilometres (10.2 sq mi).^[3]

The town lies about 3 kilometres (2 mi) southwest of the Piave river, and borders the municipalities of Cornuda, Montebelluna, Moriago della Battaglia, Pederobba, Vidor, and Volpago del Montello. The present name literally means "Little Cross of the Little Hill", and refers to the Montello, an isolated hillock, 5 by 13 kilometres (3 by 8 mi) in size and 371 metres (1,217 ft) in elevation, that rises from the Piave's alluvial plain at the west edge of the town.

History

Prehistory and antiquity

Traces of human occupation dating from the

Ciano takes its name from an ancient Roman temple devoted to the cult of Cyane. The temple's focus was the Buoro di Ciano spring, which presently lies at the end of a 10-metre (33 ft) long grotto, and whose water was reputed to be beneficial to the health.^[4]

Rural beginnings

In the

In 1882, Andrea Antonini, who owned a hemp rope mill in Venice, joined with fellow businessmen Pacifico Ceresa and Angelo Zorzetto to build the Canapificio Veneto Antonini Ceresa, on the west bank of the Brentella, which opened its doors in May 1883. The Canapificio dominated the town's economy for more than seven decades (1882–1958), and Antonini, its main owner and manager, became one of the most influential personalities in the town's history.

The first workers were recruited among the bisenti, but as the mill grew it attracted workers from the neighboring towns as well. Antonini sponsored the construction of popular housing for those workers along Via Sant'Anna (1890) and Piazza Cadorna (1896), and the establishment of basic services.

The first two

Antonini first had his own residence built inside the Canapificio, but in 1898 he started the construction of a new house, Villa Antonini, which is now a landmark of Crocetta. His old residence became the worker's ballroom.

Independence from Cornuda

Throughout the 19th century, Crocetta was only a suburb of the municipality of Cornuda. It only became an independent municipality on July 2, 1902, by detaching the hamlets Ciano and Nogarè. The split was an initiative of Lodovico Boschieri, then mayor of Cornuda, who became the first mayor of Crocetta.

In the years following the split, Crocetta gained a

Crocetta found itself on the front line of

The town's original name Crocetta Trevigiana was changed in 1928 by the Benito Mussolini government, to honor the soldiers who died fighting for control of the Montello hill during World War I. An orphanage, the Orfanotrofio Pontello, was built in the same year.

Over the following decade, the fascist regime took control of all freetime activities of the country's population through its Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro ("National Leisure Organization"), or OND. At Crocetta, the OND took over the Arts and Crafts school as its local headquarters. In 1935, the regime turned the Anonini Cultural Center into the Casa del Fascio ("House of Fascism").

Crocetta was badly hit by the global economic turmoil between the two World Wars, especially by the downturns of 1922 (the

Since the 19th century, the main access roads to the region were the Treviso- Feltre road (now the SR-348 regional highway), and the Via Erizzo road, built in 1817 (now the SP-2 provincial road).

The main road east from central Crocetta begins as Via Lodovico Boschieri and continues along the northern edge of the Montello ; it eventually turns south and reaches Nervesa della Battaglia as Via Decima SAS. It is locally known as the Panoramic Road for its views of the Piave valley. Along that road lie the eastern suburbs of Crocetta: Ciano (about 1.5 km), Botteselle (3 km), Sant'Urbano (3.5 km), Santa Margherita (4.0 km) and Santa Mama (4.5 km).

Centuries ago, Ciano and Santa Margherita were ports on the Piave, but the river has since shifted its course and now runs 2 km to the northwest of Ciano. To preserve their water supply, the Brentella was tapped near the borough of Croce del Gallo to create the Costelviero Canal, that runs along the Panoramic Road.

Westwards from central Crocetta, Via Lodovico Boschieri becomes Via Sant'Andrea and leads to the borough of Nogarè (2.5 km) and then to the Padova Industrial District (3.5 km).

Due to its position across the valley that connects Cornuda and Valdobiaddene at the north to Montebelluna, Treviso, and Venice in the southwest, Crocetta today suffers from heavy through-traffic that severely strains the local roads.

Culture

Crocetta del Montello has a very interesting civic museum, which houses a prehistoric horn of Mammoth and a small dinosaur skeleton, as well as many other archaeological finds.^[5] The museum was opened to the public in 1978 with the contribution of numerous archeology scholars, including prof. Giuliano Palmieri, teacher of Greek and Latin at the Antonio Canova state high school in Treviso until the early 2000s.^[6]

Economics

In the space of twenty years, from 1965 to 1985, thanks to the resourcefulness and intelligence of many entrepreneurs, about a hundred artisanal and industrial companies, including medium-large ones, entered the productive fabric of the Municipality, some of which are very significant: a dozen shoe factories, four to five mechanical companies, four packaging companies, three wineries, and others in the canning sector and in the industrial machinery sector.^[7] Today, Crocetta's economy is based on a network of family agriculture, small industries and services. Gravel and limestone are produced in the area. The town also benefits indirectly from wine production in nearby hills, notably the Prosecco from Valdobbiadene.

Demographic evolution

Foreign ethnicities and minorities

As of December 31, 2022, foreigners residents in the municipality were 660, i.e. 10.9% of the population. The largest groups are shown below:^[8][9]

1. Albania: 130
2. Morocco: 127
3. China: 90
4. Romania: 89
5. Macedonia: 49
6. Ucraina
   : 42
7. Brazil: 37

Administration

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References