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The Trieste National Hall or Slovene Cultural Centre ( sl, Narodni dom), also known as the Hotel Balkan, in
Such institutions were typical in Slovenian ethnic territory in the decades around 1900. It was designed by the Slovenian architect Maks Fabiani in 1902. Fabiani designed the building with the concept of technical-rational structure, with the facade of monumental stone. It was completed in 1904. It had an ornate facade and state-of-the-art equipment, including an
Boris Pahor's autobiographical novel ''Trg Oberdan'' describes how he witnessed the Fascists burning the building.
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...
was a multimodal building that served as a centre for the Slovene minority in the city. It included the Slovene theatre in Trieste, a hotel and numerous cultural associations. It is notable for having been burned in 1920 by Italian Fascists, which made it a symbol of the Italian repression of the Slovene minority in Italy
Slovene minority in Italy ( it, Minoranza slovena in Italia, sl, Slovenska manjšina v Italiji), also known as Slovenes in Italy ( it, Sloveni in Italia, sl, Slovenci v Italiji) is the name given to Italian citizens who belong to the autochthon ...
. The building was restored from 1988 to 1990.
Building
Such institutions were typical in Slovenian ethnic territory in the decades around 1900. It was designed by the Slovenian architect Maks Fabiani in 1902. Fabiani designed the building with the concept of technical-rational structure, with the facade of monumental stone. It was completed in 1904. It had an ornate facade and state-of-the-art equipment, including an electric generator
In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power ( mechanical energy) or fuel-based power (chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, g ...
and central heating
A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces.
...
.
Fascist attack
On 13 July 1920, as a reaction to the July 11 Split incident, the building was burned by the FascistBlackshirts
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 ...
, led by Francesco Giunta. The act was praised by 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 ...
, who had not yet assumed power, as a "masterpiece of the Triestine Fascism" ( it, capolavoro del fascismo triestino). It was part of a wider pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...
against the Slovenes
The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, History ...
and other Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
in the very centre of Trieste and the harbinger of the ensuing violence against the Slovenes and Croats in the Julian March
Venezia Giulia, traditionally called Julian March (Serbo-Croatian, Slovene: ''Julijska krajina'') or Julian Venetia ( it, Venezia Giulia; vec, Venesia Julia; fur, Vignesie Julie; german: Julisch Venetien) is an area of southeastern Europe wh ...
.
On 15 May 1921, less than a year after the arson attack, the architect Fabiani became a member of the Italian Fascist movement. The reason for his joining the party and his political activity in the following years remains unclear.
Legacy
Boris Pahor's autobiographical novel ''Trg Oberdan'' describes how he witnessed the Fascists burning the building.
Further reading
* Kacin Wohinz, Milica (2010): ''Alle origini del fascismo di confine – Gli sloveni della Venezia Giulia sotto l'occupazione italiana 1918–1921'', , Gorica, p. 307Notes
References
{{coord, 45, 39, 17, N, 13, 46, 29, E, region:IT-TS_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Buildings and structures in Trieste Max Fabiani buildings History of Trieste History of Slovenes in Italy 1920 in Italy Italian Fascism Buildings and structures completed in 1904 Hotels in Trieste Slovene national halls Buildings and structures destroyed by arson Art Nouveau architecture in Italy Anti-Slovene sentiment