Last November marked the thirtieth anniversary (1989-2019) of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a historical moment that coincided with the fragmentation of socialist-inspired countries and the dissolution of the two blocs that had characterized the second half of the twentieth century. The XNUMXs then began a process of rapprochement between states that had maintained very cold diplomatic relations for decades. In this perspective, the dismemberment of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the creation of new national entities such as Slovenia and Croatia offered Italy various prospects for collaboration.

In 1993, the Mixed Bilateral Historical-Cultural Commissions between Italy and Slovenia and between Italy and Croatia were established: the latter has practically never taken off, while the former produced a document on 27 June 2000 that was not fully shared. In the following years, German and French historians worked in a similar manner, leading to the creation of collective works dedicated to their bilateral relations, and on the occasion of the centenary of the First World War, many publications were jointly written by scholars from states that were in conflict at the time.

Twenty years after that experience, the National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia – as an acronym that represents in each Italian Region the diaspora of the world of exiles from Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia – calls for the renewal of that cooperation instrument and the establishment of new Commissions. In the meantime, in fact, the accession of Slovenia and Croatia to the European Union and moments of sharing such as the Concert of the Three Presidents and the joint candidacy of Nova Gorica and Gorizia as European Capital of Culture 2025 have laid the foundations for trying to overcome the cultural obstacles that still exist, in search of a path that – while respecting the identities of each – can lead to a shared sensitivity.

On the other hand, in Italy the institution of the Day of Remembrance (L. 92/2004) and the growing institutional and public attention towards this civil anniversary, as well as the developments of a historiography on the eastern border seen no longer as a page of local history, but rather as a complex story that is the heritage of the national community, represent the prerequisites for a more mature reflection.

Renzo Codarin