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Talk:Dalmatian Italians

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File:Zadar PortaTerraferma.jpg
Venetian Gate of Zara

In the XIX century the cultural influence from Italy originated the creation in Zara of the first dalmatian newspaper, edited in Italian and Croat: Il Regio Dalmata - Kraglski Dalmatin. It was founded and published by the Italian Bartolomeo Benincasa in 1806.

The Regio Dalmata - Kraglski Dalmatin was stamped in the tipography of Antonio Luigi Battara and was the first done in Croat language.

The cultural influence from Italy is clearly evident in the urbanization plans of the main Dalmatian cities in the XIX/XX centuries. One of the best examples is the one of Spalato.

Renaissance in Dalmatia

In Dalmatia flourished a religious and public architecture with clear influences of Italian Renaissance, but a bit original. Three works out of that period are of European importance, and will contribute to further development of Renaissance: Cathedral of St James in Sebenico, Chapel of Blessed John in Trau, and Sorgo’s villa in Ragusa of Dalmatia.

File:Sponza Palace-Dubrovnik-4.jpg
The "Sponza" Palace in Ragusa is one of the many examples of Italian Renaissance architecture in Dalmatia

Only in the kind of environment, free of dogmas and self-governed - far of major governing centers, could it be possible for artisan known as Giorgio da Sebenico to build a church entirely by his own project – Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik, in 1441. Besides mixing of gothic and renaissance style it was also original by unity of stone building and montage construction (big stone blocks, pilasters and ribs were bounded with joints and slots on them - without concrete) in the way that was usual in wooden constructions. This was unique building with so-called three-leaf frontal and half-barrel vaults, first in Europe. The cathedral and its original stone dome was finished by the tuscan Niccolò Fiorentino following the original plans. On the cathedral there is a coronal of 72 sculpture portraits on the outside wall of the apses. Giorgio da Sebenico himself did 40 of them, and all are unique with original characteristics on their faces.

Work on the cathedral of Sebenico (Sibenik) inspired Nicola for his work on the expansion of chapel of Blessed John from Trogir/Trau in 1468. Just like Šibenik cathedral, it was composed out of large stone blocks with extreme precision. In cooperation with a disciple of Giorgio da Sebenico, the albanian Andrija Aleši, Nicola has achieved unique harmony of architecture and sculpture according to antique ideals. From inside, there is no flat wall. In the middle of chapel, on the altar, lays the sarcophagus of blessed John of Trogir.

Surrounding are reliefs of puttos carrying torches that look like they were peeping out of doors of Underworld. Above them there are niches with sculptures of Christ and apostles, amongst them are putties, circular windows encircled with fruit garland, and a relief of Nativity. All is ceiled with coffered ceiling with image of God in the middle and 96 portrait heads of angels. With so many faces of smiling children the chapel looks very cheerful and there isn’t anything similar in European art of that time.

In the entire area of Republic of Ragusa there were numerous villas of nobility, unique by their functionality and space organization - combination of Renaissance villa and government building. Sorgo’s villa in Lapad near Ragusa in 1521 is original by order of building parts in asymmetrical, dynamical balance.

Wordiest Croatian renaissance sculptures are linked to some architecture, and the most beautiful one is perhaps relief Flagellation of Christ by Juraj Dalmatinac on altar of St Staš in Spalato cathedral. Three almost naked figures are caught in vibrant movement.

The most important Dalmatian Renaissance painter is from Ragusa: Nicolò Raguseo. He painted the altar screens with first hints of portraits in characters, linear perspective and even still life motifs.

The most important Dalmatian Renaissance writers are:

File:De Gondola.jpg
Giovanni Gondola, with his typical Italian face, actually called in croat Ivan Gundulic

Historical influence

File:Dalmazia1560.png
The Dalmatian possessions of the Venetian republic in 1560, before the venetian annexation of the Republic of Ragusa

During those years the original Latin population took refuge in the coastal cities and in the islands, whilst other migrated to the mountains (they were later called "Morlachs"). So, in the early Middle ages, the coastal area of Dalmatia retained its original latinised culture, mainly on the islands and cities such as Zara, Spalato, Ragusa and Cattaro. These cities maintained deep cultural and commercial links with the Italian mainland, thanks to intense commerce through the Adriatic sea.[2]

Starting from the tenth century the Republic of Venice imposed its influence on Dalmatia, gradually assimilating the neolatin Dalmatians while the local Slavs maintained their language. In those centuries, the most southern area of Dalmatia was called Albania Veneta, now called coastal Montenegro.

After the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797 to the Napoleon Armies, the Dalmatia was incorporated briefly (1805–1809) in the "Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy". In those years the scholastic system was expanded to all the population (following the ideals of the French Revolution) and the Italian language was instituted as the official language in the schools of Dalmatia.

Furthermore there were in the Governatorato 10000 Italians who took the Yugoslav citizenship after WWI, in order to remain there and be accepted without problems by the new Yugoslavian regime after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.[3]

After WWII Italy lost all the territories in Dalmatia, and more than 22000 Dalmatian Italians exiled mainly in Italy. There are still some Dalmatian Italians in Dalmatia: 300 in Croatia and 500 in Montenegro.

That means that in only one hundred years (from the 1850s to the 1950s) the Dalmatian Italians decreased from 45000 in the 1857 Austrian Census[4] to less than one thousand in the last Croatian and Montenegrin Census.

Actual Dalmatian Italians

The autochtonous population of Dalmatia is represented by the Dalmatian Italians, direct descendants from the romanized Illiryans (they used to have their own language -the Dalmatian language- disappeared at the end of the XIX century) and the Italians who moved to Dalmatia mainly in the centuries of Venetian domination.

The 1816 Austro-Hungarian census registered 66,000 Italian speaking people among the 301,000 inhabitants of Dalmatia, or 22% of the total Dalmatian population.[5], but following the Italian emigration from Dalmatia after World War II, the Dalmatian Italian population was reduced to 300 in Croatian Dalmatia and 500 in Montenegro.[6] Today they reside mostly in the littoral areas of Zara, Spalato, Trau, and Sebenico in Croatia, and Cattaro, Perasto, and Budua in Montenegro. In Croatia, there are 20,000 Italians in total, mostly located in communities in the Istrian peninsula and the city of Rijeka (Fiume).

Actually the most renowned are:

File:Ottavio Missoni.jpg
Ottavio Missoni

a) in Italy:

b) In Croatia:

Notes

  1. ^ in Croatia are called croatian latinists (latinisti croati) those who wrote mainly in latin.
  2. ^ http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Dalmatia#Population_and_National_Characteristics
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ Montani, Carlo. Venezia Giulia, Dalmazia - Sommario Storico - An Historical Outline
  6. ^ Petacco, Arrigo. L'esodo, la tragedia negata degli italiani d'Istria, Dalmazia e Venezia Giulia
  7. ^ [3] "...ha visto poi la presidente della comunità italiana di Zara, Rina Villani e Adriana Grubelić, componente della stessa comunità."

See also

Bibliography

  • Diehl, Charles. La Repubblica di Venezia. Newton & Compton Ed. Rome, 2004.
  • Durant Will. The Renaissance. MJK Books. New York, 1981.
  • Lane, Frederick. Storia di Venezia, Einaudi. Torino, 1978
  • Manno, Antonio. I tesori di Venezia. Mondadori. Vercelli, 2004
  • Martin, John Jeffries. Venice Reconsidered. The History and Civilization of an Italian City-State, 1297–1797. Johns Hopkins UP. New York, 2002.
  • Norwich, John Julius. A History of Venice. Vintage Books. New York, 1989.
  • Randi, Oscar. Dalmazia etnica, incontri e fusioni. Tipografie venete. Venezia 1990.
  • Scaglioni Marzio. La presenza italiana in Dalmazia 1866-1943. Histria ed. Trieste,2000.
  • Zorzi, Alvise. La Repubblica del Leone. Storia di Venezia Euroclub Ed. Milano, 1991

External links

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