Bressanone
[key], Ger. Brixen, town, Trentino–Alto Adige, N
Italy, on the Brenner Road, and at the confluence of the Isarco and Rienza
rivers. Bressanone and its surrounding territory were ruled by
prince-bishops from the 11th cent. In 1803 the bishopric was secularized and
passed to Austria as a part of the Tyrol. The town passed to Italy with the S
Tyrol in 1919; it retains a mixed German and Italian population. Of note are
the cathedral (13th cent., with a baroque interior) and the Palazzo
Vescovile (17th cent.).
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