Laives

For the French commune, see Laives, Saône-et-Loire.

Laives (Italian: [ˈlaives]; German: Leifers [ˈlaɪfɐs]) is a town and a comune (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about 8 kilometres (5 mi) 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.

Laives
Comune
Comune di Laives Gemeinde Leifers
Panorama of Laives.
Location of Laives
Laives Location of Laives in Italy Show map of Italy Laives Laives (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol) Show map of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Coordinates: 46°26′N 11°20′E
Country	Italy
Region	Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
Province	South Tyrol (BZ)
Frazioni	Pineta (Steinmannwald), La Costa (Seit), San Giacomo (St. Jakob)
Government
• Mayor	Giovanni Seppi (SVP)
Area [1]
• Total	24.3 km2 (9.4 sq mi)
Elevation	258 m (846 ft)
Population  (Nov. 2010)[2]
• Total	17,168
• Density	710/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Italian: Laivesotti German: Leiferer
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	39055
Dialing code	0471
Website	Official website

Geography

As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 17,168 and an area of 24.3 square kilometres (9.4 sq mi).^[2]

Subdivisions

The municipality contains four urban centers:

• Laives (Leifers)
• Pineta (Steinmannwald)
• San Giacomo (St. Jakob)
• La Costa (Seit)

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.^[3]

Society

Linguistic distribution

According to the 2024 census, 74.47% of the population speak Italian, 25.16% German and 0.36% Ladin as first language.

Language	2001[4]	2011[5]	2024[6]
German	29.07%	27.99%	25.16%
Italian	70.42%	71.50%	74.47%
Ladin	0.51%	0.51%	0.36%

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

• Reinhard Dallinger (born 1950 in Laives) a retired zoologist and Professor of zoology and ecotoxicology

References

1. "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
2. All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute Istat.
3. Heraldry of the World: Laives
4. Oscar Benvenuto (ed.): "South Tyrol in Figures 2008", Provincial Statistics Institute of the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol, Bozen/Bolzano 2007, p. 17, table 10
5. "Volkszählung 2011/Censimento della popolazione 2011". astat info (38). Provincial Statistics Institute of the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol: 6–7. June 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
6. "Ergebnisse Sprachgruppenzählung 2024/Risultati Censimento linguistico 2024". astat info (56). Provincial Statistics Institute of the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol. December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.

External links

• Official website (in German and Italian)

Media related to Laives at Wikimedia Commons