Where do place names come from?

Place names can take inspiration from the morphology of the ground, from the land use, from the presence of certain tree species or from the establishment of specific activities or from special artifacts.

In some cases, the type of farming practiced by humans in the past has left its mark in toponyms. An interesting case in this regard is that of some toponyms of Vallarsa: Vigna and its derivatives; Rébe and its derivatives. In fact, in Vallarsa, 21 are the place names having neo-Latin origin (vigna, i.e. vineyard): la Vigna del Pèrgola, i Vignai (7), el Vignale (2), el Vignalét e el Vignaléto (3), el Vignaléto vècio, le Vigne (4), le Vigne bianche, le Vigne bróice e le Vignéte. This municipality underwent German colonization during the Middle Ages and some toponyms stem also from the old Cimbrian name for vineyard, that is rébe. This is most probably the origin of the following place names Cadarében, al Carébe, al Giungrébe, le Rébe, Spinarébe, Rebelér, Reberau e Rebetal.

As shown in the paper, the areas for grape-vine cultivation are practically the same, whether they have been named with forms of neo-Latin origin, or whether they have been named with forms of Cimbrian origin: for example, the toponyms al Carébe, al Giungrébe and le Rébe, to the north of Sant’Anna, are to be found not far from the place names Vignale and Vignaléto; the toponym Spinarébe, to the south of Anghebeni - which is now a reforested area of terraced slopes -, is located at the centre of an area delimited by places called Vigne, Vignale e Vignéte.

Moreover, both toponyms with the place name Vigna and those with Rébe are to be found at altitudes between 380 and 820 metres. Only one of them is still a vineyard: the so-called Vigna del Pèrgola. All other areas of Vallarsa, which are vineyards nowadays, are located at lower altitudes (up to 770 m.). Maybe grape-vine was cultivated at higher altitudes at the time when people gave a name to these places.

For further details, see the volume I nomi locali del comune di Vallarsa (i.e. Local names in the municipality of Vallarsa) edited by Lydia Flöss - Trento: Autonomous Province of Trento. Servizio Beni librari e archivistici, 2009.