Tramontane ( ) is a classical name for a northern wind. The exact form of the name and precise direction varies from country to country. The word came to English from Italian tramontana, which developed from Latin language trānsmontānus (trāns- + montānus), "beyond/across the mountains",[Il grande dizionario italiano. , ed.2020, Garzanti Editore]
Traditions in various countries and regions
Spain
In
Spain the wind is called the
tramuntana or in
Catalan language and
tramontana in
Spanish language, Galician and
Basque language. The wind also lends its name to the Serra de Tramuntana in
Mallorca. The wind is prevalent in the northern Mediterranean coast (
Catalonia,
Mallorca,
Menorca) and can be so strong as to be disturbing; there is a saying in Catalan culture (specially in Empordà) that refers to a person as «touched by tramuntana» (
tocat per la tramuntana) when they behave oddly or seemly lost their marbles. Salvador Dalí was often referred to as someone
tocat per la tramuntana in his native Empordà.
Croatia
On the
Adriatic coast it is called
tramontana (pronounced
tramòntāna, in
Dalmatia), with a number of local variations (termuntana, trmuntana, t(a)rmuntona and others). Like levant, it is considered a transitional wind, associated with the change of weather, which frequently transforms into bora. Like bora, it is a strong wind capable of generating large waves, but is less gusty.
France
The
tramontane in France is a strong, dry cold wind from the north (on the Mediterranean) or from the northwest (in lower
Languedoc, Roussillon,
Catalonia and the
Balearic Islands).
[defined in the article Tramontane (vent) in the French-language Wikipedia (see external links).] It is similar to the mistral in its causes and effects, but it follows a different corridor; the tramontane accelerates as it passes between the
Pyrenees and the
Massif Central, while the mistral flows down the
Rhone Valley between the
Alps and the Massif Central.
The tramontane is created by the difference of pressure between the cold air of a high pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean or northwest Europe and a low pressure system over the Gulf of Lion in the Mediterranean. The high-pressure air flows south, gathering speed as it moves downhill and is funnelled between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central.
According to French sources, the name was used in its present form at the end of the 13th century by Marco Polo, in 1298. It was borrowed from the Latin language transmontanus and the Italian tramontana, meaning not just "across the mountains" but also "the North Star" (literally the star "above the mountains"), since the Alps marked the north for the Italic people. The French term tresmontaine, cited as early as 1209 and still used in the 15th century, was borrowed directly from the Latin.
The word moved from Latin into French with the meanings "North Star" and also "the guide". In 1636 the French expression " perdre la tramontane" meant "to be disorientated."[Dictionnaire historique de la langue française" ( Dictionnaires Le Robert 1998, tome 3 Pr–Z, page 3886)]
The continuous howling noise of the tramontane is said to have a disturbing effect upon the psyche. In his poem "Gastibelza", Victor Hugo has the main character say, " Le vent qui vient à travers la montagne me rendra fou..." (The wind coming over the mountain will drive me mad...)
Greece
In
Greece,
tramountána () is used as a
nautical term to define not only the northern wind, but also the northern direction and even the cardinal point of north on a compass.
Italy
In Italy it is called
tramontana .
It is a northeasterly or northerly winter wind that blows from the Alps and Apennines (South of the Alps) to the Italian coast. It is very prevalent on the west coast of Italy and Northern
Corsica. It is caused by a
weather system from the west following a depression on the Mediterranean, due to the minimum baric level in the Ligurian Sea between Genoa and Corsica, which recalls strong winds. It is strongest before sunrise, when it can reach speeds of 70 km/h (45 mph). It is a fresh wind of the fine weather mistral type.
A clear sky can occur, or a cloudy sky and precipitation when associated with a perturbed system. This last case is called in Liguria "dark Tramontane" ( Tramontana Scura), which in Liguria is activated following the invortication of the perturbations coming from the west (or even south-west or north-west) on the Ligurian Sea; for this reason a proverb in the Ligurian language states: "tramuntann-a scüa, ægua següa" ("dark north wind, sure rain").
In Italy the expression on board, " to lose the Tramontane" ( perdere la tramontana), which meant losing one's orientation, then has passed into the common language with the same metaphorical meaning.
Slovenia
In
Slovenia a word
tramontana is used for a strong northerly, often
hurricane-force wind that blows from the
Alps to the
Venice bay over
Trieste, Slovenian coast and
Istria with gusts sometimes as high as 200 km/h (usually 80 km/h). It has a transitional nature (from 2 to 4 hours in
Koper bay) and it often quickly turns to a bora. Due to its strength, it can uproot trees and often damages boats by crashing them into the coast.
[ Slovenian winds (bottom)][ Naval Research Laboratory in Monterey, California – Mediterranean Severe Weather Port Guide]
See also
Notes
External links
