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Caterina Edwards in the footsteps of her Istrian mother
Caterina Edwards, now an established Canadian writer, is the author of several novels, one of which, in particular, Rediscovering my mother: A daughter in search of the past, published by Les Flaneurs, is about someone who has been an exile twice. It is the story of Caterina Edwards herself, the daughter of an Englishman who landed in Venice after the war, following the Anglo-American troops, and of an Istrian exile mother, Rosa, from the island of Lussino, whom her father married and brought with him to England. Here, Caterina was born in 1948, and they remained for seven years before moving permanently to Canada. Throughout her life, Caterina has never delved into her mother's origins, who, for...
History of the household goods of Warehouse 18
Towards the end of the 80s, in the Port of Trieste, work was underway on the construction of the Adria Terminal, a modern port infrastructure for the import and export of goods by ship. In order to have the space necessary for the construction of the new facility, two warehouses of the old Austro-Hungarian port had to be demolished; warehouse 21 and 22, both buildings overlooking the sea. These warehouses, however, were not empty. In fact, over the years, the household goods of Istrian exiles deposited in Trieste and also collected from the approximately 120 refugee camps present throughout the country had been collected inside them. In the 50s and 60s, left behind by the...
The stories of Michelle Saftich, in search of her Fiume origins from Australia
(ASI) Michelle Saftich is the daughter of Mauro Saftich, an Italian who emigrated to Australia from Fiume, an Italian city, "pearl of Carnaro", which became legendary for the "feat" of the poet-soldier Gabriele d'Annunzio. Unfortunately, the sad events linked to the end of the Second World War led to its occupation (as happened to the Istrian peninsula) by Tito's partisan troops, and from February 1947 it definitively became part of the new socialist and dictatorial state of Yugoslavia. Almost all Italians decided to leave their beloved city, and among them we mention Mauro, a child intent on leaving Italy and Europe for...
“The Little Girl with the Suitcase”, a story by Egea Haffner
"This is how a long, exciting and overwhelming journey began for Egea and me, which led us to get to know each other and become friends. It takes courage to tell a historical moment that is still the subject of fierce discussions. It takes trust to open the treasure chest of family memories and share them with young readers. It takes a careful look at the past, but firmly projected into the future. It takes meaning, energy, emotion. It takes Egea Haffner". The words of the writer Gigliola Alvisi, contained in the preface of La bambina con la valigia, in bookstores for a few days (Piemme), reveal the genesis of the project: to write and publish the first book for children and...
From the Exodus to Naples: The Story of the “Refugee District”
In the 50s, a district of Naples welcomed hundreds of families who had become refugees following the Second World War. Among them, Istrian-Dalmatians, but also people from Rhodes, Smyrna, Corfu. The date of February 10th sparks a particularly heated debate every year, characterized by strong political opposition. This interview aims to tell an almost completely unknown story, which links the events of the repatriation of Italian refugees after the Second World War with those of a large city like Naples. Emilio Cocco, Professor of Sociology at the University of Teramo and Delegate of the Rector for relations with the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, and Pietro...
Exiles twice. From their homes, from their homeland
The borders drawn at the end of the Second World War in Europe and the resulting new political geography of the eastern Adriatic regions caused a resumption of economic emigration that was intertwined, sometimes inextricably, with the legal and clandestine expatriations of populations that felt threatened from an ideological and/or national point of view. The exodus of the Italian population from Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia was the most direct reaction to the radical change in social and political regime imposed on their living conditions by Yugoslavian communism. There is no actual data available on all locations, but some surveys...
«Remembering the many Italians who fell victim to the Yugoslav communist forces»
I greet the President of the Republic, the President of the Senate, the Prime Minister, the Vice President of the Constitutional Court, the ministers, the parliamentarians, the President of FederEsuli and the representatives of the Associations of Istrian, Fiumani and Dalmatian exiles. It is very important to celebrate this year in a Chamber of Parliament the Day of Remembrance, established by law in 2004. The approval – by a very large majority – of that law was in fact an act of truth and justice, two fundamental values for every democratic system. Parliament intervened after for decades significant parts of the world...
"Remembrance Day has restored the dignity of an entire community"
Speech by the Deputy Vice President of the National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia, Prof. Donatella Schürzel, at the ceremony for the Day of Remembrance 2022 held at the Senate of the Republic on Thursday 10 February. Mr. President of the Republic, Madam President of the Senate, President of the Chamber of Deputies, Honorable Senators and Deputies, Government Representatives, Civil, Military, Diplomatic and Religious Authorities, Ladies and Gentlemen, Students Present, Friends and Brothers of Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia, Eighteen years ago, Law 92 of 30 March 2004 established the Day of Remembrance that we celebrate today and 75 years...
“Il Dalmata” of January 2022 is available on dalmatitaliani.org
The January 2022 issue of "Il Dalmata", a monthly magazine of the Association of Italian Dalmatians in the World - Free Municipality of Zadar in Exile, can be consulted online for free or downloaded in PDF format from the dalmatitaliani.org website: Il Dalmata - January 2022 In this issue, ample space is dedicated to the inauguration of the portal linked to the historic Zadar newspaper dalmatitaliani.org, which took place on January 14. We also highlight an in-depth study dedicated to the children of the Exodus by Professor Adriana Ivanov Danieli and a review of images related to the sailing and regatta environment in Zadar between the two wars...
The recomposition of the Julian and Dalmatian Italian community
We have received and are happy to publish this extensive open letter written by Dr. Claudio Deghenghi, exile, essayist and researcher. Distinguished Presidents of our major national social organizations, Prof. Attorney Giuseppe De Vergottini, president of the Federation of Associations of Julian and Dalmatian exiles in Italy, and Mr. Maurizio Tremul, president of the Italian Union, the highest political and organizational body of the Italian National Community of Julian and Dalmatian exiles native to Croatia and Slovenia – I thank you from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of all the Julian and Dalmatian Italian exiles, for having stipulated a “Programme Agreement for the creation of a...
