In the prestigious setting of Palazzo Giustiniani in Rome, on Wednesday 29 November, the work of Marina Cattaruzza was presented by the Dalmatian Society of National History of Venice and the Adriatic Coordination Association Italy and its Eastern Border (1866-2016), Routledge, New York and London 2017 and two works published with the contribution of the Adriatic diaspora associations: Luciano Monzali, The Italians of Dalmatia. From Unification to World War I, University of Toronto Press, Toronto 2009 and Giuseppe de Vergottini – Valeria Piergigli – Ivan Russo, The Adriatic Territory. Historical Overview, Landscape Geography, Economic, Legal and Artistic Aspects, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2017.

Senator Gaetano Quagliariello he briefly retraced the events of Adriatic Italianity, highlighting the profound connections with national history, where the stratification of dominations that followed one another in these lands was at the centre of the greeting formulated by Senator Carlo Giovanardi.

The Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism Antimo cesaro he focused on the laws that support the Julian-Dalmatian associations and the Italian communities in the former Yugoslavia: «These are positive and effective tools, but their application requires modernization. The primary objective is to present, thanks to the new potential of scientific research, more attractive works for new and very new generations»

Professor Davide Rossi, moderator of the evening, then anticipated that the organization of a symposium in honor of Lucio is already in the pipeline Toth, who recently passed away, in which not only the figure of the illustrious Dalmatian will be remembered, but research works concerning the history of the eastern Adriatic will also be presented.

Marina Cattaruzza was unable to intervene, so Damir intervened Rude to continue the interventions hoping for greater synergies between Italian and Croatian researchers: «The philosopher Elvio Baccarini, the researcher Franco Dotta and the teacher Vanni d'Alessio – listed the former Croatian ambassador – represent the bond that continues to exist between the University of Rijeka and Italy. We must put an end to what Dotta defined as “the aggressive post-war period”, which, together with the world wars, broke the Koine adriatica. The return of the double-headed eagle to the civic tower of Rijeka is a reconquest of identity, where the visual bilingualism that is being debated in the city at the request of a civic list is a challenge to be accepted by a city that in 2020 will be the European Capital of Culture with the theme “the port of diversity”»

According to Luciano Monzali the history of Adriatic Italy from the eighteenth century to today has been clarified, so the new challenge consists in better defining the Italian-Slovenian, Italian-Croatian, Italian-Albanian, etc. relationships and thus better delineate the identity of the Italians of the eastern Adriatic: «The Venetian imprint is significant – Monzali specified – and it was not only a question of territorial domination, but also of the export of a political and cultural model that even Ragusa, for example, was affected by, which was very little subjected to the Serenissima. These influences have also conditioned the Slovenians, Croats and Montenegrins more than we think». A peculiar Adriatic Italianness has thus come to be configured, a maritime civilization conditioned by the encounter/clash with the Slavs of the south and characterized by polycentrism.

Since Rossi recalled that in recent years the associations of Istrian, Fiume and Dalmatian exiles have also carried out significant studies and research, the presentation of the new work of Coordinamento Adriatico was appropriate: «Having published it in English – explained Ivan Russian – will give us greater diffusion; having involved colleagues from different specializations (history, economics, law, architecture) gives the work multidisciplinary characteristics» In the economic field, the volume offers perspectives on the future in which «borders that collaborate and integrate» are hoped for and an already valid example of cooperation has been indicated by Rossi in the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) centered on Gorizia and Nova Gorica, where Professor de Vergottini he said he was satisfied with the attention that the institutions have given to this event: «We want to spread the knowledge of these events beyond the border, also thinking of the second and third generations of exiles who have lost or reduced their mastery of the Italian language. If we have achieved all these works, in large part, it is thanks to the contributions of Law 72/2001, which unfortunately, however, are not always prompt»

Lorenzo Salimbeni