(Corvara) As a Rhaeto-Romance language, Ladin was part of a large area, which about 1000 AD stretched from
Ticino (
Tessin) and
Grisons in the
Swiss Alps to the
Julian Alps (in present-day
Slovenia) in the east. The Ladin people developed a national identity during the 19th century, when most of the area—except for the Venetian parts—was incorporated into the
Princely County of Tyrol and, as part of the
Austrian Empire, underwent a process of
Germanisation. The local peasants were called
Welsche by Germans (similar to
Wenden or
Windische for Slavs), while they called themselves "
Latin" (
Ladin). The Ladin movement was sparked by the
Tyrolean Rebellion during the
Napoleonic Wars; in 1833, the Ladin language was codified by Micurà de Rü (alias Nikolaus Bacher, 1789–1847), a priest from
Badia. A
Naziun Ladina association was established in 1870 by several seminarists in
Brixen, among them Saint
Joseph Freinademetz; followed by the
Uniun Ladina, founded in 1905 at
Innsbruck, which also maintained relations with
Romansh and
Friulian organisations. Ceded to Italy after
World War I, the Ladin community, in spite of its high level of identification with the land, did not enjoy any official recognition. On 5 May 1920, representatives from the Ladin valleys met at
Gardena Pass to protest against the resolutions of the
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and to demand their rights of
self-determination according to the
Fourteen Points outlined by US President
Woodrow Wilson. A blue-white-green flag was adopted, symbolising Ladinia's forests, the snow-covered peaks, and the blue sky above. The Ladin movement was suppressed under the
Italian Fascist regime, when many Ladin citizens joined the German emigrants under the terms of the 1939
South Tyrol Option Agreement. After World War II, an
Uniun Generela was re-established and the Ladin flag was again occasionally displayed. In 1976, the
Istitut Ladin Micurà de Rü was founded at
San Martin de Tor for the promotion of the Ladin culture. The
Museum Ladin opened in 2001 at nearby Tor Castle. ==Territory==