February 10: Remembrance Day

Established in 2004, the Remembrance Day celebrates two events: the massacres of the foibe and the exodus of people of Giuliano-Dalmatian origin. In recent times, light has been shed on what happened in Slovenia, Istria and Dalmatia towards the end of World War II when the tensions generated first by the Nazi-Fascist occupation and later by the seizure of power in Yugoslavia by the partisans led by Marshal Tito, led to a series of killings and cross-cutting revenge.

Dr. Enrico Palumbo, researcher of Contemporary History in our Athenaeum, pointed out, in an interview conducted by the Editorial Office, how "the confrontation on this issue arises on two opposing interpretations: on the one hand, there are those who believe that the massacres of the foibe were the beginning of an attempt to genocide the Italian population of those regions, and on the other hand, there are those who believe that they were the fruit of a long season, which began at the end of the 19th century, of violence dictated by the rise of nationalisms."

Beyond the controversies and divisions, even bitter ones, in recent years we have witnessed important gestures of reconciliation: in July 2020 President Mattarella of the Italian Republic and President Pahor of the Republic of Slovenia shook hands in front of the foiba of Basovizza. "This year," Palumbo continued, "the cities of Gorizia and Nova Gorica are the European Capitals of Culture: two cities divided first by World War II and then by the Cold War, now become the symbol of unity between peoples."