The Slovene minority in Italy (1920–1947) was the indigenous Slovene population—approximately 327,000 out of a total population of 1.3Lipušček, U. (2012) ''Sacro egoismo: Slovenci v krempljih tajnega londonskega pakta 1915'', Cankarjeva založba, Ljubljana. million ethnic Slovenes at the timeCresciani, Gianfranco (2004
Clash of civilisations
Italian Historical Society Journal, Vol.12, No.2, p.4—that was cut from the remaining three-quarters of the Slovene ethnic community after the First World War. According to the secret Treaty of London and the

Treaty of Rapallo Following World War I there were two Treaties of Rapallo, both named after Rapallo, a resort on the Ligurian coast of Italy: * Treaty of Rapallo, 1920, an agreement between Italy and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (the later Yugosla ...

in 1920, the former

Austrian Littoral The Austrian Littoral (german: Österreichisches Küstenland, it, Litorale Austriaco, hr, Austrijsko primorje, sl, Avstrijsko primorje, hu, Osztrák Tengermellék) was a crown land (''Kronland'') of the Austrian Empire, established in 1849. I ...

and western part of the former Inner Carniola of defeated

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

were annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. Whereas only a few thousand Italians were left in the new South Slavic state, a population of half a million Slavs,Hehn, Paul N. (2005
A Low Dishonest Decade: Italy, the Powers and Eastern Europe, 1918-1939.
Chapter 2, ''Mussolini, Prisoner of the Mediterranean'' both Slovenes and Croats, was subjected to forced

Italianization Italianization ( it, italianizzazione; hr, talijanizacija; french: italianisation; sl, poitaljančevanje; german: Italianisierung; el, Ιταλοποίηση) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or a ...

until the

fall of Fascism The fall of the Fascist regime in Italy, also known in Italy as 25 Luglio ( it, Venticinque Luglio, ; "25 July"), came as a result of parallel plots led respectively by Count Dino Grandi and King Victor Emmanuel III during the spring and sum ...

in Italy. After the Second World War, most of the region known as the Slovenian Littoral was transferred to Yugoslavia under the terms of the Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947.

Italianization

At the end of the 19th century, Trieste was the largest Slovene city, with more Slovene inhabitants than even Ljubljana. The Austrian census of 1911 recorded 56,845 Slovene speakers and 41.727 in Ljubljana (part of general Austrian census of 1910). They were the largest ethnic group in 9 of the 19 urban neighbourhoods of Trieste, and represented a majority in 7 of them.Spezialortsrepertorium der Oesterreichischen Laender. VII. Oesterreichisch-Illyrisches Kuestenland. Wien, 1918, Verlag der K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei The Italian speakers, on the other hand, made up 60.1% of the population in the city center, 38.1% in the suburbs, and 6.0% in the surroundings. They were the largest linguistic group in 10 of the 19 urban neighbourhoods, and represented the majority in 7 of them (including all 6 in the city centre). Of the 11 villages included within the city limits, the Slovene speakers had an overwhelming majority in 10, and the German speakers in one (

Miramare Miramare Castle ( it, Castello di Miramare; es, Castillo de Miramar; german: Schloss Miramar; sl, Grad Miramar) is a 19th-century castle direct on the Gulf of Trieste between Barcola and Grignano in Trieste, northeastern Italy. It was built ...

). After being ceded from multiethnic Austria, the Italian nationalist milieus sought to make Trieste a ''città italianissima'', committing a series of attacks led by

Black Shirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...

against Slovene shops, libraries, lawyers' offices, and the central place of the rival community in the Trieste National Hall. Forced

followed, and by the mid-1930s several thousand Slovenes, especially intellectuals from the Trieste region, emigrated to the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

and to South America. Notable Slovenes affected by Italianization included the poet

Srečko Kosovel Srečko Kosovel () (18 March 1904 – 26 May 1926) was a Slovenian poet, now considered one of central Europe's major modernist poets.

and the writer

Boris Pahor Boris Pahor, OMRI (; 26 August 1913 – 30 May 2022) was a Slovene novelist from Trieste, Italy, who was best known for his heartfelt descriptions of life as a member of the Slovenian minority in pre–Second World War increasingly fascist It ...

. Slovenes that emigrated included the writers Vladimir Bartol and

Josip Ribičič Josip Ribičič (3 November 1886 – 7 June 1969) was a Slovene writer, known as an author of popular children's literature. Life He was born as Josip Ribičić in Baška on the island of Krk (now in Croatia, then part of Austria-Hungary). Hi ...

, the legal theorist

Boris Furlan Boris Furlan (10 November 1894 – 10 June 1957)Brecelj, Marijan. 1978. "Borut Furlan." ''Primorski slovenski biografski leksikon'', vol. 5. Gorizia: Goriška Mohorjeva družba, p. 394.Jevnikar, Martin. 1989. "Boris Furlan." ''Enciklopedija Slovenij ...

, and the architect

Viktor Sulčič Viktor Sulčič (1895 - 1973), also known as Víctor (or Victorio) Sulcic, was a Slovenian born Art Deco architect in Argentina. He was born in 1895 in Križ (in Italian ''Santa Croce'') near Trieste. He completing his studies of architecture in F ...

. In order to fight the Fascist repression, the

militant anti-fascist The English language, English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously Active lifestyle, active, combative and/or aggression, aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant re ...

organization

TIGR TIGR, an abbreviation for ''Trst'', ''Istra'', ''Gorica'', and ''Reka'', full name Revolutionary Organization of the Julian March T.I.G.R. ( sl, Revolucionarna organizacija Julijske krajine T.I.G.R.), was a militant anti-fascist and insurgent or ...

was formed in 1927.

Today

The estimated number of today's Slovene minority in Italy is 83,000 to 100,000.

Notable members of the Slovene minority in Italy (1920–1947)

(born 1913) * Vladimir Bartol (1903–1967) *

Milko Bambič Milko Bambič (26 April 1905 – 20 May 1991) also known by the nicknames Cvetanov and Banetov, was a prolific illustrator, cartoonist, caricaturist, inventor, children's writer, publicist, and painter from the Slovene minority in Italy ...

(1905–1991)

Notes

References

External links