On Sunday, August 18, 1946, Pola still belonged to Italy, even though it was under Anglo-American military administration; the outcome of the institutional referendum had sanctioned the new republican structure. That day, on the Vergarolla beach in Pola, crowded with families with children watching the Scarioni Cup swimming competitions, a cache of defused mines piled at the end of the beach exploded, causing carnage. Sixty-five victims were identified, including many children; another 40-50 were torn to pieces by the blast, and dozens of wounded were treated by Dr. Geppino Micheletti, even after learning that his two young children had died on that beach.

These are the certainties regarding the first massacre in the history of the Italian Republic, followed by doubts and hypotheses, which the conference "Vergarolla. The First Massacre in the Italian Republic" attempted to shed light on. The conference was organized on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, by the National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia, under the scientific coordination of Professor Davide Rossi of the University of Trieste. The conference took place in the prestigious setting of the Ambrosianeum Foundation in Milan, under the patronage of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Federation of Associations of Istrian, Fiume and Dalmatian Exiles.

The entire conference, introduced and coordinated by Prof. Rossi, can be viewed on the CDM Arcipelago Adriatico YouTube channel .

First session:

Institutional greetings: Fabio Pizzul, President of the Ambrosianeum; Elena Buscemi, President of the Milan City Council; Christian Garavaglia, Regional Councilor representing the Council; Claudio Giraldi, President of the Milan National Association of Italian Youth Federations (ANVGD); Andrea Mascaretti, Honorable; and Senator Beatrice Lorenzin.

Relations:

Lorenzo Salimbeni: The hot summer of 1946 at the beginning of the Cold War.

Kristjan Knez: "Without Yugoslavia, Pula would fall into ruin." Yugoslav claims: diplomacy, political mobilization, and propaganda.

Gaetano Dato: Let's start with the Documents: what do we know about Vergarolla according to Italian and Anglo-American sources.

Second session:

Relations:

Paolo Radivo: Vergarolla, the massacre that stunned the pro-Italian majority of Pola.

Fulvio Rocco: What justice for the dead and the living of Vergarolla?

Marco Cuzzi: Vergarolla's echoes in periodicals throughout Italy.

Paolo Segatti: Vergarolla and the exodus from Pola.

Third session:

Anna Maria Crasti (Vice President of ANVGD Milan) reads the greetings from Monsignor Ettore Malnati (former personal secretary to Monsignor Antonio Santin, Bishop of Trieste and Koper) and Giorgio Tessarolo (President of the Association of Istrian Communities).

Alessandro Cuk (National Vice President of ANVGD and film critic) introduces the screening of Giampaolo Penco's documentary, "Vergarolla. The Cancelled Massacre," produced by Videoest in collaboration with the Association of Italians of Pula and Istria – Free Municipality of Pula in Exile.