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Coat of arms of Zadar/Zara, the capital city of Dalmatia for the majority of its history (until the 1920s).

Dalmatian Italians are one of the historical ethnic groups of Dalmatia (in today's Republics of Croatia and Montenegro).
After 1840's the ethnic group suffered from a constant trend of decreasing presence and now numbers only around 1,000 people. This ethnic group, exerted a significant influence on the region during its 1,000-year long history.

They are currently represented in Croatia and Montenegro by the Italian National Community (Italian: Comunità Nazionale Italiana) (CNI). The Italo-Croatian minorities treaty recognizes the Italian Union (Unione Italiana) as the political party officially representing the CNI in Croatia.[1] The number of Dalmatian Italians in that country has fallen to 300, and the Italian Union concentrates on the Istrian region and the city of Rijeka (Fiume), which are home to the vast majority of the Croatian Italian national minority, that numbers around 30,000 citizens.

In Dalmatia the most important centres of the CNI are in Zadar (Zara), Split (Spalato) and Kotor (Cattaro). [2][3]

History

The "Roman Dalmatia" in the Middle age

During the Barbarian Invasions Avars with some Slavic allies, invaded and plundered Byzantine Illyria. This led to the settlement of different Slavic tribes in the Balkan. The original Latin population endured within the safe coastal cities and in the inhospitable Dinaric Alps (the latter were later known as "Morlachs"). So, the Dalmatian cities retained their original Latin culture and language, such in Diadora (Zadar), Spalatum (Split) and Ragusa (Dubrovnik).

These coastal cities (still under Byzantine rule) maintained political, cultural and economic links with their Latin relatives in Italy through the Adriatic Sea ^[1].

Republic of Venice (998 - 1797)

Dalmatian possessions of the *Venetian republic* and the *Republic of Ragusa* in 1560.

Starting from the 10th century, the Republic of Venice began to impose its influence on maritime Dalmatia. However, while Venetian influence could be felt, actual political rule over the province often changed hands between the Republic and other regional powers (the Kingdom of Croatia first, and the Kingdom of Hungary later).
In 1409 Venice finally purchased the "rights to Dalmatia", from the king Ladislas of Naples.
Within 10 years, the Republic achieved control over most of Dalmatia (with the exception of the Republic of Ragusa) and maintained its rule for a 376 years (from 1420 to 1797), even if with constants wars against the Ottomans. During the centuries of Venetian rule, the area of Dalmatia south of Ragusa was called Albania Veneta, now part of coastal Montenegro.

Dalmatian Italians in the Republic of Venice

In these centuries, Italians (Venetians) began migrating to the Dalmatian off-shore territories of the Republic (known as Venetian Dalmatia), while a process of gradual italianization took place among the native population. The Romanic Dalmatians of the cities were the most susceptible because of their romance culture and was completely assimilated, while the larger Slavic (Croatian) population proved more resistant, partly because of its size and the cultural unsimilarity, and partly because the Slavs (Croats) were mostly situated in the hinterland and the islands.

The Venetian dialect of the Italian language (also known as the Venetian language) became the lingua franca of Dalmatia, assimilating the Romance Dalmatian language of the Romanic Dalmatians, and influencing partially the Dalmatian Chakavian dialect of the Croatian language [4], as well as the Albanian language.^[2] Zara (Zadar) was the capital of Dalmatia during this period (a role it maintained all the way to the 1920's, when it became gradually replaced by Split).

Napoleonic wars and the Illyrian provinces (1796 - 1815)

The First French Empire with the Illyrian Provinces, in 1811.

In the year 1796, during the Napoleonic wars, the Venetian Republic was dissolved and subsequently partitioned between the French Republic and the Austrian Empire. France received the mainland Venetian territory (Veneto), while Austria received Dalmatia and the remainder of Istria. However, during the War of the Fifth Coalition the Austrians suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Wagram (1809) and were subsequently forced to sign the Treaty of Schönbrunn. With this treaty they ceded Dalmatia (along with other provinces) to the Empire of France, which led to the creation of the Illyrian provinces (South Slavs were mistakenly considered Illyrians at the time) under General Auguste Marmont.
After the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the entire territory of the former Venetian republic was granted to the Austrian Empire by the Congress of Vienna. This marked the beginning of 100 years (1815 - 1918) of Austrian rule in Dalmatia.

Dalmatia under Austrian rule (1815 - 1918)

During the period of the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Dalmatia was a separate administrative unit. According to the linguist Matteo Bartoli, by the beginning of this period 33% of the Dalmatian population was Venetian-speaking.^[3] In 1867, the Empire was reorganised as the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia was assigned to the Hungarian part of the Empire, while Dalmatia remained in the Austrian.

After the revolutions of 1848 and after the 1860s, as a result of the romantic nationalism, two factions appeared.
The first was the pro-Croatian or Unionist faction (later also known as the "Puntari"), led by the People's Party and, to a lesser extent, the Party of Rights , both of which advocated the union of Dalmatia with Croatia-Slavonia wich were under Hungarian administration.
The second was the pro-Italian Autonomist faction (also called the "Irredentist" faction), the political goals of wich varied from autonomy within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to a political union with Italy.

The political alliances in Dalmatia shifted over time. At the beginning, the Unionists and Autonomists (Irredentists) were allied together, against centralism of Vienna. After a while, when the national question came to prominence, they split. The Unionist faction won the elections in Dalmatia in 1870, but they were prevented from following through with the merger with the rest of Croatia due to the intervention of the Austrian imperial government, which dreaded the loss of precious coastline territories to the Hungarians.

Dalmatian Italians in the Austrian (Austro-Hungarian) Empire

The Austrian century was a time of decline for the Dalmatian Italians. Starting from the 1840s, large numbers of the Italian minority were croatised, or emigrated, as a consequence of the unfavourable situation and conflicts with the Croatian majority, as well as the Austrian central rule.

According to two Austro-Hungarian censi^[4], the Dalmatian Italians constituted 12.5% of the population in 1865, and were reduced to 3.1% in 1890.

These censi results referred to all of Dalmatia, while the Italians were present only in the coastal cities and (to a lesser extent) in some of the islands. For example, in the Austro-Hungarian census of 1910 the city of Zara (Zadar) had an Italian population of 9,318 (or 69.3% out of the total of 13,438 inhabitants).

The interwar period and World War II (1918 - 1954)

File:MORLACCHI.QUARNARO.jpg

Ethnic distribution in the northern Dalmatian islands in 1910:

Italians

Croats

Slovenes

Following the conclusion of World War I and the disintegration of Austria-Hungary, the vast majority of Dalmatia became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia).
Italy entered the war on the side of the Entente in 1915, after the secret London Pact, which included the a great part of Dalmatia and (especially) the port of Zara (Zadar). However, the pact was nullified in the Treaty of Versailles due to the objections of American president Woodrow Wilson. In Dalmatia Italy received the city of Zara, as well as the islands of Cherso, Lussino and Lagosta.

After 1922 Fascism came to power in Italy. The fascist policies he supported included strong national policies. Minorities rights severely were reduced Relations with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia were severely affected and constantly remained tense. Not least because of the lasting dispute over the northern Adriatic port of Fiume, which was declared a free state by the League of Nations but was assailed by Italian nationalist (led by Gabriele d'Annunzio). In the end the city was divided between Italy and Yugoslavia.

During World War II Zara (Zadar) was the capital of Italian-occupied Yugoslavia, the Governorate of Dalmatia (Governatorato di Dalmazia).

Dalmatian Italians after World War I

During the interwar period, the population of Dalmatian Italians in the Yugoslavian Dalmatia continued its steady decrease. After WWI a large number of Italians (allegedly nearly 20,000) moved from the areas of Dalmatia assigned to the newly created Kingdom of Yugoslavia and resettled inside the new borders of the Kingdom of Italy, mostly in Zara.

In Zara some Croats left due to the oppressive policies and forced italianization undertaken by the fascist government. Similar oppression was undertaken in Yugoslav Dalmatia with the remaining Dalmatian Italians. All this created an intense resentment between the two ethnic groups. Where once there was conflict only on the highest levels (and social classes), there was now an increasing mutual hatred present in varying degrees among the entire population.

The decrease of Dalmatian Italians

File:DialettiItalia media.jpg

The Venetian dialect of the Dalmatian Italians was classified in 1920 by G. Tagliavicini as a northern Italian dialect (dialetto settentrionale italiano).

Reasons

There are several reasons for the decrease of the Dalmatian Italian population after the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1796:^[5]

One is related to the emergence of Croatian and Italian nationalism (see Italia irredenta), and the sunsequent inevitable conflict of the two.
Another can be related to the emmigration motivated by economic reasons of many Italians toward the growing industrial regions of northern Italy before World War I.

Stages

The process of the decline had various stages^[6] :

After World War I, as a result of the creation of Yugoslavia (where all Dalmatia was included, save Zara (Zadar) and some northern Dalmatian islands), there was an emigration of 25000 Dalmatian Italians, mainly toward Italy and Zara.
During World War II, Italy occupied large chunks of the Yugoslav coast and created the Governoriate of Dalmatia (Governatorato di Dalmazia) (1941 - 1943), with three Italian provinces, Zara (Zadar), Spalato (Split) and Cattaro (Kotor). As a consequence Zara was heavily bombarded by the Allies and heavily damaged in 1943, with numerous civilian casualties.
After World War II Italy ceded all remaining Italian areas in Dalmatia to the new SFR Yugoslavia. This was followed by a massive emigration of nearly all the remaining Dalmatian Italians. Currently there are only 300 of them in Croatia.

Modern-day presence in Dalmatia

Currently, after the Italian exodus from Dalmatia^[7] following World War II, the Dalmatian Italians were reduced to 300 in Croatian Dalmatia and 500 in Montenegro.

They are to be found in the coastal cities:

in Croatia: Zadar (Zara), Split (Spalato), Trogir (Trau), Šibenik (Sebenico).
in Montenegro: Kotor (Cattaro), Perast (Perasto), Budva (Budua).

In Croatia, there are 30,000 Italians mostly found in communities in the city of Rijeka (Fiume), and particularly in the Istrian peninsula.

The Dalmatian Italians were a fundamental presence in Dalmatia, when the process of political unification of the Italians, Croats and Serbs started at the beginning of the 19th century. The 1816 Austro-Hungarian census registered 66,000 Italian speaking people between the 301,000 inhabitants of Dalmatia, or 22% of the total dalmatian population.^[8]

After those years their presence constantly decreased, until their nearly disappearance after WWII. That means that in nearly two centuries the Dalmatian Italians' presence was reduced from nearly a quarter of the population to less than 1,000 people (not counting the 4,000 living outside Dalmatia).

Main Dalmatian Italian associations

In contemporary Dalmatia there are several associations of Dalmatian Italians, mainly located in important coastal cities:

The Italian Community of Zadar (Communita Italiana di Zara). Founded in 1991 in Zadar (Zara), with an Assembly of 17 members. The current president is Rina Villani (who has been recently elected [5] in the Zadar county, or Županija). The former president of the CI, Dr. Libero Grubišić, started the first Italian courses in the city after the close of all the Italian school in Zadar in 1953. The actual vicepresident, Silvio Duiella, has promoted the creation of an Italian Choral of Zadar under the direction of Adriana Grubelić. In the new offices, the CI has a library and organizes several courses of Italian and conferences. [6]

The Italian Community of Split (Communita Italiana di Spalato). Was created in 1993 in Split (Spalato), with an office near the city's trademark Riva seashore. The president is Eugenio Dalmas and the legal director is Mladen Dalbello. In the office, the CI houses several courses of Italian language and conferences.[7]

The Italian Community of Mali Lošinj (Communita Italiana di Lussinpiccolo). Created in 1990 in the northern Dalmatian island of Lošinj (Lussino). This CI was founded thanks to Stelio Cappelli (first president) in this little island, that belonged to the Kingdom of Italy from 1918 to 1947. It has 21 members under the actual leadership of Anna Maria Saganici, Livia Andrijčić and Andrino Maglievaz. The activities are done in a place offered by the local authorities. The library has been donated by the local Rotary Club.[8]

The Italian Community of Kotor (Communita Italiana di Cattaro), in Kotor (Cattaro) is being registered officially (with the "Unione Italiana") as the Italian Community of Montenegro (Comunita' degli Italiani in Montenegro). In connection with this registration, the "Center for Dalmatian Cultural Research" (Centro Ricerche Culturali Dalmate) has opened in 2007 the Venetian house in Kotor to celebrate the Venetian heritage in coastal Montenegro.

The "Dante Alighieri" Association. The "Dante Alighieri" is an Italian government organization that promotes Italian language in the world, with the help of the Italian speaking communities outside Italy. In Dalmatia is present in:

- Zadar (Zara) [9]

- Split (Spalato) [10]

- Dubrovnik (Ragusa) [11]

- Kotor (Cattaro) [12]

In the city of Rijeka (Fiume), that geographer Vialli considers partially dalmatian, the 7000 Italians have the local Comunita Italiana [13], the Dante Alighieri [14] and the Dramma Italiano (a theater organization in Italian language, based in the Croat National Theater Ivan Zajc).

Outside of Dalmatia there are thousands of Dalmatian Italians, mainly in Italy, who are organized in several associations of exiles (for example, the one from Lošinj/Lussinpiccolo [15]). The most well known is the Free City of Zadar in exile (Libero Comune di Zara in esilio), famous for promoting irredentist sentiments.

Contemporary famous Dalmatian Italians

More than 20,000 Dalmatian Italians participated in the Italian Exodus from the dalmatian territories of the Kingdom of Italy, obtained by Yugoslavia after WWII. Many thousands of them still live in a suburb of Rome, called from them Quartiere Dalmato. Someone has international fame, like the fashion designer Ottavio Missoni, the writer Enzo Bettiza and the industrial tycoon Giorgio Luxardo.

The most renowned magazine of the Dalmatian Italians is Il Dalmata, published in Trieste by Renzo de' Vidovich. [16]

File:Ottavio Missoni.jpg

Ottavio Missoni

Small list of living and renowned "Dalmatian Italians":

Enzo Bettiza, journalist and international writer from Split (Spalato)
Ottavio Missoni, international fashion designer from Dubrovnik (Ragusa)
Renzo de' Vidovich, writer and editor of "Il Dalmata"
Franco Luxardo, major of the Free City of Zadar in Exile
Giorgio Luxardo, owner of the famous "Maraschino" liquor distillery
Simone Filippo Stratico, writer and university professor
Rina Villani, president of the Italian Community of Zadar
Eugenio Dalmas, president of the Italian Community of Split
Adriana Grubelić, director of the Italian choral of Zadar (Zara)
Tullio Crali, futurist painter
Giuseppe Lallich (Josip Lalić), Split (Spalato) painter
Secondo Raggi, Zadar (Zara) painter
Franco Ziliotto, Zadar (Zara) painter
Waldese Coen, Split (Spalato) sculptor

References

^ Encyclopedia Britannica 1911 Dalmatia
^ Bartoli, Matteo. Le parlate italiane della Venezia Giulia e della Dalmazia
^ Seton-Watson, "Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870-1925". pag. 107
^ Perselli, Guerrino. I censimenti della popolazione dell'Istria, con Fiume e Trieste, e di alcune città della Dalmazia tra il 1850 ed il 1936
^ Seton-Watson, Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870-1925. pag. 47-48
^ Colella, Amedeo. L'esodo dalle terre adriatiche. Rilevazioni statistiche. pag 54
^ Petacco, Arrigo. L'esodo, la tragedia negata degli italiani d'Istria, Dalmazia e Venezia Giulia
^ Montani, Carlo. Venezia Giulia, Dalmazia - Sommario Storico - An Historical Outline

Bibliography

Bartoli, Matteo. Le parlate italiane della Venezia Giulia e della Dalmazia. Tipografia italo-orientale. Grottaferrata 1919.
Colella, Amedeo. L'esodo dalle terre adriatiche. Rilevazioni statistiche. Edizioni Opera per Profughi. Roma, 1958
Čermelj, Lavo. Sloveni e Croati in Italia tra le due guerre. Editoriale Stampa Triestina, Trieste, 1974.
Montani, Carlo. Venezia Giulia, Dalmazia - Sommario Storico - An Historical Outline. terza edizione ampliata e riveduta. Edizioni Ades. Trieste, 2002
Perselli, Guerrino. I censimenti della popolazione dell'Istria, con Fiume e Trieste, e di alcune città della Dalmazia tra il 1850 e il 1936. Centro di ricerche storiche - Rovigno, Trieste - Rovigno 1993.
Petacco, Arrigo. L'esodo, la tragedia negata degli italiani d'Istria, Dalmazia e Venezia Giulia, Mondadori, Milano, 1999.
Pupo, Raoul; Spazzali, Roberto. Foibe. Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2003.
Rocchi, Flaminio. L'esodo dei 350.000 giuliani, fiumani e dalmati. Difesa Adriatica editore. Roma, 1970
Seton-Watson, "Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870-1925", John Murray Publishers, Londra 1967.

External links

[1] Encyclopedia Britannica 1911 Dalmatia

[2] Bartoli, Matteo. Le parlate italiane della Venezia Giulia e della Dalmazia

[3] Seton-Watson, "Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870-1925". pag. 107

[4] Perselli, Guerrino. I censimenti della popolazione dell'Istria, con Fiume e Trieste, e di alcune città della Dalmazia tra il 1850 ed il 1936

[5] Seton-Watson, Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870-1925. pag. 47-48

[6] Colella, Amedeo. L'esodo dalle terre adriatiche. Rilevazioni statistiche. pag 54

[7] Petacco, Arrigo. L'esodo, la tragedia negata degli italiani d'Istria, Dalmazia e Venezia Giulia

[8] Montani, Carlo. Venezia Giulia, Dalmazia - Sommario Storico - An Historical Outline

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@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 In [[1409]] Venice finally purchased the "rights to Dalmatia", from the king [[Ladislas of Naples]]. <br>
 Within 10 years, the Republic achieved control over most of Dalmatia (with the exception of the [[Republic of Ragusa]]) and maintained its rule for a 376 years (from [[1420]] to [[1797]]), even if with constants wars against the Ottomans.
+During the centuries of Venetian rule, the area of Dalmatia south of Ragusa was called [[Albania Veneta]], now part of coastal Montenegro. <br>
 === Dalmatian Italians in the Republic of Venice ===
 In these centuries, Italians (Venetians) began migrating to the Dalmatian off-shore territories of the Republic (known as ''Venetian Dalmatia''), while a process of gradual [[italianization]] took place among the native population. The Romanic Dalmatians of the cities were the most susceptible because of their romance culture and was completely assimilated, while the larger Slavic ([[Croats|Croatian]]) population proved more resistant, partly because of its size and the cultural unsimilarity, and partly because the Slavs (Croats) were mostly situated in the hinterland and the islands. <br>
-The [[Venetian dialect]] of the [[Italian language]] (also known as the Venetian ''language'') became the [[lingua franca]] of Dalmatia, assimilating the Romance [[Dalmatian language]] of the Romanic Dalmatians, and influencing partially the Dalmatian [[Chakavian dialect]] of the [[Croatian language]][http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/540/langdial/serbcrot.html], as well as the [[Albanian language]].<ref>Bartoli, Matteo. ''Le parlate italiane della Venezia Giulia e della Dalmazia''</ref> [[Zara]] (Zadar) was the capital of Dalmatia during this period, a role it maintained all the way to the 1920's, when it became gradually replaced by [[Split]]. During [[World War II]] Zara (Zadar) was the capital of Italian-occupied [[SFR Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], the ''Governorate of Dalmatia'' (Governatorato di Dalmazia).
+The [[Venetian dialect]] of the [[Italian language]] (also known as the Venetian ''language'') became the [[lingua franca]] of Dalmatia, assimilating the Romance [[Dalmatian language]] of the Romanic Dalmatians, and influencing partially the Dalmatian [[Chakavian dialect]] of the [[Croatian language]][http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/540/langdial/serbcrot.html], as well as the [[Albanian language]].<ref>Bartoli, Matteo. ''Le parlate italiane della Venezia Giulia e della Dalmazia''</ref> [[Zara]] (Zadar) was the capital of Dalmatia during this period (a role it maintained all the way to the 1920's, when it became gradually replaced by [[Split]]).
-During the centuries of Venetian rule, the southernmost area of Dalmatia was called [[Albania Veneta]], now part of coastal Montenegro. <br>
-According to the linguist [[Matteo Bartoli]], by the end of this period 33% of the Dalmatian population was Venetian-speaking.<ref>Seton-Watson, "Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870-1925". pag. 107</ref>
 === Napoleonic wars and the Illyrian provinces (1796 - 1815) ===
@@ Line 37: / Line 35: @@
 === Dalmatia under Austrian rule (1815 - 1918) ===
+During the period of the [[Austrian Empire]], the [[Kingdom of Dalmatia]] was a separate administrative unit.
+According to the linguist [[Matteo Bartoli]], by the beginning of this period 33% of the Dalmatian population was Venetian-speaking.<ref>Seton-Watson, "Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870-1925". pag. 107</ref>
-During the period of the [[Austrian Empire]], the [[Kingdom of Dalmatia]] was a separate administrative unit. In 1867, the Empire was [[Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867|reorganised]] as the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. <br>
+In 1867, the Empire was [[Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867|reorganised]] as the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. <br>
 The [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]] was assigned to the Hungarian part of the Empire, while Dalmatia remained in the Austrian.
 [[Image:Austria hungary 1911.jpg|thumb|left|280px|''"Distribution of Races in Austria–Hungary"'' from the ''Historical Atlas'' by William R. Shepherd, [[1911]].]]
@@ Line 65: / Line 64: @@
 After 1922 Fascism came to power in Italy. The [[fascism|fascist]] policies he supported included strong national policies. Minorities rights severely were reduced  Relations with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia were severely affected and constantly remained tense. Not least because of the lasting dispute over the northern [[Adriatic]]  port of Fiume, which was declared a free state by the [[League of Nations]] but was assailed by Italian nationalist (led by [[Gabriele d'Annunzio]]). In the end the city was divided between Italy and Yugoslavia.
+During [[World War II]] Zara (Zadar) was the capital of Italian-occupied [[SFR Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], the ''Governorate of Dalmatia'' (Governatorato di Dalmazia).
 === Dalmatian Italians after World War I ===