Father Borghesi's story takes place in the picturesque mountainous
region of what was then known as Venezia Tridentina (since 1947,
Trentino-Alto Adige) in northern Italy, along the Tyrolean border of
Austria. Because of its strategic position as the passage between
Innsbruck and Verona, the possession of the Tridentina was contested
again and again in the European wars, but during Father Borghesi's
lifetime, the Tridentina was under Austrian domination.
[Illustration: Figure 3.--PANORAMA of the village of Mechel in the
valley of the Non, birthplace of Father Borghesi.]
Deep within this mountainous district is the romantic valley of the Non,
or Anáuni, with its great forests and ancient castles. Most maps do not
mark it, and the tourist guides ignore it.[7] One of the chief
communities is Cles, with its historic Renaissance buildings. The major
city of the region is Trent on the Adige River, with its surviving Roman
relics and Romanesque and Renaissance architecture.
The little villages scattered throughout the valley of the Non played no
part in history, but such names as Mechel and Mocenigo di Rumo reflect
the interchange of sovereignty. It was in the little village of Mechel
that Francesco Borghesi was born in 1723.[8] Local records are meager
and inadequate, and many of the details of Borghesi's life must be
assumed. Inasmuch as the village was in a rural, agricultural district,
Borghesi may have come from a family of farmers, vintners, or village
tradesmen. Borghesi sought an education by entering the priesthood and
was ordained a secular priest in Salzburg. He was first assigned as
curate to the village parish of Rumo in the valley of the Non, a short
distance from his birthplace.[9] Later, he was transferred to his native
Mechel. He was inherently a man of simple tastes and of great piety. He
tended to the needs of his mountain villagers and attended the births,
weddings and deaths of his parishioners. It was during his assignment in
this tiny community that Father Borghesi met and became friendly with
the clockmaker, Bartolomeo Antonio Bertolla of nearby Mocenigo di Rumo.