the southern Alps. The region is composed of two provinces, Trentino in the south and South Tyrol in the north. Trentino has an area of , most of it mountainous land (20% is over and 70% over 1,000 m) and covered by vast forests (50% of the territory). The climate is various through the province, from an alpine climate to subcontinental one, with warm and variable summers and cold and quite snowy winters. The region has always been a favourite destination for tourists, both in winter for skiing in the high mountains and in summer to visit the wide valleys and many lakes (the largest being Lake Garda). South Tyrol has an area of , all of it mountainous land and covered by vast forests. The climate is of the continental type, owing to the influence of the many mountain ranges which stand at well over above sea level and the wide valleys through which flow the main river, the Adige, from north to south and its numerous tributaries. In the city of Bolzano, capital of the province, the average air temperature stands at and the average rainfall at . The lowest pass across the Alps, the Brenner Pass, is located at the far north of the region on the border with Austria. Politics The region is divided into two autonomous provinces: Trentino (Autonomous Province of Trento) and South Tyrol (Autonomous Province of Bolzano). The Italian Republic recognised a certain degree of autonomy for the region and its two constituent provinces, which was the result of the Gruber–De Gasperi Agreement of 1946, as well as of the special status of autonomy approved by constitutional law in 1948. This statute gave the region the right to initiate its own laws on a wide range of subjects and to carry out respective administrative functions. In 1972, the introduction of the second Statute of Autonomy, which was in the centre of the discussions between the Italian and Austrian governments, meant the transfer of the main competencies from the region to the two provinces. The autonomy recognized by the special statute covers the political, legislative, administrative, and fiscal institutions. The second statute turned the region de facto into a loose commonwealth with devolved powers to the two autonomous provinces, with very limited legislative or executive competencies left. The capital city is Trento, although the two provincial capitals alternate biennially (the other being Bolzano) as