The Trieste National Hall or Slovene Cultural Centre [1] [2] [3] ( Slovene: Narodni dom) [4] in Trieste was a multimodal building that served for 15 years as a social and economic centre [5] for the Slovene minority in the city. It included the Slovene theatre in Trieste, a hotel, a restaurant, a gym [5] and numerous cultural associations. It is notable for having been burned in 1920 by Italian Fascists, which made it a symbol of the Italian repression of the Slovene minority in Italy. [6] The building was restored from 1988 to 1990. [7] and later used as a hotel (Hotel Regina). Around 2010 it has been renovated according to the original plans. [5]
Such institutions were typical in Slovenian ethnic territory in the decades around 1900. It was built by the Slovenian architect Max Fabiani between 1901 and 1904. [5] Fabiani designed the building with the concept of technical-rational structure, with the facade of monumental stone. It was completed in 1904. [8] [9] It had an ornate facade and state-of-the-art equipment, including an electric generator and central heating. [7]
On 13 July 1920, at the end of a violent anti-Slovenian demonstration [5] as a reaction to the July 11 Split incident, the building was burned by the Fascist Blackshirts, led by Francesco Giunta. [10] The act was praised by Benito Mussolini, who had not yet assumed power, as a "masterpiece of the Triestine Fascism" ( Italian: capolavoro del fascismo triestino). [6] It was part of a wider pogrom against the Slovenes and other Slavs in the very centre of Trieste and the harbinger of the ensuing violence against the Slovenes and Croats in the Julian March. [10]
On 15 May 1921, less than a year after the arson attack, the architect Fabiani became a member of the Italian Fascist movement. The reason for his joining the party and his political activity in the following years remains unclear. [11] [12]
Boris Pahor's autobiographical novel Trg Oberdan [Note 1] describes how he witnessed the Fascists burning the building.
The Trieste National Hall or Slovene Cultural Centre [1] [2] [3] ( Slovene: Narodni dom) [4] in Trieste was a multimodal building that served for 15 years as a social and economic centre [5] for the Slovene minority in the city. It included the Slovene theatre in Trieste, a hotel, a restaurant, a gym [5] and numerous cultural associations. It is notable for having been burned in 1920 by Italian Fascists, which made it a symbol of the Italian repression of the Slovene minority in Italy. [6] The building was restored from 1988 to 1990. [7] and later used as a hotel (Hotel Regina). Around 2010 it has been renovated according to the original plans. [5]
Such institutions were typical in Slovenian ethnic territory in the decades around 1900. It was built by the Slovenian architect Max Fabiani between 1901 and 1904. [5] Fabiani designed the building with the concept of technical-rational structure, with the facade of monumental stone. It was completed in 1904. [8] [9] It had an ornate facade and state-of-the-art equipment, including an electric generator and central heating. [7]
On 13 July 1920, at the end of a violent anti-Slovenian demonstration [5] as a reaction to the July 11 Split incident, the building was burned by the Fascist Blackshirts, led by Francesco Giunta. [10] The act was praised by Benito Mussolini, who had not yet assumed power, as a "masterpiece of the Triestine Fascism" ( Italian: capolavoro del fascismo triestino). [6] It was part of a wider pogrom against the Slovenes and other Slavs in the very centre of Trieste and the harbinger of the ensuing violence against the Slovenes and Croats in the Julian March. [10]
On 15 May 1921, less than a year after the arson attack, the architect Fabiani became a member of the Italian Fascist movement. The reason for his joining the party and his political activity in the following years remains unclear. [11] [12]
Boris Pahor's autobiographical novel Trg Oberdan [Note 1] describes how he witnessed the Fascists burning the building.