Province of Cattaro ( it, Provincia di Cattaro) was a province of the Italian Governorate of Dalmatia, created in May 1941 during

World War II 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 ...

(by the "Regio Decreto Legge del 18 maggio 1941"). It lasted until September 1943.

History

In April 1941, the Italians conquered coastal Dalmatia from the

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

. They created some provinces in that region that lasted until September 1943. One was the "Province of Cattaro", around the "Gulf of Cattaro". The administrative capital was the city of Cattaro (now Kotor). The province (subdivided in 15 "Comuni") had an area of 547 Km² and a population of 39,800 inhabitants. Prior to the war in 1931, the area consisted out of 13,000

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

and 18,000 other (mostly Montenegrins and Serbs). with a Dalmatian Italians minority. The Italians in summer 1941 improved the region by building hospitals and infrastructure, but started a process of

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 ...

(related to the history of

Venetian Albania Venetian Albania ( vec, Albania vèneta, it, Albania Veneta, Serbian and Montenegrin: Млетачка Албанија / ''Mletačka Albanija'', ) was the official term for several possessions of the Republic of Venice in the southeastern Adr ...

& the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

Treccani: Cattaro (in Italian)
/ref>). Because of this, after one year of peaceful administration & control, in summer 1942 there was a small insurrection against the Italian conquest, but without huge consequences until summer 1943. In September 1943, the German army took control of the region from the Italians, who had surrendered to the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, and soon started a terrible guerrilla war between the Nazi occupiers and

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

's partisans. The province was abolished in the same September.

Administrative subdivision

The 15 '' comuni'' were (first in Italian the official name and then in Croatian and

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

the actual): * Cattaro / Kotor * Cartolle / Krtole *

Castelnuovo di Cattaro Herceg Novi ( cyrl, Херцег Нови, ) is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 in ...

/ Herceg Novi * Dobroto / Dobrota * Gruda / Gruda * Lastua Inferiore / Donja Lastva * Lustizza / Luštica * Mulla / Muo *

Perasto Perast ( cnr, Пераст) is an old town in the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. It is situated a few kilometres northwest of Kotor and is noted for its proximity to the islets of St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks. History According to the pr ...

/ Perast * Perzagno / Prčanj * Risano / Risan * Stolivo Inferiore / Donji Stoliv *

Sutorina Sutorina (, ) is a village and a river located in Herceg Novi Municipality in southwestern Montenegro. The village is located near the border with Croatia, some three kilometers northwest of the Adriatic Sea in Igalo. The surrounding region, incl ...

/ Sutorina * Teodo / Tivat * Zuppa / Grbalj

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

* Rodogno, Davide. ''Il nuovo ordine mediterraneo'', ed. Bollati Boringhieri, Turin, 2003 Cattaro 1941 establishments in the Italian Empire 1943 disestablishments in the Italian Empire 1941 establishments in Montenegro 1943 disestablishments in Montenegro Adriatic question