The collection of testimonies edited by Elio Varutti, “Remembrances of Italian Zara,” has just been released. Anthology with writings by Franca Balliana Serrentino, Sergio Brcic, Ettore Daddi, Ulisse Donati, Don Giovanni Lovrovich, Bruno Stipcevich and others” (ANVGD Udine and Pordenone, 2025). 

The Italian exiles and descendants of Zara, the ninety-fourth province of the Kingdom of Italy, remember here the tragic events connected to the events of the Second World War in Dalmatia: "I did not have the courage to write certain things that were too dangerous", said one of them. After the law of Day of Remembrance (2004) refugees began to tell their stories and be listened to with respect. There is the story of grandfather Daddi, killed by Yugoslav partisans and thrown into the sea. Or the shooting of two Italians in the cemetery of Zadar in 1950, after they were forced to dig their own graves. This was the case for those who did not submit to political indoctrination. There are the family and business histories of the Bonettis, Brcics, Cattalinis, and Luxardos, and the lively description of the shops of “Cale Larga.” We read the memories of a parish priest from the city, bombed 54 times by the Allies in 1943-1944, to erase its Italian identity. There is also the exodus to Trieste, Udine, Servigliano, Forlì, Venice, Milan, Rome, and the crumbling shacks of the Refugee Collection Center in Laterina. They emigrated to New York to start a new life, without forgetting their dear ancestors. Their Dalmatian hometown remains forever in their hearts.

The volume's editor is Elio Varutti, coordinator of the historical-scientific working group of the Udine Provincial Committee of the National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia. The miscellaneous selection includes some previously unpublished pieces, as well as those already published in print, online, on blogs, and on the website of the Udine Provincial Committee of the ANVGD.

The book is printed by the provincial committees of the ANVGD of Udine and Pordenone, territories that welcomed thousands of refugees from Istria, Fiume, and Dalmatia after the 1945 exodus. The original drawings depicting some historical events, described in the text, are by artist Sergio Marino. The introduction includes forewords by Bruna Zuccolin, president of the ANVGD of Udine, and Gianni Giugovaz, president of the ANVGD of Pordenone. The Department of Promotional Activities of the Free Municipality of Zara in Exile contributed.

Elio Varutti (Udine 1953) is a retired professor. He holds a degree in Sociology (Trento 1977), a postgraduate degree in History (Udine 1998), and a degree in Methodology and Linguistics of Minority Languages ​​(Udine 2006). In 2012, he was appointed honorary councilor of the Udine Provincial Committee of the ANVGD. Since 2017, he has taught the course "Sociology of Remembrance. The Julian Dalmatian Exodus" at the University of the Third Age (UTE) in Udine. In 2021, he published "The Lost Homeland. Daily Life and Testimonies at the Julian Dalmatian Refugee Collection Center of Laterina 1946-1963," published by Aska, Florence. Mayor Fontanini awarded him the seal of the city of Udine for his studies on the territory and the Julian-Dalmatian exodus on February 11, 2022. At the invitation of the President of the Tuscany Regional Council, on February 10, 2025, he gave the inaugural address at the Day of Remembrance in Florence, at the Palazzo del Pegaso. In 2025, he published: "The Searched Homeland. Memories of Italians from Istria, Fiume, and Dalmatia in Tuscany," Florence, Aska.

Elio Varutti (edited by), Memories of Italian Zara. Anthology with writings by Franca Balliana Serrentino, Sergio Brcic, Ettore Daddi, Ulisse Donati, Don Giovanni Lovrovich, Bruno Stipcevich and others (ANVGD Udine and Pordenone, 2025). 

The book can be requested by writing to: anvgd.udine@gmail.com