''Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin'' (also ''Kraljski Dalmatin'') was a bilingual weekly newspaper, written in Italian and Croatian, which was published in

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

by the French government between 1806 and 1810. It was the first newspaper published in Croatian.

History

After the centuries-long rule of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

which ended in 1797, followed by a short period of Austrian government,

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

was ruled by

Napoleonic France The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

between 1806 and 1813. In order to promote their government and gain favor with the local population, the French started an official newspaper in Italian and Croatian. The decision to establish ''Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin'' was made by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. The newspaper was edited by Bartolomeo Benincasa, Ivan Kreljanović and Nikola Dominik Budrović. Paško Jukić, a Franciscan, translated the articles from Italian to Croatian. After Jukić's death in 1806, Budrović took over the translation duties. The newspaper was printed in Antonio Luigi Battara's printing shop in Zadar. ''Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin'' was distributed throughout Dalmatia, from the

Kvarner Gulf The Kvarner Gulf (, or ; ; or ) sometimes also Kvarner Bay, is a bay in the northern Adriatic Sea, located between the Istrian peninsula and the northern Croatian Littoral mainland. The bay is a part of Croatia's internal waters. The largest is ...

in the north to the

Bay of Kotor The Bay of Kotor ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Boka kotorska, Бока которска, separator=" / ", ), also known as the Boka ( sh-Cyrl, Бока), is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated a ...

in the south, including the Adriatic islands. The readers were mostly intellectuals – such as teachers, priests, government officials and military officers – and also some merchants and craftsmen. The newspaper was popular and sought after; the initial circulation of 500 rose to 600 after nine issues, and the publisher soon contemplated printing 1000 copies. After the

Treaty of Schönbrunn The Treaty of Schönbrunn (; ), sometimes known as the Peace of Schönbrunn or the Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at Schönbrunn Palace near Vienna on 14 October 1809. The treaty ended the Fifth Coalition during the N ...

and the establishment of the

Illyrian Provinces The Illyrian Provinces were an autonomous province of France during the First French Empire that existed under Napoleonic Rule from 1809 to 1814. The province encompassed large parts of modern Italy and Croatia, extending their reach further e ...

in 1809, the French government decided to discontinue the Zadar-based newspaper in favor of a

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

-based ''Telegraphe officiel des Provinces Illyriennes''. The last issue was published on 1 April 1810. In all, 176 issues were published, comprising a total of 1,420 pages.

Format and content

''Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin'' had eight two-column pages. The left column was in Italian and the right was in Croatian. Some articles were written only in one of the two languages. The basic purpose of the newspaper was to represent and promote the French government by publishing its laws, regulations and decrees. The articles covered a wide range of topics: economy, politics, law and legislation, religion, cultural history, education, military, commerce and others. Much attention was paid to health care issues.

Legacy

Although the first

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

dedicated to ''Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin'' was published in 1912, more thorough, multidisciplinary research and scholarship on the topic emerged only since 1989. In 2006, a project aimed at publishing a full, five-volume reprint of ''Kraglski Dalmatin'' was started. The fifth and final volume was released in 2011. In 2010, as a part of the Historical Croatian Newspapers project, ''Kraglski Dalmatin'' was digitized and made available online by the

National and University Library in Zagreb National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) (, NSK; formerly , NSB) is the national library of Croatia and central library of the University of Zagreb. The Library was established in 1607. Its primary mission is the development and preservat ...

References

Sources

* *

External links

Il Regio Dalmata = Kraglski Dalmatin
online archive
Uspomena na prvu novinsku vijest na hrvatskom jeziku

Hrvatski narodni preporod najavljen je u Zadru!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regio Dalmata - Kraglski Dalmatin Bilingual newspapers Defunct newspapers published in Croatia Croatian-language newspapers Italian-language newspapers Mass media in Zadar Publications established in 1806 Publications disestablished in 1810 History of Zadar Weekly newspapers published in Croatia Defunct weekly newspapers