The Treaty of Rome was agreed on 27 January 1924, when

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

agreed that

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

would be annexed to Italy as the

Province of Fiume The Province of Fiume (or Province of Carnaro) was a province of the Kingdom of Italy from 1924 to 1943, then under control of the Italian Social Republic and German Wehrmacht from 1943 to 1945. Its capital was the city of Fiume. It took the oth ...

, and the town of Sušak would be part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Fiume and Sušak would have a joint administration of the port facilities. Both towns are now in the city of

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Background

After Fiume was under Gabriele D'Annunzio's

Italian Regency of Carnaro The Italian Regency of Carnaro ( it, Reggenza Italiana del Carnaro), also known in Italian as (), was a self-proclaimed state in the city of Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia) led by Gabriele d'Annunzio between 1919 and 1920. ''Impresa di Fiume'' ...

, the

Treaty of Rapallo (1920) The Treaty of Rapallo was a treaty between the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed ''Yugoslavia'' in 1929) that was signed to solve the dispute over some territories in the former Austrian Littoral, which was ...

created the independent

Free State of Fiume The Free State of Fiume () was an independent free state that existed between 1920 and 1924. Its territory of comprised the city of Fiume (today Rijeka, Croatia) and rural areas to its north, with a corridor to its west connecting it to the K ...

, which was immediately recognised by other states, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom. The state survived only one year ''de facto'' and four years ''de jure''. The joint administration of the port was never created. On 24 April 1921, the first general elections for its parliament occurred, and it elected President

Riccardo Zanella Riccardo Zanella (27 June 1875 – 30 March 1959) was the only elected president of the short lived Free State of Fiume. Biography Zanella was born to an Italian father and Slovene mother in Fiume, Austria-Hungary (present-day Croatia). He a ...

, the leader of the Autonomist Fiuman Movement. On 3 March 1922, a movement directed by the fascist deputy

Francesco Giunta Francesco Giunta (21 March 1887 – 8 June 1971) was an Italian Fascist politician. A leading figure in the early years of fascism, he helped to build the movement in several regions of the country and was particularly active in Trieste. Duri ...

forced Zanella to resign. On 17 September 1923,

Gaetano Giardino Gaetano Giardino (24 January 1864 – 21 November 1935) was an Italian soldier that rose to the rank of Marshal of Italy during World War I.http://www.montegrappa.org/grande_guerra/giardino_gaetano.php a webpage dedicated to Marshal Giardino Lif ...

, an Italian general, was sent by Italian Prime Minister

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

with the task of restoring public order. In the meantime, negotiations started between Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to dissolve the Free State of Fiume. All parties ratified the agreement in Rome on 22 February 1924, and it became effective the same day. It was registered in the ''League of Nations Treaty Series'' on 7 April 1924.

Terms

The Treaty of Rome revoked parts of the Treaty of Rapallo. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes asserted its sovereignty over the delta of the

Rječina The Rječina ( it, Eneo; german: Flaum), also known as the Fiumara, is a river in Croatia that flows into the Adriatic Sea at the city of Rijeka ( it, Fiume). It is about long, with an average width of . It springs from a cave at an elevation of ...

River, including the seaport of Sušak ( Porto Barros) and the north of Fiume County. Italy was given the city of Fiume, some surrounding land and a coastal corridor to connect it to the Italian mainland.

Aftermath

The exact definition of the borders were the object of a joint commission, whose results were agreed upon on 20 July 1925 in the

Treaty of Nettuno The Treaty of Nettuno was an agreement made between the governments of the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on July 20, 1925, which permitted Italians to freely immigrate into Yugoslavia's coastal region of Dalmatia. I ...

. Accordi di Nettuno, Italia – Regno serbo-croato-sloveno, 20 luglio 1925
/ref> Following the upheaval of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Tito's Yugoslavia annexed Fiume, putting an end to the provisions of the Treaty of Rome.

Notes

External links

Text of the treaty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treaty Of Rome, 1924 Modern history of Italy 1924 in Croatia History of Rijeka 1924 in Italy 1924 in Yugoslavia Interwar-period treaties Treaties concluded in 1924 Rome (1924) Treaties of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Italy–Yugoslavia relations January 1924 events Adriatic question