THE’Fire of the Narodni Domalso known as Fire of the Hotel Balkanwas an episode of political violence against the Slavic population that took place a Trieste The July 13, 1920that in fact He kicked off to the fascist organized squadrismo which raged throughout Italy in the following years.
The episode must be framed in the birth of fascism and in the tensions developed after the First World War for the definition of the new Italian eastern border, for which the Kingdom of Italy had to find an agreement with the new Kingdom of Yugoslaviaborn at the end of the war. Among the Italian political forces that fueled the tensions they were the Fasci of combat That on July 13, 1920, in Trieste, they set the Narodni Dom (literally “national house”), that is, the seat of the Slavic political organizations.
The origin of Narodni Dom’s fire: the question of the eastern border after the First World War
At the end of the First World War, the definition of the Italian Eastern border gave rise to strong tensions. Based on London pactsigned by the Italian government before entering the war, Italy was responsible for some territories belonging to the Habsburg Empire: Trentino, South Tyrol, Istria and part of Dalmatia (the current Croatian coast). The area of the eastern border was multi -ethnic and included both Italian language and ethnicity inhabitants and Slavs; Some territories were inhabited by Italians by Italians, but in some areas, as in the eastern part of Istria, the Slavs prevailed.
The application of the London Pact was complicated by some factors: first of all the Empire of Austria had dissolved and a new state had been born, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croatians and Slovenians (then called the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), who included among the winners of the First World War, being derived from an extension of Serbia. Italy therefore found itself negotiating with another winning country and not with a defeat.
Furthermore, much of the Italian public opinion and the ruling class did not be satisfied with the territories foreseen by the London pact, but also demanded the city of Fiume (today Rijeka), which was not included in the territories that, according to the pact, were up to Italy, but It was inhabited by Italians. The Italian requests, in reality, were contradictory, because it resulted in river according to the principle of nationalitybut the same principle was not recognized for the Slavic majority territories. Nonetheless, a vast nationalist movementcomposed of various souls, which demanded the territorial expansion and looked at the Slavs with contempt and racism. Among the members of the movement there were the fighting bundles, founded in Milan in 1919 by Mussolini and Capeggiati, in Trieste, by a Tuscan lawyer: Francesco Giunta.
The facts of 13 July 1920 in Trieste: what happened
After the First World War, Trieste was occupied by Italian troops, although it was not yet formally annexed. In the city they were present Significant Slavic minoritieswho had a building known as Narodni Dom, that is “National House”. The building was considered a symbol of Slavic nationalism, and political organizations were based inside, as well as a theater, a coffee, a bank and a hotel, theBalkan hotel.
The fire took place the July 13th. Two days before, a Splash – another city claimed by the Italians – during clashes between Slavic and Italian nationalists, had lost their lives (in a completely clarified way) two members of the Italian Navy. On day 13 Francesco Giunta held a rally in Trieste, invoking revenge for the killings. At the end of the rally, the scuffles broke out, and a young Italian, the cook Giovanni Niniwas killed with a stab. Also in this case, the responsibilities of killing have never been ascertained, but from the stage an speaker shouted that the young man had been hit by a Slavic. The crowd immediately gave Start to a sort of riotfollowing a pre -established plan: shops, political offices and professional studies Slavic were stormed.
The most large group of fascists headed, divided into three columns, towards Narodni Dom, which was manned by Italian soldiers. As soon as the fascists arrived at the hotel, the clashes broke out: a hand bomb launched by a window seriously injured one of the attackers, who died a few days later; The fascists began to shoot, and the military, instead of protecting the Narodni Dom, they joined them. The attackers were therefore able to force the doors of the building, throwing the tanks of gasoline and set fire.
The flames quickly wrapped the building, but the people present inside, including international guests of the Balkan hotel, they managed to save themselves. Only one person died, the pharmacist Hugo Roblek, who threw himself out of the window to escape the flames.
The consequences of Narodni Dom’s fire
Narodni Dom’s fire he acute the tensions between Italy and Yugoslaviabut did not prevent negotiations for the definition of the border continued. In November the two countries signed the Rapallo Treatywhich he assigned Italy, in addition to the city of Trieste, Venice Giulia, Istria and part of Dalmatia.
The assault, however, marked the Birth of the fascist squadrismo: in the following months, the black shirts performed violence of all kinds Throughout Italy against political opponents and anyone who opposed them. The fire also made the more difficult whole coexistence in the area of the eastern border and increased Italian-Slave tensions.
The Narodni Dom palace today
After the ascent to the power of fascism, the Narodni Dom building was expropriated and used as a hotel, theBalkan hotel. Slavic organizations were forced to melt in 1927 and the Slavic ethnic population was heavily discriminated. After the Second World War and the collapse of the fascist regime, the Slovenian minority of Trieste asked that the building was returned to it, but which took place only partially.
The building is in fact home to the Faculty of Languages of the University of Triestebut on July 13, 2020, one hundred years of age from the fire, a Slovenian cultural centersymbolically called Narodni Dom. The inaugural ceremony took part in President Mattarella and the Slovenian president Borut Pahor. The building then became Symbol of coexistence and dialogue between peoples.
