Martell, South Tyrol

Martell (Martello ) is a valley and comune (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy. It is located in the Martell Valley of the 28.5 km long river Plima, about 45 km west of Bolzano. The commune reaches from an elevation of 957 m up to the 3757 m of the Zufallspitze (Italian: Monte Cevedale) which towers over the southeastern end of the valley. It is the only comune in Italy without any native speakers of Italian.

Geography
As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 884 and an area of 143.7 km2.

Martell borders mainly to the municipality of Latsch at the bottom of the valley. Other neighbors based in the Vinschgau of the Adige are Stilfs, Laas and Schlanders. Ulten is in the neighboring valley to the East, while Peio, Rabbi and Valfurva are to the south.

Frazioni
Apart from the main village of Gand (Ganda), the municipality of Martell contains the frazioni (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) of Ennetal (Val d'Enne), Ennewasser (Transacqua), Gand (Ganda), Meiern, and Sonnenberg (Montesole), as well as several farms and hotels.

Coat-of-arms
The emblem shows two-headed sable eagle, with an or halo, placed on argent mountain and azure background. The two colors means that the municipality reaches a high altitude, up to the glaciers. According to legend, the right to adorn the city arms with the imperial eagle was recognized for the courage showed, from the residents, in the Battle of Schanzen nearby Colorano. The emblem was adopted in 1969.

Linguistic distribution
According to the 2011 census, 100% of the population speak German as first language, making it the only comune in Italy without any native speakers of Italian.