Pontebba

Pontebba (Pontafel; Tablja; Ponteibe) is a comune (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Pontebba, named after ponte meaning "bridge", is situated at the confluence of the Pontebbana creek and the Fella River, itself a tributary of the Tagliamento. It is located about northwest of Trieste and about north of Udine, near the border with Austria. As of 31 October 2020, Pontebba had a population of 1,344 and an area of . The municipality contains the frazioni (boroughs) of Aupa, Loc. Casali Costa, Loc. Casali Graben, Loc. Frattis, Loc. Gamischen, Passo Pramollo, Loc. Piani, Pietratagliata, Lagleise San Leopoldo, Studena Alta, Studena Bassa Pontebba borders the following municipalities: Dogna in the south, Hermagor-Pressegger See (Austria) in the north, Malborghetto Valbruna in the east and Moggio Udinese in the west. From the early 10th century onward, Pontebbana Creek formed the border between the March of Verona, the former Lombard Duchy of Friuli to the south, and the Bavarian March of Carinthia to the north. After the 1420 conquest of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, the settlement of Pontebba south of the creek belonged to the Domini di Terraferma of Venice. The corresponding settlement of Pontafel north of the bridge belonged to the Carinthian Canal Valley, an exclave held by the Imperial Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg, which was incorporated into the Inner Austrian territories of the Habsburg dynasty in 1759. It was only in 1874 that the Telegraph came to Pontafel. The opening of a k.k. State telegraph station with "limited daily services" took place at the same time as in other smaller places of the monarchy. After World War I according to the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the border of the Kingdom of Italy with the Republic of Austria was shifted up the Canal Valley north to the town of Tarvisio. The two settlements of Pontebba and Pontafel finally merged on 15 August 1924.