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The incidents of Spalato were a group of violent fights – related to antiitalianism – that happened in Split between 1918 and 1920 and that resulted in the killing of Captain Tommaso Gulli of the Italian navy ship "Puglia" (and a sailor named Aldo Rossi). He was hit on July 11, 1920 and was dead the next morning.

The incidents of Spalato were a group of violent fights – related to antiitalianism – that happened in Split between 1918 and 1920 and that resulted in the killing of Captain Tommaso Gulli of the Italian navy ship "Puglia" (and a sailor named Aldo Rossi). He was hit on July 11, 1920 and was dead the next morning.

These battles belong to a centuries-long struggle for the control of the Adriatic eastern coast between Slavs (mainly Croats and [[Slovenia|Slovenians]]) and Italians. A struggle that hugely increased during the [[Austria|Austro]]-Hungarian Empire, when the Italian irredentism and the Yugoslavian nationalism at the end of the XIX century created a bloody confrontation in the Adriatic area.  

These battles belong to a centuries-long struggle for the control of the Adriatic eastern coast between Slavs (mainly Croats and [[Slovenia|Slovenians]]) and Italians. A struggle that hugely increased during the [[Austria|Austro]]-Hungarian Empire, when the Italian irredentism and the Slavic nationalism at the end of the XIX century created a bloody confrontation in the Adriatic area.  

Indeed, during the second half of the XIX century in Split there was the struggle between the Autonomist Party (Dalmatia) pro-Italians and the People's Party (Dalmatia) pro-Slavs: the last Italian major was '''Antonio Bajamonti''' in 1882 and since then the city had experienced a process of [[Croatisation]]. Bajamonti, the most prominent [[Dalmatian Italians|Dalmatian Italian]] in history, once remarked:

Indeed, during the second half of the XIX century in Split there was the struggle between the Autonomist Party (Dalmatia) pro-Italians and the People's Party (Dalmatia) pro-Slavs: the last Italian major was '''Antonio Bajamonti''' in 1882 and since then the city had experienced a process of [[Croatisation]]. Bajamonti, the most prominent [[Dalmatian Italians|Dalmatian Italian]] in history, once remarked:

{{Cquote|''According to Costant (Kosta) Vojnovic, one of the principal Dalmatian Slavophile intellectuals, Dalmatia was part of the 'Slav-Hellenic' peninsula and was populated exclusively by the ' Slav race'; there were no Italians in Dalmatia, and so it was necessary to 'nationalize' the schools, the administration, and the courts in order to erase the traces left by Venetian rule and damage it caused. The Italian culture could survive only within the limits of Slav national character of the country and, in any case, without any recognition as a autochthonus element of Dalmatian society.'' <ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=kMXURN7sxh4C&pg=PA65&dq=The+Italians+of+Dalmatia+autochthonous+element+of+dalmatian+society&hl=en&ei=56efTe3kBJTKcaas0fAB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=The%20Italians%20of%20Dalmatia%20autochthonous%20element%20of%20dalmatian%20society&f=false The Italians of Dalmatia:] From Italian Unification to World War I by Luciano Monzali (p65)</ref>}}

{{Cquote|''According to Costant (Kosta) Vojnovic, one of the principal Dalmatian Slavophile intellectuals, Dalmatia was part of the 'Slav-Hellenic' peninsula and was populated exclusively by the ' Slav race'; there were no Italians in Dalmatia, and so it was necessary to 'nationalize' the schools, the administration, and the courts in order to erase the traces left by Venetian rule and damage it caused. The Italian culture could survive only within the limits of Slav national character of the country and, in any case, without any recognition as a autochthonus element of Dalmatian society.'' <ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=kMXURN7sxh4C&pg=PA65&dq=The+Italians+of+Dalmatia+autochthonous+element+of+dalmatian+society&hl=en&ei=56efTe3kBJTKcaas0fAB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=The%20Italians%20of%20Dalmatia%20autochthonous%20element%20of%20dalmatian%20society&f=false The Italians of Dalmatia:] From Italian Unification to World War I by Luciano Monzali (p65)</ref>}}

==Italians of Spalato==

==Italians of Split==

In the city of Split there was an [[Dalmatian Italians|autochthonous Italian community]], which was reorganized in November 1918 through the foundation of the "National Fasces" (not to be confused with Fascism) led by Leonardo Pezzoli, Antonio Tacconi, Edoardo Pervan and Stefano Selem) from the ashes of the Autonomist Party, dissolved by the Austrian authorities in 1915.

In the city of Split there was an [[Dalmatian Italians|autochthonous Italian community]], which was reorganized in November 1918 through the foundation of the "National Fasces" (not to be confused with Fascism) led by Leonardo Pezzoli, Antonio Tacconi, Edoardo Pervan and Stefano Selem) from the ashes of the Autonomist Party, dissolved by the Austrian authorities in 1915.

==History==

==History==

After the Austrian defeat, in the first half of November 1918 Italian troops occupied the Dalmatian territories assigned to Italy by the 1915 [[London Pact|Pact of London]].<ref>L. Monzali, ''Italiani di Dalmazia. 1914–1924''(section: ''Un difficile dopoguerra. L'occupazione italiana della Dalmazia settentrionale'') p. 50</ref> Spalato (the city was officially called "Split" only after the 1919 [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]]) was not one of those areas, but the Italians sent some ships and occupied the city as agreed with the Allies.

After the Austrian defeat, in the first half of November 1918 Italian troops occupied the Dalmatian territories assigned to Italy by the 1915 London Pact.<ref>L. Monzali, ''Italiani di Dalmazia. 1914–1924''(section: ''Un difficile dopoguerra. L'occupazione italiana della Dalmazia settentrionale'') p. 50</ref> Split (the city was officially called "Split" only after the 1919 Paris Peace Conference) was not one of those areas, but the Italians sent some ships and occupied the city as agreed with the Allies.

The Yugoslavian nationalists, who controlled the city with their "National Guard", soon showed huge hostility toward the Italian troops, fearing they could remain forever in the city. Even the arrival of slav [[refugees]] from the London Pact Italian-occupied areas increased the tensions: those refugees were responsible for most of the incidents in the next 2 years.<ref>G. Menini, ''Passione adriatica. Ricordi di Dalmazia 1918–1920''</ref>

The Slav nationalists, who controlled the city with their "National Guard", soon showed huge hostility toward the Italian troops, fearing they could remain forever in the city. Even the arrival of Slav refugees from the London Pact Italian-occupied areas increased the tensions: those refugees were responsible for most of the incidents in the next 2 years.<ref>G. Menini, ''Passione adriatica. Ricordi di Dalmazia 1918–1920''</ref>

[[Image:SPLIT-Overall view 1910.jpg|thumb|right|400px|View of Spalato in the 1910s]]

[[Image:SPLIT-Overall view 1910.jpg|thumb|right|400px|View of Spalato in the 1910s]]

On November 9, 1918 two French [[destroyer]] entered the port of Spalato. The Italians – mostly concentrated within the old city – exposed on the windows of their homes the [[Italian Flag|Italian tricolor]] and went to the harbor to celebrate the [[Triple Entente]].  But the reaction of the Yugoslavian National Guard was immediate: they entered by force in the apartments, tore down the flags, beat some of those present and damaged the furniture. Meanwhile, the Austrian commander of a ship already docked at the port (and now with Yugoslavian flag) ordered with the megaphone to remove the flags, threatening to open fire.<ref>The whole episode is described in L. Monzali,''Antonio Tacconi e la comunita italiana di Spalato'' p. 110</ref>  

On November 9, 1918 two French [[destroyer]] entered the port of Split. The Italians – mostly concentrated within the old city – exposed on the windows of their homes the [[Italian Flag|Italian tricolor]] and went to the harbor to celebrate the [[Triple Entente]].  But the reaction of the Yugoslavian National Guard was immediate: they entered by force in the apartments, tore down the flags, beat some of those present and damaged the furniture. Meanwhile, the Austrian commander of a ship already docked at the port (and now with Yugoslavian flag) ordered with the megaphone to remove the flags, threatening to open fire.<ref>The whole episode is described in L. Monzali,''Antonio Tacconi e la comunita italiana di Spalato'' p. 110</ref>  

This was the first of a long series of incidents, which also saw the creation of a classic pattern of propaganda that would be found very often in the next months: the Croatian newspapers – and especially the most extreme of them, ''Novo Doba'',<ref>Novo Doba. ''Split in the interwar period'' of Z. Jelaska.(''the oblique Vrste nasilja u Splitu svjetska između dva rata'' in Istriae Acta, 10, 2002) p.391</ref> denounced the "Italian provocation". The Italians, however, created a complaint report and forwarded it to the Allies.<ref>L. Monzali,''Italians of Dalmatia'' p.69</ref> In the following days the municipal Croatian authorities of Spalato were forced to submit a formal apology for the incident.

This was the first of a long series of incidents, which also saw the creation of a classic pattern of propaganda that would be found very often in the next months: the Croatian newspapers – and especially the most extreme of them, ''Novo Doba'',<ref>Novo Doba. ''Split in the interwar period'' of Z. Jelaska.(''the oblique Vrste nasilja u Splitu svjetska između dva rata'' in Istriae Acta, 10, 2002) p.391</ref> denounced the "Italian provocation". The Italians, however, created a complaint report and forwarded it to the Allies.<ref>L. Monzali,''Italians of Dalmatia'' p.69</ref> In the following days the municipal Croatian authorities of Spalato were forced to submit a formal apology for the incident.

On February 24, while an "Allies Commission for the Adriatic" (made of US admiral [[Albert P. Niblack]], French admiral Jean-Etienne-Charles-Marcel Ratyè, British admiral Edward Burton Kiddle and Italian admiral Umberto Cagni) was visiting Spalato, a huge group of Slavs -in order to show that they were the majority in Spalato and rejected the Italians- attacked the Italian sailors of the "Puglia": the captain Giulio Menini was hit together with some Italians walking on the nearby streets, and again were damaged some shops owned by the Italian community.<ref>G.Menini, ''Passione adriatica. Ricordi di Dalmazia 1918–1920'' p.82-83</ref> The Croatian authorities were forced to do another apology and until summer there were only minor incidents.

On February 24, while an "Allies Commission for the Adriatic" (made of US admiral [[Albert P. Niblack]], French admiral Jean-Etienne-Charles-Marcel Ratyè, British admiral Edward Burton Kiddle and Italian admiral Umberto Cagni) was visiting Spalato, a huge group of Slavs -in order to show that they were the majority in Spalato and rejected the Italians- attacked the Italian sailors of the "Puglia": the captain Giulio Menini was hit together with some Italians walking on the nearby streets, and again were damaged some shops owned by the Italian community.<ref>G.Menini, ''Passione adriatica. Ricordi di Dalmazia 1918–1920'' p.82-83</ref> The Croatian authorities were forced to do another apology and until summer there were only minor incidents.

But on September 12 [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]] occupied Fiume (actual [[Rijeka]]) and later went even to [[Zadar|Zara]]. As a consequence the Italian count Fanfogna organized a similar tentative of occupation in [[Trogir|Trau]] <ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F1061FFD3D5C1A718DDDA10A94D1405B898DF1D3 New York Times: Count Fanfogna "Dictator" of Trau]</ref> and the Slavs of Spalato feared something similar was going to happen in their city: tensions arose and other incidents against the Italians happened in Spalato in November (the "Caffe Nani" was destroyed and many Italian owned shop were damaged.<ref>G.Menini, ''Passione adriatica. Ricordi di Dalmazia 1918–1920'' p.187-188</ref>)

But on September 12 [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]] occupied Rijeka (Fiume) and later went even to Zadar (Zara). As a consequence the Italian count Fanfogna organized a similar tentative of occupation in Trogir (Trau) <ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F1061FFD3D5C1A718DDDA10A94D1405B898DF1D3 New York Times: Count Fanfogna "Dictator" of Trau]</ref> and the Slavs of Spalato feared something similar was going to happen in their city: tensions arose and other incidents against the Italians happened in Spalato in November (the "Caffe Nani" was destroyed and many Italian owned shop were damaged.<ref>G.Menini, ''Passione adriatica. Ricordi di Dalmazia 1918–1920'' p.187-188</ref>)

===The murder of Captain Tommaso Gulli===

===The murder of Captain Tommaso Gulli===