Dalmatia is a historical Italian region which is today divided between Croatia and Montenegro. The Dalmatian Italians, who have inhabited the region for more than 2000 years, declined in number after the 16th century due to war, pestilence and the migration of Slavic refugees, but continued to form a majority until the 17th century and continued to predominate in all the coastal cities until the 19th and 20th centuries. At the turn of the 19th century, one third of the Dalmatian population was Italian.
The Dalmatian Italians faced persecution and discrimination under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the decades before World War I, the Habsburg government and Pan-Slavists pursued a systematic policy of Slavicization and de-Italianization of Dalmatia, so that by the end of the war the Dalmatian Italians were reduced to a small minority in their own land. The Treaty of Versailles assigned most of Dalmatia to Yugoslavia, causing thousands of Dalmatian Italians to flee to Italy. The Treaty of Rome restored one third of Dalmatia to Italy, allowing the Dalmatian Italians to return home.
Towards the end of World War II the Dalmatian Italians were again targeted and subjected to ethnic cleansing by the Yugoslavs, who invaded Italian Dalmatia and annexed it to Communist Yugoslavia in 1947. About 350,000 Italians from Dalmatia, Istria and the surrounding region of Julian Venetia were forced into exile after the war. Their homes and property were confiscated and their cities were occupied by the Yugoslavs. The Dalmatian Italians and their exiled descendants patiently await the return of their homeland to Italy.
Paolo Andreis
Paolo Andreis — Born in 1609 in Traù, Dalmatia. Italian historian. Member of the noble Vitturi family, of ancient Roman origin. Studied in Padua. Prepared the fortifications of the city of Traù and fought against the Turks in the War of Candia from 1646-1669. Participated in the demarcation between the Venetians and the Turks in Dalmatia after the war. Published a history of the city of Traù and a history on the translation of the body of St. Giovanni da Traù. Wrote exclusively in the Italian language. Died in Traù, Dalmatia on May 24, 1686.
Thomas the Archdeacon
Tommaso Arcidiacono or Thomas the Archdeacon — Born in 1200 or 1201 in Spalato, Dalmatia. Italian historian, chronicler and Catholic priest. Possibly a member of the noble Alberti family of Spalato, formerly called De Albertis. Studied at the University of Bologna and witnessed the preaching of St. Francis of Assisi in 1222. Returned to Spalato in 1227. Notary of Spalato. Archdeacon of the Cathedral of Spalato in 1230. Reorganized the civil administration of Spalato in 1239. Nominated Archbishop of Spalato in 1243, but declined. His only work is the “History of the Bishops of Salona and Spalato” (Historia Salonitana), in which he defends the native Latin population of Dalmatia against the intrusions of the Slavs. Died in Spalato, Dalmatia on May 8, 1268.
An extract from the Historia Salonitana:
“Although they were vicious and ferocious, they were also Christians, albeit extremely primitive ones. They had also been infected with the cancer of Arianism. Many called them Goths, but also Slavs... These, as already stated, kept attacking the Latins who lived in the coastal regions, and especially Salona, the chief city of the whole province.”
(“Et quamuis praui essent et feroces, tamen christiani erant, sed rudes ualde. Ariana etiam erant tabe respersi. Gothi a pluribus dicebantur et nichilominus Sclaui... Isti, ut predictum est, impugnabant Latinos, qui regiones maritimas habitabant, maxime autem Salonam, que caput erat totius prouintie.”)
Arnolfo Bacotich
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| Arnolfo Bacotich, Dalmatian Italian (September 8, 1875 - November 27, 1940) |
Arnolfo Bacotich — Born on September 8, 1875 in Spalato, Dalmatia. Italian historian and journalist. Brother-in-law of Antonio Cippico. Manager of a tourist agency in his youth. Correspondent of the Italian newspaper “Il Messaggero” in Germany from 1920-1921. Founded the Italian newspaper “Il Globo illustrato” in 1923. Co-Founder and co-editor of the Dalmatian Italian publication “Archivio storico della Dalmazia” in 1926. Published over sixty monographs, reports, reviews and writings on Dalmatia. Collected hundreds of books, magazines, drawings, photographs, prints and other material on Dalmatia. This collection, known as the Cippico-Bacotich Collection, is one of the most important collections of manuscripts pertaining to Dalmatian Italians between the 17th and 20th centuries. Died in Rome on November 27, 1940.
Giorgio Baglivi
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| Giorgio Baglivi, Dalmatian Italian (September 8, 1668 - June 15, 1707) |
Giorgio Baglivi — Born on September 8, 1668 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian anatomist, medical scientist and physician. Moved to Lecce at age fifteen. Adopted by the Italian physician Pietro Angelo Baglivi. Conducted anatomic research as early as 1685. Attended the universities of Salerno, Padua and Bologna. Graduated from the University of Salerno in 1688. Worked at hospitals in Padua, Venice and Florence. Assistant of Marcello Malpighi in 1691. Scientific secretary of Pope Innocent XII in 1692. Conducted an autopsy on Malpighi in 1694. Second physician of the pope in 1695. Professor of Anatomy at the Sapienza University of Rome in 1696. Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1697. Member of the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Academy of Arcadia in 1669. Member of the Academy of Physiocrats in 1700. Appointed professor of theoretical medicine by Pope Clement XI in 1701. Published numerous works on anatomy and medicine between 1696-1704. Died in Rome on June 15, 1707.
Antonio Bajamonti
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| Dr. Antonio Bajamonti, Dalmatian Italian (February 19, 1822 - January 13, 1891) |
Antonio Bajamonti — Born on February 19, 1822 in Spalato, Dalmatia. Italian physician and politician. Member of the noble Bajamonti family, which originated in Bergamo or Brescia, Italy or in Parenzo, Istria and settled in Dalmatia in the 17th century. Attended high school in Spalato. Graduated in medicine and surgery from the University of Padua in 1849. Worked as a physician in Signo, Dalmatia. Member of the pro-Italian Autonomist Party of Dalmatia. Supported Dalmatian autonomy and Italian culture; opposed Austrian centralism and the annexation of Dalmatia to Croatia. Mayor of Spalato from 1860-1864. Member of the Dalmatian Diet from 1861-1891. Last Italian Mayor of Spalato from 1865-1880. Member of the Austrian Chamber of Deputies from 1867-1870 and 1873-1879. Oversaw the modernization of the city of Spalato, including gas lighting, water pipelines, renewed pavements, new streets, restoration of the Diocletian Aqueduct, construction of new buildings, a new theatre, a bank and construction of a monumental fountain (later destroyed by the Yugoslavs in 1947). Remembered as one of the most successful mayors in the history of Spalato. Died in Spalato, Dalmatia on January 13, 1891.
Antonio Bajamonti said in his inaugural speech of the Dalmatian Political Society (Società politica Dalmata) in Spalato on July 4, 1886:
“No joy, only pain and tears, is brought by being a part of the Italian party in Dalmatia. We, the Italians of Dalmatia, retain a single right: to suffer!”
(“Nessuna gioia, solo dolore e vanto, dà l'appartenere al partito italiano in Dalmazia. A noi italiani di Dalmazia non resta che un solo diritto: quello di soffrire!”)
Giulio Bajamonti
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| Dr. Giulio Bajamonti, Dalmatian Italian (August 4, 1744 - November 12, 1800) |
Giulio Bajamonti — Born on August 4, 1744 in Spalato, Dalmatia. Italian composer, musician, physician, philosopher, polygraph, historian and writer. Member of the noble Bajamonti family, which originated in Bergamo or Brescia, Italy or in Parenzo, Istria and settled in Dalmatia in the 17th century. Studied at the Seminary of Spalato. Graduated in medicine from the University of Padua. Worked as a physician in Lesina, Dalmatia. Organist at the Lesina Cathedral from 1785-1790. Returned to Spalato in 1789. Organist at the Cathedral of San Doimo in Spalato. Member of various Dalmatian and Italian academies. Witnessed the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797. Supported the annexation of Dalmatia by the Habsburgs. Composed approximately 140 works, of which more than 120 are works of sacred music, strongly influenced by Italian operatic style. Published numerous articles and other works on music, on the Morlachs and Homer, on the history of Dalmatia and other subjects. Wrote in Italian and Latin. Died in Spalato, Dalmatia on November 12, 1800.
Anselmo Banduri
Anselmo Banduri — Born on August 18, 1671 in Ragusa, Dalmatia as Matteo Banduri. Italian Benedictine monk, scholar, antiquarian, archaeologist and numismatist. Took religious vows at an early age and adopted the religious name Anselmo. Studied in Naples and Florence. Recommended to Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany as the most suitable person for the ecclesiastical history chair at the University of Pisa. Moved briefly to Rome. Moved to Paris and entered the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Pres as a pensioner of Cosimo III de' Medici in 1702. Honorary member of the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1715. Librarian to the Duke of Orleans in 1724. Attempted in vain to obtain a similar job in Florence. Published numerous works. Died in Paris on January 4, 1743.
Federico Bencovich
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| Federico Bencovich, Dalmatian Italian (1677 - July 8, 1753) |
Federico Bencovich — Born in 1677 in Dalmatia or Venice. Italian painter. Nicknamed “Fedrighetto”. Studied painting in Venice at a young age. Moved to Bologna in 1695. Studied under Italian painters Carlo Cignani and Giuseppe Maria Crespi in Bologna. Assisted Cignani in finishing the frescoes on the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Croce in Forlì in 1706. Painted his first independent work in the Palazzo Orselli Foschi in Forlì in 1707. Returned to Venice in 1710. Commissioned by Prince-Bishop Franz Lothar von Schönborn to paint four paintings for his residence in Pommersfelden, Bavaria in 1715. Visited Vienna and Verona. Moved to Milan in 1724. Moved to Vienna in 1730. Appointed court painter of the Schönborn family at Vienna in 1734. Left Vienna in 1743. Spent the remainder of his life in Gorizia. His most famous work is a painting of Blessed Pietro Gambacorta, made for the Church of San Sebastiano in Venice in 1726. Several works in Germany were destroyed during World War II. Other works still preserved in Forlì, Brescia, Bologna, Venice, Crema, Borgo San Giacomo, Tomo di Feltre, Berlin, Stuttgart, Pommersfelden, Senonches, Vienna and Zagreb. Died in Gorizia on July 8, 1753.
Francesco Antonio Bertuccio
Francesco Antonio Bertuccio or Francesco Antonio Bertuzzi — Born in 1550 in Lesina, Dalmatia. Italian nobleman, diplomat, Franciscan friar and Knight Hospitaller. Member of the noble Bertucci or Bertuzzi family, which originated in Puglia, Italy and settled in Lesina. Prior of the Commandry of the Order of Hospitallers in Aurana. Member of the Holy League of Pope Clement VIII. Supported a movement to liberate southeastern Europe from the Turks. Organized the liberation of Clissa from the Turks in 1596. Died in 1620.
Gian Francesco Biondi
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| Sir Gian Francesco Biondi, Dalmatian Italian (1575-1644) |
Gian Francesco Biondi — Born in 1572 in Lesina, Dalmatia to a noble Italian family. Italian writer, diplomat and historian. Studied law at the University of Padua. Entered a diplomatic career in Venice. Private secretary to the Venetian ambassador to Paris from 1606-1608. Converted to Protestantism around 1607. Returned to Venice and spread Protestant propaganda. Traveled to London in 1609 to negotiate an alliance with King James I of England. Accepted a diplomatic assignment to Delphine and Provence on behalf of Venice in 1610. Visited the Court of Savoy in Turin on behalf of England in 1612. Sent to the Calvinist Assembly at Grenoble as a representative of King James I in 1615. Became an agent of Duke Carlo Emanuele I of Savoy from 1616-1620. Knighted and appointed Gentleman of the Bedchamber by King James in 1622. Left England and moved to Switzerland in 1640. Published numerous literary and historiographical works. His most famous work is an unfinished trilogy comprised of L'Eromena, La Donzella desterrada and Il Coralbo, which introduced the heroic-gallant genre of novels into Italy. Died in Aubonne, Switzerland in 1644.
Girolamo Bisanti
Girolamo Bisanti or Girolamo Brisanti — Born in the 16th century in Cattaro, Dalmatia. Italian naval captain. Member of the noble Bisanti family. Commander of the Venetian galley San Trifone, which set sail from Cattaro, in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
Trifone Bisanti
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| Bishop Trifone Bisanti, Dalmatian Italian (c. 1480 - 1540) |
Trifone Bisanti — Born in c. 1480 in Cattaro, Dalmatia. Italian theologian, diplomat, scholar and bishop. Member of the noble Bisanti family. Studied at one of the universities in Italy. Doctor of philosophy, theology and law. Taught Greek and Latin literature at the universities of Bologna and Perugia. Librarian of the Duke of Modena. Invited by Pope Julius II to attend the Fifth Lateran Council. Attended the ninth session of the Fifth Lateran Council in 1513. Bishop of Cattaro from 1514-1532. Attended the twelfth session of the Fifth Lateran Council in 1517. Friend of Cardinal Domenico Grimani, son of Doge Antonio Grimani. Resigned his ecclesiastical office in 1532. Published a collection of letters in Latin. Died in Cattaro, Dalmatia in 1540.
Savino de Bobali
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| Savino de Bobali, Dalmatian Italian (1530 - 1585) |
Savino de Bobali — Born in 1530 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian poet. Member of the noble Bobali family. Nicknamed “Sordo” (“the Deaf”) due to his deafness. Member of the Grand Council of Ragusa at age twenty. Founded the first Literary Academy of Dalmatia. Co-founded the Academy of Concords (Accademia dei Concordi) with his friends Michele Monaldi, Cornelio Amalteo and Nascimbene Nascimbeni in 1550. Published numerous poems. Wrote almost exclusively in the Italian language. Died in Stagno, Dalmatia in 1585.
Giovanni Bona de Boliris
Giovanni Bona de Boliris — Born in 1520 in Cattaro, Dalmatia to a noble Italian family. Italian poet and writer. Graduated in law at the University of Padua. Moved to the Kingdom of Naples in 1551. Published numerous poems. His most famous work is the “Description of the Gulf and City of Cattaro” (Descriptio sinus et urbis Ascriviensis). Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Died in Cattaro, Dalmatia in 1572.
Francesco Bolizza
Francesco Bolizza — Born in the 16th century in Cattaro, Dalmatia to a noble family. Italian diplomat and courier. Brother of Mariano Bolizza. Director of the postal service between Venice and Constantinople in Cattaro. Knight of the Order of St. Mark. Supported the Franciscan mission in Albania. Established diplomatic relations with the tribes of Albania and Montenegro during the War of Candia from 1646 onwards. Died in Cattaro, Dalmatia in 1653.
Mariano Bolizza
Mariano Bolizza — Born in the 16th century or 1603 in Cattaro, Dalmatia to a noble family. Italian diplomat, writer, poet and Catholic priest. Brother of Francesco Bolizza. Studied at the University of Padua. Ordained a priest. Secretary of Apostolic Nuncio Giovanni Battista Agucchi in Venice. Vice-Collateral of the Venetian Army. Called to Modena by the Duke of Este. Professor of Rhetoric at the College of San Carlo in Modena for ten years. Member of the Academy of the Elpomeni (Accademia degli Elpomeni) in Modena. His most famous work is the “Relation and Description of the Sanjak of Scutari” (Relatione et descrittione del sangiacato di Scuttari). Also published an academic discourse (Discorso accademico) dedicated to Francesco I d'Este, Duke of Modena and numerous poems in Latin and Italian. Died in Modena in 1643.
Natale Bonifacio
Natale Bonifacio — Born on December 23, 1538 in Sebenico, Dalmatia to a noble Italian family, which originated in Capua, Italy and settled in Dalmatia. Italian carver and engraver. Moved to Venice in the 1570's. Moved to Rome in 1575. Joined the Congregation of St. Jerome in 1579. Guardian of the Congregation in 1580. Mayor of the Congregation in 1582. Camerlengo of the Congregation in 1583. Returned to Sebenico in 1589. His works include 13 maps of Venetian territories, several other geographical maps, dozens of woodcuts and engravings, and a “Geography and History of the Kingdom of Naples” (Geografia et historia del Regno di Napoli), published in 1591. Works preserved in Rome, Venice, Naples, Turin, Milan, Paris, London and various other public and private collections. Died in Sebenico, Dalmatia on February 23, 1592.
Bonino de Boninis
Bonino de Boninis — Born in 1454 on the island of Lagosta in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian publisher, typographer and Catholic priest. Moved to Venice at a young age. Printed in Venice, Verona, Brescia and Lyon. Informant for the Republic of Venice in 1497. Ordained a priest in 1499. Printed numerous Latin and Italian works, including the works of Tibullus, Catullus, Propertius, Virgil, Plutarch, Aulus Gellius, Aesop, Dante Alighieri and Cristoforo Landino. Remembered as one of the pioneers of the printing press in Europe. Died in Treviso in June 1528.
Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich
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| Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich, Dalmatian Italian (May 18, 1711 - February 13, 1787) |
Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich — Born on May 18, 1711 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian astronomer, mathematician, physicist, philosopher, diplomat, poet, theologian, Jesuit priest and polymath. His mother Paola Bettera was an Italian noblewoman from Dalmatia, whose family originated in Bergamo, Italy and settled in Dalmatia in 1610. His father Nikola Boskovic was a Slavic immigrant born in Bosnia, who changed his name to the Italian form Niccolò Boscovich after migrating to Ragusa. His birth name was Ruggiero, named after his Italian uncle and godfather Ruggiero Bettera. His middle name was the Italian name Giuseppe. His surname was Boscovich, the Dalmatian-Italian form of his father's surname. Born and raised in an Italian cultural environment in Ragusa. His mother tongue was Italian and he used Italian in his private correspondence. He spent almost his entire life in Italy, self-identified as Dalmatian and Italian, and signed his own name as Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich.
Taught the rudiments of reading and writing by Italian priest Nicola Nicchei at the Church of San Nicolò in Ragusa. Studied at the Collegium Ragusinum under the Jesuits in Ragusa. Moved to Rome in 1725 at age fourteen. Studied mathematics and physics at the Basilica of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte in Rome. Entered the Roman College (Collegio Romano) in Rome in 1728. Entered the Jesuit Order in 1731. Professor of Mathematics at the Roman College in 1740. Member of the Tuscan Academy of Sciences and Letters (Accademia toscana di scienze e lettere “La Colombaria”). Ordained a priest in 1744. Diplomatic mediator mediator between the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Republic of Lucca and the Holy Roman Emperor in 1757. Ambassador to London in 1760. Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London. Visited Constantinople to observe Venus in 1761. Occupied the Chair of Mathematics at the University of Pavia from 1764-1768. Founded the Brera Astronomical Observatory in Milan in 1764. Director of the Brera Astronomical Observatory in Milan until 1772. The suppression of the Jesuit Order in Italy in 1773 led him to accept an invitation from the King of France to come to Paris. Appointed director of optics for the French navy. Returned to Italy in 1782. Co-founded the Italian National Academy of Sciences (Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze; a scientific academy founded by patriotic Italian scientists aspiring towards Italian Unification) in 1782. Lived in Bassano del Grappa for two years. Spent several months at Vallombrosa Abbey in Reggello near Florence. Resumed work at the Brera Astronomical Observatory in Milan in 1786.
Published numerous works on mathematics, physics, astronomy, meteorology, gravitation, optics, civil engineering and philosophy. Also composed numerous religious poems. Wrote exclusively in Latin and Italian until 1760. Wrote almost exclusively in Latin and Italian, and occasionally in French, after 1760. Never wrote a single line in Croatian. Remembered for his contributions to astronomy. Remembered also for producing a precursor of atomic theory; for introducing a statistical procedure for resolving measurements of the length of a meridian arc; for developing the first geometric procedure for determining the equator of a rotating planet from three observations of a surface feature; for computing the orbit of a planet from three observations of its position; and for discovering the absence of atmosphere on the Moon in 1753. One of the first scientists in continental Europe to accept Isaac Newton's gravitational theories. Boscovichian physics became the foundation of physical lectures in various cities outside of Italy, including Ljubljana and Vienna. An asteroid and a lunar crater on the moon are named after him. Died in Milan on February 13, 1787. Buried in the Church of Santa Maria Podone in Milan, Italy.
Domenico Bucchia
Domenico Bucchia or Domenico da Cattaro — Born in the 16th century in Cattaro, Dalmatia. Italian theologian and Dominican priest. Member of the noble Bucchia family. Brother of Vincenzo Bucchia. Provincial of the Dalmatian monasteries. Published an exposition of the penitential psalms in the Italian language and an exposition of Dominical letters in Latin. Died in the 17th century.
Vincenzo Bucchia
Vincenzo Bucchia or Vincenzo da Cattaro — Born on January 17, 1584 in Cattaro, Dalmatia. Italian theologian and Dominican bishop. Member of the noble Bucchia family. Brother of Domenico Bucchia. Ordained a priest in 1608. Bishop of Cattaro from 1622-1655. Vicar General of Dalmatia. Confessor of Blessed Osanna of Cattaro. Died in Cattaro, Dalmatia in 1655 or 1656.
Bernardo Caboga
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| Count Bernardo Caboga, Dalmatian Italian (February 6, 1785 - November 19, 1855) |
Bernardo Caboga — Born on February 6, 1785 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian nobleman and military commander. Member of the noble Caboga family, which originated in Fermo, Italy and settled in Ragusa in the 8th century. Attended the Military Academy of Vienna. Participated in the Italian Campaign during the Napoleonic Wars in 1805. Director of military engineering in Lviv in 1806. Granted the title of Chamberlain in 1807. Promoted to lieutenant captain in 1807. Participated in the Battle of Sankt Michael and the Battle of Raab in 1809. Served in the army of the Crown Prince of Sweden in 1813. Awarded the Swedish Order of the Sword. Director of military engineering in Zara, Dalmatia. Director of military engineering in Sicily in 1819. Field aid with the Prince of Hesse-Homburg in Russia from 1819-1827. Promoted to major in 1824. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1830. Suppressed the Polish uprising in Galicia in 1831-1832. Promoted to colonel in 1832. Director of Fortifications in Bohemia in 1835. Moved to Modena in 1836. Elected helper of the children of Duke Francesco IV of Modena. Majordomo for the ducal family of Modena. Promoted to major general in 1838. Promoted to lieutenant marshal in 1846. General of the artillery in 1854. Died in Vienna on November 19, 1855.
Biagio Caboga
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| Biagio Caboga, Dalmatian Italian (December 27, 1698 - 1750) |
Biagio Caboga — Born on December 27, 1698 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian diplomat and nobleman. Member of the noble Caboga family, which originated in Fermo, Italy and settled in Ragusa in the 8th century. Ambassador of the Republic of Ragusa to the Ottoman Empire. Married the Dalmatian Italian noblewoman Caterina Gondola, a member of the noble Gondola family, in 1732. Died in Ragusa, Dalmatia in 1750.
Biagio Bernardo Caboga
Biagio Bernardo Caboga — Born in 1779 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian nobleman and military commander. Member of the noble Caboga family, which originated in Fermo, Italy and settled in Ragusa in the 8th century. Opposed the Napoleonic occupation of Ragusa. Participated in the Ragusan uprising against the French in 1813-1814. Supported the occupation of Ragusa by the Habsburgs. Provisional Intendant of Ragusa from 1814-1816. Died in 1854.
Marino Caboga
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| Archdeacon Marino Caboga, Dalmatian Italian (1505 - 1582) |
Marino Caboga or Mario Caboga — Born in 1505 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian lawyer and Catholic priest. Member of the noble Caboga family, which originated in Fermo, Italy and settled in Ragusa in the 8th century. Graduated in law from the University of Padua. Founded the Chair of Criminal Law at the University of Padua. Canon and Archdeacon of Ragusa. Apostolic Protonotary and domestic chaplain of Pope Gregory XIII. Made Count Palatine by Pope Gregory XIII. Member of the Academy of the Confusi (Accademia dei Confusi) of Viterbo. Published five works in Latin, in addition to poems and sonnets. Died in Rome in 1582.
Francesco Carrara
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| Don Francesco Carrara, Dalmatian Italian (November 16, 1812 - January 29, 1854) |
Francesco Carrara — Born on November 16, 1812 in Spalato, Dalmatia. Italian archaeologist and Catholic priest. One of the first archaeologists of Dalmatia. Entered the local seminary at age twelve. Moved to Zara to continue studying theology in 1831. Returned to Spalato. Studied the ancient Roman ruins of Salona. Attended the St. Augustine Institute in Vienna in 1836. Celebrated his first Mass as a priest in Vienna on November 15, 1838. Obtained a degree in theology in Padua. Returned to Vienna in 1840. Obtained the Chair of History and Religion at the Seminary of Spalato in 1842. Began a campaign of archaeological excavations in Salona in 1844. Participated in the Congress of Italian Scientists in Venice in 1847. Returned to Spalato where he led excavations of ancient Roman sites. Led excavations in Narona and ancient Delminium. Suspended from the Seminary of Spalato in 1849. Defended with a petition signed by 170 citizens of Spalato. Forced to stop his archaeological research due to suspension of funds. Moved to Venice. Appointed professor at the school of Santa Caterina in Venice. Published numerous archaeological, historical and cultural works between 1840-1853. Wrote exclusively in the Italian language. Died in Venice on January 29, 1854.
Pietro Canavelli
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| Pietro Canavelli, Dalmatian Italian (December 27, 1637 - January 16, 1719) |
Pietro Canavelli — Born on December 27, 1637 on the island of Curzola in Dalmatia. Italian poet and translator. Last male descendant of the noble Canavelli family. Studied law at the University of Padua. Member of the Grand Council of Zara in 1665. Participated in the Italian comedy La moglie di quattro mariti by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini in Spalato in 1667. Chancellor of the Venetian Governor-General of Dalmatia. Representative of Curzola in Venice in 1673. Published numerous poems, epics and songs in Italian and Croatian. Translated numerous Italian works into Croatian. Died in Curzola, Dalmatia on January 16, 1719.
Marco de Casotti
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| Marco de Casotti, Dalmatian Italian (July 22, 1804 - May 19, 1842) |
Marco de Casotti — Born on July 22, 1804 in Traù, Dalmatia. Italian journalist and novelist. Member of the noble Casotti family, which originated in Venice and settled in Dalmatia in the medieval period. Member of the Cippico family, which originated in Rome and settled in Dalmatia in 1232. Studied at the Seminary of Spalato. Continued studies in Zara and Vienna. Briefly moved to Venice. Returned to Traù. Editor of the Dalmatian Italian newspaper “Gazzetta di Zara” in 1832. Wrote three novels in the Italian language: Milienco e Dobrilla, Il bano Horvath and Il berretto rosso. Published numerous articles, essays, a historical description of the islands and coastal towns of Istria and Dalmatia, and a volume of poems in the Italian language. Died in Zara, Dalmatia on May 19, 1842.
Elio Lampridio Cerva
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| Elio Lampridio Cerva, Dalmatian Italian (1463 - September 15, 1520) |
Elio Lampridio Cerva — Born in 1463 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian poet and lexicographer. Member of the noble Cerva family, of ancient Roman origin, which was one of the original founding families of Ragusa. Moved to Rome at age thirteen. Entered the poetic circle of Giulio Pomponio Leto. Crowned poet laureate in Rome. Studied ancient dramaturgy and the comedies of Plautus. Returned to Ragusa in 1490. His most important work is “On Epidaurum” (De Epidauro), an unfinished epic poem about the Turkish invasion of Ragusa. Published numerous poems and an encyclopedic dictionary. Wrote exclusively in Latin. Condemned the Slavic language as a “disgusting language” (stribiliginem illuricam or stribiligo illyrica) and condemned Slavic poetry as “nonsensical monkey verses” (versi scimmieschi senza senso). Condemned the slavicization of Ragusa by Slavic immigrants. Died in Ragusa, Dalmatia on September 15, 1520.
Elio Lampridio Cerva wrote about the Latin origin of Ragusans in a letter to a friend:
“In reality the Slavic language contradicts our origins; in fact, the vestiges of the old Romance language still exists among us and according to the memory of our fathers all our ancestors both publicly and privately spoke a Romance language, which has now completely fallen into disuse. I remember as a small boy that there were elderly people who used to debate each other using a Romance language, which was called Ragusan. Therefore it is evident that our ancestors were undoubtedly Latins.”
(“Neque vero scythicus sermo nobis vernaculus atque peculiaris huic origini repugnat; nam adhuc reliquiae quaedam et vestigia romani sermonis apud nos extant et patrum memoria omnes nostri progenitores et publice et privatim romanam linguam, quae nunc penitus obsolevit, loquebantur, et me puero memini nonnullos senes romana lingua, quae tunc Rhacusaea dicebatur, causas actitare solitos; quibus indiciis constat nostrum genus in Romanos procul dubio esse referendum.”)
(“In realtà la lingua scitica [slava], che è il nostro vernacolo, è in contraddizione con questa origine; infatti certi resti e vestigia di una lingua romanza sussistono ancora presso di noi e a memoria degli antenati tutti i nostri progenitori parlavano sia in pubblico che in privato una lingua romanza, che ora è del tutto caduta in disuso, e mi ricordo da ragazzo che alcuni vecchi erano soliti dibattere le cause nella lingua romanza, che era allora detta ragusea; da questi indizi è evidente che la nostra discendenza è riconducibile senza dubbio ai Latini.”)
Serafino Cerva
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| Padre Serafino Cerva, Dalmatian Italian (1463 - 1759) |
Serafino Cerva — Born in 1696 in Ragusa, Dalmatia as Agostino Francesco de' Cerva. Italian scholar and Dominican priest. Member of the noble Bona family, which originated in Puglia, Italy and settled in Ragusa in the medieval period. Also a member of the noble Cerva family, of ancient Roman origin, which was one of the original founding families of Ragusa. Assumed the Dominican habit at a young age and adopted the religious name Serafino Maria. Studied in Venice. Returned to Ragusa after completing his studies. Published numerous works on Ragusan history. His most famous work is the “Ragusan Library” (Bibliotheca Ragusina), which contains 453 biographies of notable Ragusans. Also published numerous translations in Italian, including a commentary on the life of Blessed Osanna of Cattaro. Died in Ragusa, Dalmatia in 1759.
Alvise Cippico
Alvise Cippico — Born on September 16, 1456 in Traù, Dalmatia. Italian bishop and archbishop. Member of the noble Cippico family, which originated in Rome and settled in Dalmatia in 1232. Son of Coriolano Cippico. Appointed Bishop of Famagusta in 1488. Appointed Archbishop of Zara in 1503. Died in Rome on March 2, 1504 before occupying the see in Zara.
Alvise Cippico (Luigi Cipoco)
Alvise Cippico or Luigi Cipoco — Born in the 16th century in Traù, Dalmatia. Italian naval captain. Member of the noble Cippico family, which originated in Rome and settled in Dalmatia in 1232. Grandson of Coriolano Cippico. Commander of the Venetian galley La Donna, which set sail from Traù, in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
Antonio Cippico
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| Antonio Cippico, Dalmatian Italian (March 20, 1877 - January 17, 1935) |
Antonio Cippico — Born on March 20, 1877 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian politician, poet, patriot, journalist and lecturer. Member of the noble Cippico family, which originated in Rome and settled in Dalmatia in 1232. Brother-in-law of Arnolfo Bacotich. Attended the Jesuit College of Zara. Graduated in law from the University of Vienna in 1901. Supported Italian culture and the preservation of Italian identity in Dalmatia. Moved to Rome in 1903. Director of the Italian magazine “Rivista di Roma”. Professor of Italian Literature at the University of London in 1906. Member of the Anglo-Italian Literary Society. Supported Italian intervention in World War I and the unification of Dalmatia with the Kingdom of Italy. Tried and sentenced in absentia on charges of high treason by the Austrian government in 1914. Obtained Italian citizenship in 1915. Founded the Pro Italian Dalmatia Association (Pro Dalmazia Italiana) in 1915. Volunteered in the Italian Army in World War I from 1915-1918. Promoted to lieutenant. Promoted to captain. Awarded the Italian Cross of War Merit.
Wrote for the Italian newspaper “Il Popolo d'Italia” in 1919. Supported Gabriele D'Annunzio and the Italian Regency of Carnaro in 1919-1920. Honorarily awarded the Medal of Ronchi (Medaglia di Ronchi) by Gabriele D'Annunzio in 1920. Co-founded the Italian Fascio of London in 1921. Co-founded the Italian magazine “Il Globo” in 1923. Senator of the Kingdom of Italy in 1923. Delegate of the Italian Government to the Assembly of the League of Nations from 1925-1928. Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy in 1925. Co-Founder and co-editor of the Dalmatian Italian publication “Archivio storico della Dalmazia” in 1926. Member of the Royal Literary Society in London. Member of the Academy of San Luca in Rome. Wrote for the Italian literary magazine “Nuova Antologia”. Presided over the First World Congress of Libraries in 1929. Member of the Commission for the Review of the Lateran Pacts in 1929. Protested against the destruction of monuments and the persecution of Italians in Dalmatia by the Yugoslavs in 1932. Published numerous works, including poems and numerous books and articles on the history and culture of Dalmatia. The Cippico-Bacotich Collection, which has its origins in the Dalmatian Italian publication “Archivio storico della Dalmazia”, is one of the most important collections of manuscripts pertaining to Dalmatian Italians between the 17th and 20th centuries. Died in Rome on January 17, 1935.
An extract from “Italy and the Adriatic”, one of Cippico's articles on Dalmatia, published in 1915:
“The reasons of the present Italian war...are deeply rooted in...the long and indescribable sufferings of the Italians of the eastern shore of the Adriatic—and more especially of the Italians of Dalmatia—through the iniquitous denationalising policy pursued by Austria. ...the Austrians, in order to exclude Italy from her sea...had begun to denationalise Dalmatia and Istria by pursuing their policy of oppressing Italians in favour of the Croatians. ...it meant especially the violent denationalisation of Dalmatia, of Fiume, of Istria, and of Trieste. ... Dalmatia and Istria have never, neither in geography nor in history, belonged to the Balkans. ... It is inconceivable...that hard national suffering of the Italians of the eastern shore of the Adriatic, victims of Austria’s dynastic policy of Croatisation. ... The restoration of the Trentino, Trieste, Istria, Fiume, and part of Dalmatia to Italy is not territorial aggrandisement, for Italy is recovering what she has been mistress of for twenty centuries.”
Coriolano Cippico
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| Coriolano Cippico, Dalmatian Italian (1425 - 1493) |
Coriolano Cippico — Born in 1425 in Traù, Dalmatia. Italian historian, landowner and military commander. Member of the noble Cippico family, which originated in Rome and settled in Dalmatia in 1232. Father of Alvise Cippico. Grandfather of Luigi Cipoco. Studied humanities and military strategy at the University of Padua at age fifteen. Practiced forensics in Venice. Returned to Traù. Married the Venetian noblewoman Giacobina Lodi, who died young. Married the Dalmatian Italian woman Nicoletta de Andreis, a relative of Paolo Andreis. Trustee of the endowment of the Cathedral of Traù from 1456-1488. Representative of Traù in the Venetian Senate. Envoy to King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. Galley captain under the future Doge of Venice Pietro Mocenigo. Fought against the Turks in the First Ottoman-Venetian War from 1470-1474. Founded a castle fortress in 1480-1481, which became the village of Castelvecchio in the town of Castelli, Dalmatia. Wife died in a castle fire in 1492. His most famous work is “The Deeds of Commander Pietro Mocenigo” (Petri Mocenici Imperatoris Gesta or De Bello Asiatico), a historical account and personal testimony of the war between Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Died in Traù in 1493.
Trifone Cocoglia
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| Trifone Cocoglia, Dalmatian Italian (February 26/28, 1661 - October 18, 1713) |
Trifone Cocoglia or Trifone Perastino — Born on February 26 or 28, 1661 in Perasto, Dalmatia. Italian painter. Studied art in Venice. Painted religious themes, landscapes and portraits. His most famous work is a set of 68 paintings in the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks (Madonna dello Scalpello) in Perasto. Other works preserved in the Dominican church in Bol on the island of Brazza, in the Church of San Nicola in Perasto, in the Church of All Saints (Ognissanti) in Curzola, in the Church of Santa Domenica in Combur, in numerous churches in Cattaro, Bonintro, Perzagno and Ragusa, and in the local museum of Perasto. Remembered as the first painter to introduce landscape and still life as an independent theme in Baroque painting in Dalmatia. Died in Curzola, Dalmatia on October 18, 1713.
Arturo Colautti
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| Arturo Colautti, Dalmatian Italian (October 9, 1851 - November 9, 1914) |
Arturo Colautti — Born on October 9, 1851 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian journalist, writer and librettist. Graduated high school in Zara. Served in the Austro-Hungarian Army. Founded the Dalmatian Italian newspaper “Il Progresso” at age seventeen. Founded the Dalmatian Italian newspaper “La Leva”. Graduated in political science and geography from the universities of Vienna and Graz. Moved to Fiume. Director of the Italian newspaper “La Bilancia” in Fiume. Returned to Zara. Director of the Dalmatian Italian newspaper “Il Dalmata” from 1872-1874. Moved to Spalato in 1876. Co-founded the Dalmatian Italian magazine “La Rivista Dalmatica” in 1876. Director of the Dalmatian Italian newspaper “L'Avvenire” from 1876-1880. Attacked and wounded by a group of Austrian soldiers for his pro-Italian writings in 1880. Persecuted by the Austrian government for supporting Italian irredentism. Fled to the Kingdom of Italy. Founded the Italian newspaper “L'Euganeo” in 1883. Moved to Milan. Founded the Italian newspaper “L'Italia” in 1884. Moved to Naples. Founded the Italian newspaper “Corriere del Mattino” in 1885. Director of the Italian newspaper “Corriere di Napoli”. Opposed the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. Returned to Milan in 1912. Director of the Italian newspaper “L'Alba” from 1912-1914. Supported Italian intervention in World War I and the unification of Dalmatia with the Kingdom of Italy. Published hundreds of articles, poems, sonnets, novels and plays. Composed numerous operatic librettos. Died in Rome on November 9, 1914.
Benedetto Cotrugli
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| Benedetto Cotrugli, Dalmatian Italian (1416-1469) |
Benedetto Cotrugli — Born in 1416 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian merchant, economist and diplomat. Worked in Naples as a consul of the Republic of Ragusa. Auditor of the Sacred Roman Rota. Minister of State at the Court of King Alfonso I of Naples and King Ferdinand I of Naples. Master of the Mint in Naples in 1468 and L'Aquila in 1469. Remembered for inventing the modern double-entry system of bookkeeping, several years before Luca Pacioli, although his manuscript on bookkeeping remained unpublished until 1573. Published numerous works on trade, economics, navigation and other subjects. His most famous work is “On Commerce and the Perfect Merchant” (Della mercatura e del mercante perfetto). Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Died in L'Aquila, Italy in 1469.
Giovanni Creglianovich-Albinoni
Giovanni Creglianovich-Albinoni — Born in 1777 in Zara, Dalmatia to a noble family. Italian writer, librettist and playwright. Studied at the University of Padua. Active as a writer, librettist and government employee in Venice between the end of the 18th century and the first decade of the 19th century. Witnessed the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797. Supported the Napoleonic occupation. Returned to Zara, where he worked as a magistrate and opened numerous schools and libraries. Head of the Administration of Justice in 1806. Editor-in-chief of the bilingual journal “Il Regio Dalmata-Kraglski Dalmatin” in 1808. Scholastic inspector for the province of Dalmatia from 1814-1816. Member of the Academy of Arcadia. Published numerous tragedies, libretti for melodramas and a history of Dalmatia in the Italian language. Died in 1838 in Zara.
Federico Crisogono
Federico Crisogono or Federico Grisogono — Born in 1472 in Zara, Dalamtia. Italian physician and scientist. Studied law, mathematics, philosophy and medicine at the University of Padua from 1498 onwards. Acquired the title of Doctor in Philosophy and Medicine in 1507. Taught astronomy and mathematics in Padua. Returned to Zara in 1509, where he worked as a physician and became a member of the civil administration. Moved to Venice in 1512. Involved in harbor construction in Rimini in 1537. Published numerous scientific treatises. Died in Zara, Dalmatia in 1538.
Raimondo Cunich
Raimondo Cunich — Born on January 17, 1719 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian latinist and Jesuit priest. Entered the Jesuit Order in 1734 at age fifteen. Studied rhetoric, classical languages and theology. Taught grammar in Fermo. Taught classical letters in Città di Castello and Florence. Graduated from the Roman College (Collegio Romano) in Rome. Taught rhetoric at the Church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale in Rome in 1761. Taught rhetoric at the Roman College in Rome in 1768. Member of the Academy of Arcadia. Professor of Greek and Eloquence at the Roman College in Rome. Published numerous orations, epigrams and elegies in Latin. Translated ancient Greek works into Latin. Died in Rome on November 22, 1794.
Giulio Camillo Delminio
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| Giulio Camillo Delminio, Dalmatian Italian (1480 - May 15, 1544) |
Giulio Camillo Delminio — Born in 1480 in Portogruaro, Italy to a Dalmatian family. Italian philosopher. Studied law and philosophy at the University of Padua. Taught eloquence and logic at the Academy of San Vito in Friuli. Co-founded the Accademia Liviana in Pordenone in 1508. Moved to Venice. Befriended Pietro Bembo and other prominent Renaissance Italians. Supported the use of the Italian language instead of dialects. Master of Humanities in Udine in 1515. Obtained the Chair of Dialectics at the University of Bologna from 1521-1525. Attended the coronation of Emperor Charles V in 1529. Invited to Paris by King Francis I of France in 1530. Returned to Italy in 1537. Invited to Milan in 1543 or 1544. His most famous work is “The Idea of the Theatre” (L'Idea del Theatro). Died in Milan on May 15, 1544.
Francesco Suppé Demelli
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| Francesco Suppé Demelli, Dalmatian Italian (April 18, 1819 - May 21, 1895) |
Francesco Suppé Demelli — Born on April 18, 1819 in Spalato, Dalmatia as Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo Cavaliere di Suppé-Demelli. Italian composer. His father Pietro Giuseppe Suppé belonged to a family of mixed Italian-Belgian origin which settled in Italy and then in Dalmatia in the 18th century. His mother was born in Vienna to Czech-Polish parents. Born and raised as part of the Italian community of Spalato, Dalmatia. Distant relative of Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Sang in the choir of the Cathedral of Spalato at age eight. Taught the rudiments of music in Spalato by Italian choirmaster Giovanni Cigalla. Studied harmony and the flute under Italian military maestro di cappella Giuseppe Ferrari. Moved to Zara, Dalmatia. His first known composition, the Roman Catholic “Dalmatian Mass” (Missa Dalmatica), debuted in the Church of San Francesco in Zara in 1832 at age thirteen. Moved to Padua at age fifteen. Studied law at the University of Padua. Frequently attended operas at La Scala in Milan. Personally met the Italian composers Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti and Giuseppe Verdi. Moved to Vienna in 1835. In Vienna he shortened and Germanized his name to Franz von Suppé. Taught the Italian language as a means of financing his studies at the Vienna Conservatory. Debuted as a basso profundo (bass singer) portraying the role of Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore by Donizetti in 1842. Occasionally visited Spalato, Zara and Sebenico. Composed over 200 operettas, ballets, quartets, songs, symphonies, sacred music and other works, mostly in the German language. Died in Vienna on May 21, 1895.
Vincenzo Drago
Vincenzo Drago — Born in 1770 in Cattaro, Dalmatia to a noble family. Italian historian. Studied in Cattaro. Studied at the University of Padua. Moved to Sebenico. Conducted research in the libraries of several Italian cities. Judicial and political magistrate in Sebenico and Traù. Corresponded with Countess Isabella Teotochi Albrizzi and the Venetian noblewoman Marina Querini. Published numerous historical works. Died in Spalato, Dalmatia on November 3, 1836.
Francesco Salghetti-Drioli
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| Francesco Salghetti-Drioli, Dalmatian Italian (1811 - July 15, 1877) |
Francesco Salghetti-Drioli — Born in 1811 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian painter and entrepreneur. Member of the Italian Drioli family, one of the founding families of the Maraschino industry of Zara. Trained in Trieste as a miniaturist. Studied arts in Venice, Florence and Rome. Worked in Genoa. Returned to Zara. Ran the Drioli Maraschino Liquor Factory (Fabbrica di Maraschino Francesco Drioli) in Zara from 1845-1876. Primarily painted religious themes and portraits. Died in Zara, Dalmatia on July 15, 1877.
Alessandro Dudan
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| Alessandro Dudan, Dalmatian Italian (January 29, 1883 - March 31, 1957) |
Alessandro Dudan — Born on January 29, 1883 in Verlicca, Dalmatia to a noble Italian family. Italian historian and politician. Relative of Leonardo Dudan, Mayor of Spalato from 1848-1853. Moved to Spalato as a child. Studied law at the University of Vienna in 1903. Supported the establishment of an Italian university in Trieste. Arrested and imprisoned by the Austrian government. Member of the pro-Italian Autonomist Party of Dalmatia. Fled to Italy at the outbreak of World War I. Vice President of the Pro Italian Dalmatia Association (Pro Dalmazia Italiana). Supported Italian intervention in World War I and the unification of Dalmatia with the Kingdom of Italy. Volunteered in the Italian Army in World War I from 1915-1918. Promoted to lieutenant of cavalry. Tried and sentenced in absentia on charges of high treason by the Austrian government. Awarded the Italian Cross of War Merit. Member of the Italian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Joined the Fiume Legion (Legione Fiumana) under Gabriele D'Annunzio and participated in the Fiume Enterprise in 1919. Deputy of the Kingdom of Italy in 1921. Participated in the March on Rome in 1922. Senator of the Kingdom of Italy in 1934. Returned to Spalato during World War II. Arrested by the Allies in 1944 and imprisoned in the concentration camp of Padula for several months. After the occupation and annexation of Dalmatia by the Yugoslav Communists at the end of World War II, he was de facto permanently exiled and never permitted to return to his home in Dalmatia. Spent the remainder of his life working for Istrian and Dalmatian exile associations. Published numerous articles and essays, especially on the history and culture of Dalmatia. Died in Rome on March 31, 1957.
Vincenzo Duplancich
Vincenzo Duplancich — Born on August 15, 1818 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian journalist, writer and politician. Studied literature, history and economics in high school. Enlisted in the National Guard (Guardia Nazionale) in Dalmatia during the Revolution of 1848. Wrote for the Dalmatian Italian newspaper “La Dalmazia costituzionale”. Editor of the Dalmatian Italian newspaper “Gazzetta di Zara” in 1849. Supported Italian culture and the preservation of Italian identity in Dalmatia. Opposed the annexation of Dalmatia to Croatia. Elected librarian of the new public library of Zara in 1856. Transformed the library into the most important library in Dalmatia. Collaborated with the Dalmatian Italian magazine “La Rivista Dalmata” in 1859. Member of the pro-Italian Autonomist Party of Dalmatia. Deputy of the Dalmatian Diet in 1861. Editor of the Dalmatian Italian magazine “La Voce dalmatica” in 1862. Tried and sentenced on charges of public disturbance and lèse-majesté for his pro-Italian writings by the Austrian government. Fled to Ancona to avoid imprisonment in 1863. Moved to Milan. Wrote for the Italian newspapers “La Perseveranza” and “La Vita nuova”. Published numerous works, especially on the history and culture of Dalmatia. Remembered as one of the early supporters of Italian Irredentism. Died in Milan on November 16, 1888.
Vincenzo Duplancich affirmed the Italian heritage and nationality of Dalmatia:
“The civilization of Dalmatia is only and exclusively Italian. It is legitimate to affirm that the true nationality of the Dalmatians is not Slavic but Italian, because the genius and spirit of Dalmatia is Italian.”
(“La civiltà espressa dalla Dalmazia era stata, solo ed esclusivamente, italiana; si poteva dunque legittimamente affermare che la vera nazionalità dei Dalmati non era la slava, ma l'italiana, perché italianamente si era espresso lo spirito, il genio della Dalmazia.”)
Roberto Ferruzzi
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| Roberto Ferruzzi, Dalmatian Italian (December 16, 1853 - February 16, 1934) |
Roberto Ferruzzi — Born on December 16, 1853 in Sebenico, Dalmatia. Italian painter. Moved to Venice with his family at age four. Returned to Dalmatia for studies. Enrolled in the Liceo Marco Foscarini in Venice in 1868. Graduated in law from the University of Padua. Became a self-taught painter. Moved to Luvigliano, Italy. Exhibited his first paintings in Turin in 1883. Exhibited paintings in Venice in 1887. Exhibited paintings in Palermo from 1891-1892. His most celebrated painting, the Madonnina, won the second Venice Biennale in 1897. Died in Venice on February 16, 1934.
Riccardo Forster
Riccardo Forster — Born in 1869 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian poet, journalist and theatre critic. Persecuted by the Austrian government for supporting Italian irredentism. Fled to Naples. Wrote for the Italian newspaper “Il Mattino”. Founded and directed the cultural magazine “Flegrea” from 1899-1901. Director of the Italian newspaper “Il Mattino” from 1925-1928. Published numerous works, including a book of poems, a one-act play, and short novellas. Died in 1939 in Naples.
Giovanni Francesco Fortunio
Giovanni Francesco Fortunio — Born in 1470 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian grammarian, jurist and politician. Vicar of Trieste from 1497-1498. Mayor of Ancona. Printed the first book of Italian grammar (Regole grammaticali della volgar lingua) in 1516. Murdered by defenestration in 1517 in Fano, Italy.
Angelo Antonio Frari
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| Dr. Angelo Antonio Frari, Dalmatian Italian (1780 - 1865) |
Angelo Antonio Frari — Born in 1780 in Sebenico, Dalmatia. Italian physician. Member of the Frari family. Son of Giuseppe Frari. Father of Michele Carlo Frari. Witnessed the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797. Graduated in medicine from the University of Padua in 1801. Municipal physician of Spalato. Fought against the plague in Spalato, Macarsca, Montenegro and Albania. Head of the lazaretto of Spalato from 1806-1821. President of the Maritime Health Magistrate of Venice from 1835-1843. Awarded the Gold Medal of Honor for Civil Services by Emperor Franz Joseph for his epidemiological work. Retired in 1843. Friend of Italian patriot Niccolò Tommaseo. Participated in the Venetian uprising against the Austrians that preceded the First Italian War of Independence in 1848. President of the Maritime Health Magistrate of the Republic of San Marco in 1848. Published numerous medical works. His most famous work is “On Plagues and Public Health Administration” (Della peste e della publica amministrazione sanitaria), which at the time was considered the most important general history of plague epidemics in the world. Convinced that the plague was caused by a specific contagious germ more than 50 years before Yersinia pestis was finally discovered in 1894, confirming the accuracy of his work. Remembered for his epidemiological studies and for improving the quarantine system and municipal hygiene in Dalmatia. Died in Venice in 1865.
Giuseppe Frari
Giuseppe Frari — Born in 1738 in Treviso, Italy. Italian physician. Member and founder of the Frari family. Father of Angelo Antonio Frari. Grandfather of Michele Carlo Frari. Graduated in medicine from the University of Padua in 1761. Moved to Sebenico in 1771. Municipal physician of Sebenico. Municipal physician of Zara. Falsely accused of being responsible for the outbreak of the Epidemic of 1783 in Sebenico. Witnessed the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797. Published the first work on rabies written in Dalmatia and the first medical-statistical work of all Dalmatia. Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Remembered for his epidemiological studies and for Luigi Lapenna, one of the first modern doctors in Dalmatia. His work on rabies, published in 1782 in Ancona, was the first written by an author from Dalmatia. Died in Sebenico, Dalmatia in 1801.
Luigi Frari
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| Dr. Luigi Frari, Dalmatian Italian (1813 - March 13, 1898) |
Luigi Frari — Born in 1813 in Sebenico, Dalmatia. Italian physician and politician. Member of the Frari family. Grandson of Giuseppe Frari. Nephew of Angelo Antonio Frari. Graduated from the University of Padua. Municipal physician of Spalato. Member of the pro-Italian Autonomist Party of Dalmatia. Supported Italian culture and the preservation of Italian identity in Dalmatia. Opposed the annexation of Dalmatia to Croatia. Deputy of the Dalmatian Diet from 1867-1870. Mayor of Sebenico. Oversaw the modernization of the city of Sebenico. Financed the construction of the Teatro Mazzoleni in 1870, the first theatre in Sebenico. President of the Theatre Society of Sebenico (Società del Teatro). Friend of Italian patriot Niccolò Tommaseo. Published an article in the Dalmatian Italian newspaper “La Dalmazia Cattolica” supporting the preservation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sebenico in 1872. His inaugural work on rabies, published in 1840 at the University of Padua, was the second written by an author from Dalmatia. Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Died in Sebenico, Dalmatia on March 13, 1898.
Michele Carlo Frari
Michele Carlo Frari — Born on November 4, 1813 in Spalato, Dalmatia. Italian obstetrician and inventor. Member of the Frari family. Son of Angelo Antonio Frari. Grandson of Giuseppe Frari. Professor of Obstetrics at the University of Padua from 1843-1889. Participated in the First Italian War of Independence from 1848-1849. Invented various obstetrical instruments, including the Frari Forceps. Published numerous medical works. Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Died in Padua on January 17, 1894.
Marco Faustino Gagliuffi
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| Padre Marco Faustino Gagliuffi, Dalmatian Italian (February 15, 1765 - 1834) |
Marco Faustino Gagliuffi — Born on February 15, 1765 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian poet, jurist and Catholic priest. Moved to Rome at age sixteen. Entered the Piarist Order in Rome. Member of the Academy of Arcadia in 1784. Taught rhetoric in Urbino in 1785. Studied theology at the Nazarene College (Collegio Nazareno) in Rome in 1788. Supported the Napoleonic occupation. Tribune of the Roman Republic in 1798. Professor and Prefect of Studies at the Roman College (Collegio Romano) in Rome in 1799. Obtained the Chair of Eloquence at the University of Genoa in 1803. Taught rhetoric and civil law in Genoa. Abandoned teaching in 1816. Traveled throughout Italy writing poetry. Appointed Librarian of the University of Genoa by King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia in 1831. Supported the House of Savoy. Published numerous poems in Latin. Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Died in Novi Ligure, Italy in 1834.
Bernardino Gallelli
Bernardino Gallelli — Born in 1462 in Zara, Dalmatia to a noble Italian family. Italian ecclesiastic. Chancellor of the King of Poland. Vicar General of the Diocese of Krakow from 1509-1517. Died in Krakow, Poland on June 5, 1517.
Marino Ghetaldi
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| Marino Ghetaldi, Dalmatian Italian (October 2, 1568 - April 11, 1626) |
Marino Ghetaldi — Born on October 2, 1568 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian scientist and mathematician. Member of the noble Ghetaldi family, which originated in Taranto, Italy and settled in Ragusa in 940. Taught by Franciscans in Ragusa. Member of the Grand Council of Ragusa at age eighteen. Captain of Sabbioncello. Moved to Padua in 1601. Friend of Galileo Galilei. Moved to Rome in 1602. Returned to Ragusa in 1603. Commissioned to build a tower for the Walls of Stagno in 1604. Envoy of the Republic of Ragusa to Constantinople in 1606. Member of the Lincean Academy (Accademia dei Lincei) in Rome. Specialized in the development of optical instruments, parabolic mirrors and telescopes. Recognized as one of the best geometricians and algebraists of his time. Published numerous works on mathematics, geometry, geometrical optics and physics. Remembered for his application of algebra to geometry; for publishing the first book on analytical geometry; for constructing the parabolic mirror; and for being a pioneer in making conic lenses. Died in Ragusa, Dalmatia on April 11, 1626.
Francesco Ghetaldi-Gondola
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| Baron Francesco Ghetaldi-Gondola (August 8, 1833 - July 3, 1899) |
Francesco Ghetaldi-Gondola — Born on August 8, 1833 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian politician. Member of the Ghetaldi-Gondola branch of the Ghetaldi family, which originated in Taranto, Italy and settled in Ragusa in 940. Son of Sigismondo Ghetaldi-Gondola, the Mayor of Ragusa. Attended elementary school and high school in Ragusa. Fought in the Franco-Prussian War from 1870-1871. Member of the pro-Italian Autonomist Party of Dalmatia. Supported Dalmatian autonomy. Opposed the annexation of Dalmatia to Croatia. Supported an alliance between Italians and Serbs against Croatian nationalists. Member of the Knights of Malta in 1889. Elected to the Parliament of Vienna in 1889. Founded the Philatelic Society of Ragusa in 1890. Mayor of Ragusa until 1899. Oversaw the modernization of the city of Ragusa, including the foundation of the Hotel Imperial in 1894 and the introduction of electric street lights in 1895. Inaugurated a monument to his ancestor, the poet Giovanni Gondola in 1893. Suffered from political persecution and sabotage by Croatian nationalists, which led him to commit suicide in Ragusa, Dalmatia on July 3, 1899.
Roberto Ghiglianovich
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| Roberto Ghiglianovich, Dalmatian Italian (July 17, 1863 - September 2, 1930) |
Roberto Ghiglianovich — Born on July 17, 1863 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian politician, lawyer and patriot. Moved to Vienna in 1880. Studied law at the universities of Vienna and Graz. Returned to Zara in 1884. Supported Italian culture and the preservation of Italian identity in Dalmatia. Opposed the Slavicization of Dalmatia. Secretary of the electoral committee of the pro-Italian Autonomist Party of Dalmatia in 1885. Co-founded the Pro Patria Association of Zara (Associazione Pro Patria) in 1887. First President of the National League (Lega Nazionale). President of the Dalmatian Political Association (Società politica dalmata). Deputy of the Dalmatian Diet in 1895. Co-founded the Dalmatian Italian magazine “La Rivista Dalmatica” in 1899. Moved to Italy in 1914. Supported Italian intervention in World War I and the unification of Dalmatia with the Kingdom of Italy. Joined the Italian Navy in World War I. Participated in some naval actions during the war. Tried and sentenced to death in absentia on charges of high treason by the Austrian government. Returned to Zara after the Austrian surrender in 1918. Member of the Italian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Traveled to the United States to demonstrate the Italianity of Dalmatia in 1919. Member of the Italian Geographic Society in 1919. Consigliere of the Court of Cassation in Rome in 1920. Senator of the Kingdom of Italy in 1920. Honorary member of the Dalmatian Society of Fatherland History (Società dalmata di storia patria) in 1926. Died in Gorizia on September 2, 1930.
During his first speech in Zara in November 1918 after the Italian victory, Roberto Ghiglianovich said:
“...Italy won the war, but the Dalmatians still need to win peace.”
(“...vinta la guerra l'Italia, ai Dalmati tocca ancora vincere la pace.”)
Ignazio Giorgi
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| Don Ignazio Giorgi, Dalmatian Italian (February 13, 1675 - January 21, 1737) |
Ignazio Giorgi — Born on February 13, 1675 in Ragusa, Dalmatia as Nicolò Giorgi. Italian historian, poet, Jesuit priest and Benedictine abbot. Member of the noble Giorgi family, of ancient Roman origin, which moved from Rome to Dalmatia in the 10th century; or, according to another tradition, he was a member of the more recently-ennobled Bernardo Giorgi or Giorgi di Bernardo family, a Dalmatian Italian family from Ragusa which possibly originated in Cattaro; or according to yet another tradition, he descended from the noble Zorzi family, one of the original founding families of Venice, which settled in Dalmatia in the Middle Ages and became the Counts of Curzola.
Spent his youth in licentiousness, causing him to lose the title of Knight of Giuppana. Commanded the Fortress of San Lorenzo in Ragusa. Studied grammar and rhetoric at the Jesuit College of Ragusa (Collegio dei Gesuiti). Member of the Grand Council of Ragusa in 1693. Moved to Rome at age twenty-two or twenty-three. Entered the Jesuit Order in Rome in 1698. Studied theology, philosophy and mathematics in Italy. Taught in Loreto, Ascoli Piceno and Prato from 1702-1704. Lived in Italy until 1705. Returned to Ragusa in 1705. Left the Jesuit Order in 1707. Entered the Benedictine Order and adopted the religious name Ignazio. Entered the Benedictine Monastery of San Giacomo on the island of Meleda in Dalmatia. Exiled from Ragusa by the Senate. Lived in exile in Puglia, Italy for two years. Returned to Ragusa and became Abbot of the Monastery of San Giacomo in Meleda. Published numerous historical, philosophical and scientific treatises and poems. Wrote in Latin, Italian and Croatian. Died in Ragusa, Dalmatia on January 21, 1737.
Paladino Gondola
Paladino Gondola — Born in the 14th or 15th century in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian diplomat and merchant. Member of the noble Gondola family, which originated in Lucca, Italy and settled in Ragusa in 930. Traded in cereals from Italy. Granted trading privileges by King Alfonso I and King Ferdinand I of Naples. Commanded a galley to escort King Eric of Pomerania to Denmark in 1425. Sent on a diplomatic mission to Serbia in 1433. Supervisor of the water supply of Ragusa in 1434. Established diplomatic relations with Scanderbeg. Sent on a diplomatic mission to the Ottoman Empire in 1458. Sent on a diplomatic mission to the Duchy of Saint Sava in 1472. Oversaw the construction of a church in Castelnuovo near Cattaro. Died in the 15th century.
Nicolò Vito di Gozze
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| Nicolò Vito di Gozze, Dalmatian Italian (1549 - 1610) |
Nicolò Vito di Gozze — Born in 1549 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian philosopher and politician. Member of the noble Gozze family, of ancient Roman origin. Studied in Ragusa and Italy. Rector of Ragusa three times from 1567-1568, 1567-1568 and 1575-1576. Owned the largest private library in Dalmatia. Awarded an honorary doctorate in philosophy and a master's degree in theology by Pope Clement VIII. Married the Dalmatian Italian woman Maria Gondola, a member of the noble Gondola family. Befriended Floria Zuzzeri. His writings—dedicated to Zuzzeri—caused scandal in Ragusa, causing her to leave the city. Published numerous works on philosophy, politics, sociology and pedagogy. Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Remembered for authoring one of the first scientific dissertations on speleology. Died in Ragusa, Dalmatia in 1610.
Stefano Gradi
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| Abbot Stefano Gradi, Dalmatian Italian (March 6, 1613 - May 7, 1683) |
Stefano Gradi — Born on March 6, 1613 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian scientist, philosopher, poet and Catholic priest. Member of the noble Gradi family. Member of the noble Benessa family. Moved to Rome. Studied at the Clementine College (Collegio Clementino) in Rome under the Somascan Fathers. Studied philosophy, theology, law and mathematics in Rome under Italian Jesuit Professor Bonaventura Cavalieri. Studied in Blogona under Italian Benedictine Professor Benedetto Castelli. Ordained a priest in 1643. Archpriest of Ragusa. Canon of the Cathedral of Ragusa. Abbot of the Monastery of Santi Cosma e Damiano on the island of Pasmano in Dalmatia. Returned to Rome. Ambassador of the Republic of Ragusa to Rome in 1653. Consultant to the Sacred Congregation of the Index. Member of the literary and scientific circle of Pope Alexander VII. Commissioned to hold philosophical, theological and historical lectures for Pope Alexander VII and Queen Christina of Sweden. Guardian of the Vatican Library in 1661. Sent on a diplomatic mission to King Louis XIV of France by Pope Alexander VII in 1664. Sent numerous Italian architects, stonecutters, blacksmiths and bricklayers to rebuild Ragusa after the Earthquake of 1667. Senator of Ragusa in 1669. Appointed Archbishop of Ragusa but refused the nomination. Nominated Prefect of the Vatican Library by Pope Innocent XI in 1682. Published more than ninety works on theology, science, mathematics, literature and philosophy, as well as a number of translations in various languages. Died in Rome on May 7, 1683.
Gasparo Graziani
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| Voivode Gasparo Graziani, Dalmatian Italian (c. 1575/1580 - 1620) |
Gasparo Graziani — Born in c. 1575-1580 in Dalmatia. Italian polyglot, diplomat, Duke of Nasso and Voivode of Moldavia. Diplomatic interpreter for the House of Stuart to the Ottoman Empire. Envoy of Grand Duke Cosimo II of Tuscany and Viceroy of Naples to the Ottoman Empire. Negotiated the release of Christian sailors captured by Barbary pirates. Appointed Duke of Nasso in 1616. Married into a family of Venetian patricians. Appointed Dragoman by the Turks. Sent on diplomatic missions to the Holy Roman Empire by the Ottoman Empire. Spy for the House of Habsburg. Converted from Roman Catholicism to Eastern Orthodoxy. Voivode of Moldavia from 1619-1620. Negotiated an alliance with King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland against the Ottoman Empire. Commanded 600-1000 troops against the Turks in the Battle of Cecora in 1620. Murdered by two of his boyars in Riscani, Moldova in 1620.
Pope John IV
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| Pope John IV, Dalmatian Italian (6th/7th century - October 12, 642) |
Pope John IV — Born in Zara or Salona, Dalmatia in the 6th or 7th century to a Roman family. Italian ecclesiastic and pope of the Catholic Church. His father was the Roman advocate Venantius. Witnessed the Avar-Slavic invasions of Istria and Dalmatia in the 7th century. Fled to Italy with his father. Entered the ranks of the Roman Church. Archdeacon of Rome. Appointed Cardinal in 636. Bishop of Rome from 640-642. Sent the Roman abbot Martin to Dalmatia to ransom local Christians who were kidnapped, enslaved and held hostage by Slavic pagans in 641. Transfered the relics of St. Maurus from the Euphrasian Basilica in Parenzo, Istria to the Lateran Basilica in Rome to protect the relics from Slavic invaders. Erected the Chapel of St. Venantius in the Lateran Basilica in Rome with a mosaic dedicated to the saints of Istria and Dalmatia in 641. Attempted to convert the Slavs to Christianity. Sent priests from Rome to baptize the Slavs and their duke Porga, who became the first Slavs to embrace Christianity. Opposed the Byzantine Emperor Constans II. Presided over the Council of Rome in 641, which condemned the heresy of Monothelism. Published a defense of Pope Honorius. Died in Rome on October 12, 642.
Natale Krekich
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| Natale Krekich, Dalmatian Italian (January 7, 1857 - September 6, 1938) |
Natale Krekich — Born on January 7, 1857 in Scardona, Dalmatia. Italian politician and patriot. Attended school in Zara. Graduated in law from the University of Graz. Practiced law in Zara. Member of the pro-Italian Autonomist Party of Dalmatia. Elected to the City Council of Zara in 1879. Devoted to the poor and needy. Secretary of the Congregation of Charity (Congregazione della Carità). Deputy of the Dalmatian Diet in 1891. Supported Italian culture and the preservation of Italian identity in Dalmatia. Arrested by the Austrian government on charges of high treason in 1915. Imprisoned at Pulkau in Austria. Amnestied by Emperor Charles I in 1917. Co-founded the self-constituted National Committee of Zara in 1918. Supported the unification of Dalmatia with the Kingdom of Italy. President of the Commission for the Delimitation of Territories between Italy and Yugoslavia in 1921. President of the Extraordinary Commission of the Province of Zara from 1924-1929. President of the Royal Comission for the College of Lawyers of Zara (Commissione reale per il Collegio degli avvocati di Zara) in 1931. Senator of the Kingdom of Italy in 1933. Honorary member of the Dalmatian Society of Fatherland History (Società dalmata di storia patria). Died in Zara, Dalmatia on September 6, 1938.
Luigi Lapenna
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| Luigi Lapenna, Dalmatian Italian (1825 - April 5, 1891) |
Luigi Lapenna — Born in 1825 in Signo, Dalmatia. Italian politician. Attended high school in Zara. Graduated in law from the University of Vienna in 1847. Worked as a prosecutor in Spalato and Ragusa. President of the Provincial Tribunal of Zara. Member of the pro-Italian Autonomist Party of Dalmatia. Elected several times to the Dalmatian Diet. Elected to the Parliament of Vienna. Supported Dalmatian autonomy and Italian culture; opposed Austrian centralism and the annexation of Dalmatia to Croatia. Consigliere of the Court of Cassation in Vienna in 1870. Head of an Austrian delegation to Egypt in 1874. Organized courts and tribunals in Cairo and Alexandria. President of the International Court of Justice of Alexandria in 1876. Returned to Vienna in 1881. Awarded the Order of the Iron Crown and granted the hereditary title of Baron by Emperor Franz Joseph. Founded the Relief Society for Students of Italian and Serbian Nationality (Società di soccorso per studenti di nazionalità italiana e serba) in Vienna in 1885. Returned to Zara in 1885. Defeated in the parliamentary elections of 1885. Moved to Waldhof in 1889. Died in Waldhof, Austria on April 5, 1891.
Luigi Lapenna defended Italian culture in a series of articles entitled La situazione, published in “Il Dalmata” in February 1885:
“Even if we were to forget that knowledge of the Italian language opens up vast possibilities for work, honour and profit in foreign countries for our diligent youth, solely its material advantages for our merchant navy and our trade, which also favours agricultural production, would and should have held today's Croatian dictators back from the vandalism that they are carrying out. The Italian language is an inestimable treasure for Dalmatia... it is a treasure that we possess and it would be a crime against the love of our country if it were to disappear from the heritage of our native land.”
(“Volessimo dimenticare che la conoscenza della lingua italiana apre alla nostra gioventù studiosa un vasto campo di operosità, di onore e di guadagno in paesi stranieri, i soli riguardi di materiale interesse per la nostra marina mercantile e per i nostri commerci, che favoriscono insieme la produzione agricola, avrebbero dovuto e dovrebbero trattenere gli attuali dittatori croati dall'opera vandalica che stanno eseguendo. La lingua italiana è per la Dalmazia un tesoro inestimabile... è un tesoro che possediamo e ch'è crimine di lesa carità patria far disparire dal patrimonio della nostra terra natale.”)
Francesco Laurana
Francesco Laurana — Born in 1430 in Aurana, Dalmatia. Italian architect, sculptor and medalist. Brother of Luciano Laurana. Moved to Naples in 1453. Worked on the Triumphal Arch of the Castel Nuovo in Naples from 1453-1458. Worked in metal at the court of King Rene of Anjou in France from 1461-1466. Worked in Sicily from 1467-1471. Opened a workshop in Sciacca, Sicily with Italian sculptor Pietro de Bonitate. Moved to Palermo in 1468. Constructed the Mastrantonio Chapel in the Church of San Francesco d'Assisi in Palermo from 1468-1469. Returned to Naples in 1471. Worked in Urbino from 1474-1477. Constructed a chapel in the Old Cathedral of Marseilles from 1475-1481. Designed chapels, altars, sculptures, busts, tombs, funerary monuments and other works. Works preserved in various churches, cathedrals and palazzos in Naples, Palermo, Castelvetrano, Noto, Messina, Siracusa, Sciacca, Andria, Avignon, Marseille, Tarascon and Le Mans, and in various museums in Florence, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and New York. Remembered as one of the founders of the Italian Renaissance in Sicily. Died in Avignon in 1502.
Luciano Laurana
Luciano Laurana — Born in c. 1420 in Aurana, Dalmatia. Italian architect. Brother of Francesco Laurana. Learned the rudiments of craftsmanship from his father Martino da Zara. Studied architecture under Italian architect Giorgio Orsini da Sebenico. Continued architectural studies in Zara, Sebenico or Venice. Worked with Italian polymath Leon Battista Alberti in Mantua in 1465. Worked on the Triumphal Arch of the Castel Nuovo in Naples. Worked on the portal of the Venetian Arsenal in Venice. Worked on the Palazzo Ducale of Urbino in its second phase from 1465-1472. Constructed the Courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale of Urbino from 1466-1472. Worked on the Rocca Roveresca in Senigallia from 1478-1479. The painting “The Ideal City” (Città ideale) is attributed to him. Remembered as one of the most important architects of the middle of the 15th century and for contributing to the development of Renaissance architecture. Died in Pesaro in 1479.
Francesco Leonardi
Francesco Leonardi — Born in the 16th century in Traú, Dalmatia. Italian bishop and missionary. Studied theology and philosophy in Rome. Episcopal vicar. Delegate of the Congregation of Religious Propaganda under the Roman Curia. Papal missionary in Dalmatia and Montenegro from 1636 onwards. Appointed Archbishop of Antivari in 1644. Died in 1646.
Giovanni Eleuterio Lovrovich
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| Don Giovanni Eleuterio Lovrovich, Dalmatian Italian (February 20, 1915 - July 11, 1998) |
Giovanni Eleuterio Lovrovich — Born on February 20, 1915 in Sebenico, Italy. Italian historian and Catholic priest. His family's original surname – Di Lorenzi – was slavicized to Lovrovich by the Austrian government in the 19th century. Moved to Zara with his family in 1923, following the signing of the Treaty of Rapallo (which assigned almost all of Dalmatia to Yugoslavia, except Zara, Lagosta, Pelagosa and Cazza). Moved to Ala in Trentino, Italy with his family. Returned to Zara. Decided to become a priest at age eleven. Entered the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Zara in 1926. Ordained a priest by Archbishop Pietro Doimo Munzani of Zara in 1938. Parish priest of the Collegiate Church of San Simeone in Zara in 1940. Deputy Director of the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Zara. Witnessed the Allied bombing of Zara in 1943-1944. After the occupation and annexation of Dalmatia by the Yugoslav Communists at the end of World War II, he was forced to flee with his family in 1948, who were permanently exiled from their home in Dalmatia, never permitted to return. Spiritual Director of the Episcopal Seminary of Albano Laziale near Rome. Appointed Coadjutor Vicar of the Basilica of San Barnaba in Marino in 1950. Parochial Abbot of the Basilica of San Barnaba from 1954-1989. Member of the Dalmatian Society of Fatherland History (Società dalmata di storia patria) in 1966. Published an account of the Allied bombing of Zara and the Julian-Dalmatian Exodus; a biography of Archbishop Pietro Doimo Munzani; a biography of Blessed Giacoma de Settesoli; and a monograph on the town of Marino. Died in Albano Laziale, Italy on July 11, 1998.
Antonio Lubin
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| Don Antonio Lubin, Dalmatian Italian (1809 - July 21, 1900) |
Antonio Lubin — Born in 1809 in Traù, Dalmatia. Italian writer, teacher and Catholic priest. Studied at the College of San Lazzaro on the island of Bua in Dalmatia. Attended the Seminary of Spalato. Graduated high school in Zara in 1829. Taught at the elementary school of Traù. Graduated in philosophy from the University of Padua in 1838. Returned to Dalmatia. Ordained a priest. Prefect of the noble Gozze family in Ragusa. Professor of grammar and theoretical and practical philosophy at a high school in Zara from 1842-1844. Taught humanities at a high school in Spalato from 1844-1846. Taught humanities at a high school in Zara from 1846-1854. Taught at Santa Caterina High School in Venice from 1854-1856. Professor of the Italian language and literature at the University of Graz from 1857-1875. Retired in 1875. Moved to Venice, Padua and Florence. Supported Italian culture and the preservation of Italian identity in Dalmatia. Opposed the annexation of Dalmatia to Croatia. Opposed the Slavicization of Dalmatia. Published numerous works on Dante Alighieri and Dalmatia. His final work was “Against the Annexation of Dalmatia to Croatia and Against the Slavicization of the German and Italian Provinces of Austria” (Contro l'annessione della Dalmazia alla Croazia incidentemente contro la slavizzazione delle provincie tedesche e italiane dell'Austria). Died in Traù, Dalmatia on July 21, 1900.
Giovanni Lucio
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| Giovanni Lucio, Dalmatian Italian (September 1604 - January 11, 1679) |
Giovanni Lucio — Born in September 1604 in Traù, Dalmatia. Italian historian. Last surviving male member of the noble Lucio family, of ancient Roman origin. Studied letters at a seminary in Rome. Graduated in ecclesiastical and civil law from the University of Padua. Member of the Municipal Council of Traù. Oversaw the fortification of Traù during the War of Candia against the Turks in 1646. Oversaw the construction of a new altar in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Traù and a reliquary ark to house the relics of St. Giovanni Orsini of Traù. Returned to Rome in 1654. Published numerous works on Dalmatian history and a new Municipal Statute of Traù. His most famous work is “On the Kingdom of Dalmatia and Croatia” (De regno Dalmatiae et Croatiae), in which he describes the territorial borders and cultural differences between Latins and Slavs in Dalmatia. Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Remembered as the first Dalmatian historian to practice source criticism. Died in Rome on January 11, 1679.
Giovanni Lucio identified Dalmatian as an Italian language in the preface to his book “History of Dalmatia” (Historia di Dalmatia), also called “Historical Memories of Traù” (Memorie istoriche di Tragurio ora detto Traù), published in 1674:
“I, Giovanni Lucio, son of Pietro... I value the ancient Roman language [Latin], which today is common among writers of different nations. But while writing the history of my homeland Traù, I wanted to use the modern vernacular. Although I used some Dalmatian words, it can be said that Dalmatian is just as Italian as Tuscan, so please excuse me if I do not write in perfect Tuscan style.”
(“Avendo io, Giovanni Lucio, figlio di Pietro... mi sono valso dell'antica lingua romana che tra letterati di diverse nationi è comune. Hora, dovendo scrivere le Memorie di Traù mia Patria, ho voluto valermi della moderna o volgare, che non più italiana che Dalmatina può dirsi; onde havendo havuto riguardo solamente d'usar parole, che siano intese da Dalmatini, sarò scusato se non scriverò Toscanamente.”)
Lorenzo Doimi de Lupis
Lorenzo Doimi de Lupis — Born on January 5, 1845 on the island of Lissa in Dalmatia. Italian physician and nobleman. Member of the noble De Lupis family, which originated in Puglia, Italy and settled in Dalmatia in the 13th century. Relative of Giovanni Biagio Luppis. Graduated in medicine from the University of Graz in 1870. Municipal physician of Lissa. First to plant palms in Lissa and to grow a palm nursery in Dalmatia. Funded a meteorological station in Lissa. Supported Dalmatian autonomy. Supported Italian culture and the preservation of Italian identity in Dalmatia. Died in Lissa, Dalmatia on April 21, 1927.
Girolamo Luxardo
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| Girolamo Luxardo, Dalmatian Italian (September 29, 1784 - September 8, 1865) |
Girolamo Luxardo — Born on September 29, 1784 in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy. Italian entrepreneur and diplomat. Consular representative of the Kingdom of Sardinia to Zara. Moved to Zara in 1817. Founded the Luxardo liqueur distillery (Girolamo Luxardo S.p.A) in Zara in 1821. Obtained the exclusive right to produce cherry liquer in 1829. Appointed Vice-Consul of Zara. President of the Chamber of Commerce of Zara (Camera di Commercio e d'Industria). Remembered as the founder of one of the most popular and prestigious brands of Maraschino liqueur. Died in Zara, Dalmatia on September 8, 1865.
The Luxardo distillery was later destroyed during the Allied bombing of Zara in 1943-1944. Two members of the Luxardo family were murdered by Yugoslav Partisans in Zara in 1944. After the occupation and annexation of Dalmatia by the Yugoslav Communists at the end of World War II, the surviving members of the Luxardo family were de facto permanently exiled and never permitted to return to their home in Dalmatia. After the war, the Yugoslavs seized Luxardo's assets and imitated its recipe. To read more about Luxardo, see the articles: The History of the Luxardo Company, The History of Maraschino, The Luxardo Distillery: How the Croats Attempted to Usurp the Brand and Luxardo Maraschino vs. Croatian Maraska
Francesco Malipiero
Francesco Malipiero — Born in 1388 or 1389 in Dalmatia or Venice to a noble Italian family. Italian abbot and archbishop. Abbot of San Pietro de Roboa in Zara in 1412. Abbot of the Monastery of San Michele and the Monastery of Santi Cosma e Damiano in Zara in 1414. Abbot of the Monastery of San Crisogono in Zara in 1415. Abbot of the Monastery of Santi Cosma e Damiano in Zara in 1417. Attended doctoral examinations at the University of Padua until 1417. Abbot of the Monastery of San Cipriano di Murano in Venice from 1422-1427. Archbishop of Spalato from 1927-1928. Archbishop of Castello from 1428-1433. Archbishop of Vicenza from 1433-1451. Died in Venice in 1451.
Girolamo Manfrin
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| Marchese Girolamo Manfrin, Dalmatian Italian (1742 - 1802) |
Girolamo Manfrin — Born in 1742 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian entrepreneur. Moved to Venice in the 1760's. Granted a monopoly over the tobacco plantations in Dalmatia in 1769. Arrested multiple times on charges of financial-related crimes. Banished for life from Venice in 1770. Banned from Zara in 1771. Permitted to return to Venice in 1776. Founded and expanded numerous tobacco plantations in Dalmatia. Commissioned the construction of Villa Manfrin in Treviso. His art and book collection included over 800 pieces of natural history, about 800 books on art, architecture, archeology and natural sciences, and a collection of 450 paintings and various sculptures. Nominated a Marchese by Pope Pius VII in 1801. Died in Venice in 1802.
Bernardino Marin
Bernardino Marin — Born on April 9, 1739 in Clissa, Dalmatia to a noble Italian family. Italian bishop. Graduated from the University of Padua. Ordained a priest in 1768. Appointed Bishop of Treviso in 1788. Witnessed the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797. Supported the Napoleonic occupation. Sympathized with the Austrian Empire. Died in Treviso on October 9, 1817.
Giorgio Martinuzzi
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| Cardinal Giorgio Martinuzzi, Dalmatian Italian (1482 - December 16, 1551) |
Giorgio Martinuzzi — Born in 1482 on the Incoronate islands in Dalmatia. Italian statesman, cardinal, archbishop and Pauline monk. His mother belonged to the noble Martinuzzi family, which originated in Maniago, Italy and settled in Dalmatia and Venice. His father was either of Dalmatian or Slavic origin. His birth name was Giorgio and he used his mother's surname Martinuzzi.
Member of the court of King John Corvinus of Hungary. Served as a soldier under John Zapolya, the future King of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom. Abandoned military life and became a monk. Entered the Pauline Order at age twenty-eight. Supported John Zapolya's claims to the Hungarian throne. Envoy to the Hungarian magnates in 1528. Treasurer and Chief Counselor of King John Zapolya. Bishop of Nagyvarad in Transylvania from 1534-1551. Bishop of Csanad in Hungary from 1536-1539. Guardian of the infant king John II Sigismund of Hungary from 1540-1551. Regent of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom from 1540-1551. Attempted to unite the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary and the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom in 1545. Voivode of Transylvania in 1551. Archbishop of Esztergom in 1551. Appointed Cardinal by Pope Julius III in 1551. Joined in alliance with Italian generals Giovanni Battista Castaldo and Sforza-Pallavicini and fought against the Turks in 1551. Participated in the Siege of Lippa in Transylvania against the Turks in 1551. Attempted to mediate between the Turks and the Hungarians. Accused of treason. Assassinated at Martinuzzi Castle in Transylvania by his own private secretary Marco Aurelio Ferrari, under orders of Emperor Ferdinand I, on December 16, 1551.
Lino Maupas
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| Fra Lino Maupas, Dalmatian Italian (August 30, 1866 - May 14, 1924) |
Lino Maupas — Born on August 30, 1866 in Spalato, Dalmatia as Alpinolo Ildebrando Umberto Maupas. Italian Franciscan friar. His mother Rosa Marini was an Italian theatre actress from Avezzano, Italy. His father Giovanni Maupas belonged to a family of mixed Italian-French origin. His paternal grandfather was Pier Sebastien Maupas, a French administrator who settled in Dalmatia during the Napoleonic occupation. His paternal grandmother belonged to the noble Cippico family, which originated in Rome and settled in Dalmatia in 1232. His uncle Pietro Doimo Maupas was Archbishop of Zara. His ancestry was therefore more Italian than French. Born and raised as part of the Italian community of Spalato, Dalmatia, just like his father and uncles.
Studied at the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Zara under the Jesuits. Entered the Franciscan Order at the Convent of San Francesco in Capodistria, Istria in 1882. Transfered to the Franciscan convent in Cassione near the island of Veglia. Left the Franciscan Oder in 1886. Enlisted in the Financial Guard (Guardia di Finanza) in 1887. Re-Entered the Franciscan Order in Fucecchio near Florence in 1888. Adopted the religious name Lino. Ordained a priest in 1890. Transfered to the Convent of the Santissima Annunziata in Cortemaggiore in 1892. Transfered to the Convent of the Santissima Annunziata in Parma in 1893. Chaplain of the Prison of San Francesco in Parma in 1900. Chaplain of the Lambruschini Reformatory (Riformatorio Lambruschini) in Parma in 1910. Devoted to assisting the poor, the deaf and prisoners. Died in Parma on May 14, 1924.
Andrea Meldolla
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| Andrea Meldolla, Dalmatian Italian (1510/1515 - December 1, 1563) |
Andrea Meldolla — Born in 1510 or 1515 in Zara, Dalmatia to an Italian family, which originated in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Italian painter and etcher. Trained in Zara or Venice. Worked in fresco, panel painting and etching. Primarily painted religious subjects. Influenced by Italian Mannerism, especially Parmigianino, Tintoretto and Salviati. Influenced Titian, Tintoretto and Bassano. Works preserved in Milan, Venice, Florence, Belluno, Dresden and various other cities. Died in Venice on December 1, 1563.
Luigi Mion
Luigi Mion — Born on June 15, 1843 in Cattaro, Dalmatia. Italian painter. Worked in Venice. Primarily painted scenes of peasants and villagers. Died in 1920 in Venice.
Raffaele Molin
Raffaele Molin — Born on October 27, 1825 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian scientist, physician, zoologist and geologist. Graduated high school in Zara. Graduated in medicine from the University of Vienna in 1849. Professor of Natural Sciences at the University of Padua in 1851. Professor of Zoology and Mineralogy at the University of Padua in 1852. Member of the Academy of Science, Letters, and Arts (Accademia di scienze lettere e arti) in Padua in 1856. Described for the first time the chicken parasite Capillaria annulata in 1858. Member of the Venetian Institute of Science, Letters, and Arts (Istituto veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti) in 1859. Professor of Applied Zoology at the Imperial-Royal Polytechnic Institute of Vienna in 1867. Became a licensed physician in 1878. Lecturer at the College of Agriculture in Vienna from 1885-1887. Published numerous works on mineralogy, anatomy, morphology, electrophysiology, helminthology and beekeeping. Remembered for his contributions to ichthyology and parasitology. Died in Vienna on June 29, 1887.
Michele Monaldi
Michele Monaldi — Born in 1540 in Ragusa, Dalmatia to an Italian family, which originated in Pesaro, Italy and settled in Ragusa in the 15th century. Italian mathematician, philosopher and poet. One of the founders of the Academia dei Concordi, the first Dalmatian Renaissance academy. Only four of his works survive: a collection of poems and three dialogues (Della bellezza, Dell'avere and Della metafisica). Wrote exclusively in Italian. Died in Ragusa, Dalmatia in 1592.
Pietro Doimo Munzani
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| Mons. Pietro Doimo Munzani, Dalmatian Italian (December 4, 1890 - January 28, 1951) |
Pietro Doimo Munzani — Born on December 4, 1890 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian archbishop. Ordained a priest in 1913. Apostolic Administrator of Zara in 1926. Bishop of Sarepta in 1926. Last Italian Archbishop of Zara from 1933-1948. After the occupation and annexation of Dalmatia by the Yugoslav Communists at the end of World War II, he was arrested by the Yugoslavs, deported to Lissa and Lagosta, forced to resign his archbishopric in 1948, and was permanently exiled and never permitted to return to his home in Dalmatia. Spent the remainder of his life visiting refugee camps of the Istrian and Dalmatian exiles in Italy. Died while celebrating Mass in Oria, Italy on January 28, 1951.
Nino Nutrizio
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| Nino Nutrizio, Dalmatian Italian (February 10, 1911 - October 20, 1988) |
Nino Nutrizio — Born on February 10, 1911 in Traù, Dalmatia. Italian journalist and football coach. Studied law in Dalmatia. Moved to Italy. Wrote for the Italian newspapers “Il Secolo XIX” and “Il Popolo d'Italia”. War correspondent on the Italian cruiser Pola during World War II. Captured by the British after the sinking of Pola during the Battle of Cape Matapan in 1941. Imprisoned in a British prison camp in Yol, India from 1941-1946. After the occupation and annexation of Dalmatia by the Yugoslav Communists at the end of World War II, he was de facto permanently exiled and never permitted to return to his home in Dalmatia. Returned to Italy in 1947. Technical director of the Inter Milan Football Club. Wrote for the Italian newspapers “Corriere di Milano” and “Corriere Lombardo”. Wrote sports articles as a freelance journalist ante litteram. Director of the Italian newspaper “La Notte” from 1952-1979. Remembered for inventing a new form of topical journalism. Died in Florence on October 20, 1988.
Giorgio Orsini da Sebenico
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| Sculpture on the Cathedral of San Giacomo, Sebenico by Giorgio Orsini da Sebenico (c. 1410 - 1473/1475) |
Giorgio Orsini da Sebenico — Born in c. 1410 in Sebenico or Zara, Dalmatia. Italian architect, sculptor and urbanist. Father-in-law of Giorgio Schiavone. Member of the noble Orsini family, of ancient Roman origin. Moved to Venice in his youth. Trained in sculpting by Italian sculptors Giovanni Bono and Bartolomeo Bono. Worked on the Foscari Arch and the Porta della Carta of the Doge's Palace in Venice around 1430. Married the Venetian woman Elisabetta Da Monte in 1441. Led the construction of the Cathedral of San Giacomo in Sebenico from 1441-1473. Worked in Ancona from 1450-1461. Worked in Ragusa from 1464-1465. Sent on a diplomatic mission to Rome in 1470. Remembered as one of the greatest Italian Renaissance masters in Dalmatia and Ancona. Died in Sebenico, Dalmatia on October 10, 1473 or November 10, 1475.
His other works include the following: In Zara he built three chapels in the Monastery of San Francesco in 1444; made a tombstone and a portrait of Bishop Lorenzo Venier in 1449. In Spalato he built the Palazzo Papali; the Chapel of San Ranieri in the Church of Sant'Eufemia in 1444-1448; and the altar of Sant'Anastasio in the Cathedral of San Doimo in 1448. In Ragusa he designed the portico of the Palazzo del Rettore and worked on the Minceta Tower (Torre Menze) and the Tower of St. Catherine (Torre di Santa Caterina) from 1464-1465. On the Sabbioncello Peninsula Sabbioncello he worked on the Walls of Stagno. In Ancona he built the Palazzo Benincasa in 1450; the facade of the Loggia dei Mercanti 1451; the portal of the Church of San Francesco alle Scale in 1554; and the portal of the Church of Sant'Agostino in 1460. On the island of Pago he designed an urban plan for the city in 1449; decorated the Palazzo Vescovile (Episcopio) for the Bishop of Ossero in 1466; built the Church of Santa Maria in 1466; and built the Chapel of San Nicola in the Church of Santa Margherita in 1466-1467. He built the windows of the Palazzo Comunale of Pesaro in 1470 and initiated the facade of the Church of Santa Maria in Civitanova Marche in 1472. He is also alleged to have worked on the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini and the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto.
Giovanni Battista Benedetti Paladini
Giovanni Battista Benedetti Paladini — Born in the 16th century. Italian naval captain. Member of the Dalmatian-Cypriot branch of the Paladini family, which originated in Teramo, Italy and settled on the island of Lesina in Dalmatia and in Cyprus in the 15th century. Commander of the Venetian galley Speranza di Venetia, which set sail from Cyprus, in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
Nicolò Paladini
Nicolò Paladini — Born in 1419 on the island of Lesina in Dalmatia. Italian naval captain. Member of the Dalmatian-Cypriot branch of the Paladini family, which originated in Teramo, Italy and settled on the island of Lesina in Dalmatia and in Cyprus in the 15th century. Father of Paolo Paladini. Commander of the galley of Lesina from 1471-1496. Fought and defeated seven Turkish boats in a bay on the island of Alimia near Rhodes in 1475. Awarded the Golden Toga (toga d'oro) and made a Knight of the Order of St. Mark in 1476. Conducted attacks with Antonio Lucio, father of the Dalmatian poet Annibale Lucio, against the Turks on the coast of Macarsca in 1476 or 1477. Fought in Polesine in the War of Ferrara in 1482. Governor of Polignano in 1495. Fought in the Venetian Army against the invasion of King Charles VIII of France during the Italian Wars in 1495. Sponsored the construction of the Palazzo Paladini in Lesina. Died in Lesina, Dalmatia in 1500.
Paolo Paladini
Paolo Paladini — Born in c. 1465 on the island of Lesina in Dalmatia. Italian poet and naval captain. Member of the Dalmatian-Cypriot branch of the Paladini family, which originated in Teramo, Italy and settled on the island of Lesina in Dalmatia and in Cyprus in the 15th century. Son of Nicolò Paladini. Studied liberal arts in Lesina. Fought in the Venetian Army against the invasion of King Charles VIII of France during the Italian Wars in 1495. Commander of the galley of Lesina in 1496. Defended the city of Traù from the Turks during the Second Ottoman-Venetian War in 1501. Municipal judge in Lesina. Published two books of poems and a narration of a miraculous event involving a blood-stained crucifix. Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Died in Lesina, Dalmatia in c. 1510-1514.
Pier Alessandro Paravia
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| Pier Alessandro Paravia, Dalmatian Italian (July 15, 1797 - March 18, 1857) |
Pier Alessandro Paravia — Born on July 15, 1797 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian writer, philologist, philanthropist and professor of eloquence. Moved to Venice as a child. Studied at the Lyceum of Santa Caterina in Venice. Graduated in law from the University of Padua in 1818. Civil servant in Venice until 1832. Obtained the Chair of Eloquence at the University of Turin in 1832. Supported Italian Unification. Placed under surveillance by the Austrian authorities in Lombardy-Venetia for his pro-Italian politics and friendships with the Italian patriots Niccolò Tommaseo, Silvio Pellico, Vincenzo Gioberti, Antonio Rosmini and King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia. Member of the Accademia della Crusca in Florence. Founded the Paravia Communal Library in Zara in 1855, which became the largest public library in Dalmatia. Published numerous works, including a biography of Antonio Canova; biographies of illustrious Italians; studies on Italian literature, Provencal literature, patriotic literature and Christian literature; a translation of the letters of Pliny the Younger and other works. Died in Turin on March 18, 1857.
Pier Alessandro Paravia encouraged the citizens of Zara to remain faithful to their Italian language and culture in 1855:
“Study your language, because in it lies your future greatness; it is a merit which nobody can deny you, and it is a great honour.”
(“Studiate la vostra lingua, perché qui sta la vostra futura grandezza, è merito che nessuno può contestarvi ed è merito grande.”)
Ludovico Pasquali
Ludovico Pasquali — Born in 1500 in Cattaro, Dalmatia. Italian poet and soldier. Studied at the University of Padua. Joined the Venetian Army. Stationed in the Kingdom of Candia (Crete) where he fought against the Turks. Captured and enslaved by the Turks. Returned to Cattaro. Promoted Italian Renaissance culture. Published numerous poems. Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Died in Cattaro, Dalmatia in 1551.
Antonio Pini-Corsi
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| Antonio Pini-Corsi, Dalmatian Italian (June 1858 - April 21, 1918) |
Antonio Pini-Corsi — Born in June 1858 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian operatic baritone. Made his professional opera debut in Cremona portraying the role of Dandini in La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini in 1878. Appeared in opera houses throughout Italy from 1878-1893. Specialized in the comic operas of Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti. Debuted at La Scala in Milan in 1892. Appeared in Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi in 1893. Portrayed the role of Ford in the premiere of Falstaff by Verdi in 1893. Reprised the role in Genoa, Rome, Venice and Brescia in 1893. Debuted at the Royal Opera House in London portraying the role of Lescaut in Manon Lescautin by Giacomo Puccini in 1894. Joined the Opera de Monte-Carlo in Monaco in 1895. Portrayed the role of Schaunard in La bohème by Puccini at the Teatro Regio in Turin in 1896. Reprised the role in several productions throughout Italy. Debuted in the United States portraying Bartolo in The Barber of Seville by Rossini in 1899. Appeared in numerous other operas, including Cavalleria rusticana, The Marriage of Figaro, The Merry Wives of Windsor, L'elisir d'amore, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, Tosca, and Don Pasquale. Returned to Italy in 1902. Appeared in the premieres of Siberia by Umberto Giordano in 1903) and La figlia di Iorio by Alberto Franchetti in 1906. Appeared in La Wally by Alfredo Catalani in 1905. Appeared in Der Freischütz by Weber in 1906. Performed at the Berlin State Opera and in 1907. Performed in South America and at the Vienna State Opera in 1908. Performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York from 1909-1914. Appeared in the American premieres of L'amore medico and Le donne curiose by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, and Germania by Franchetti. Returned to Italy in 1914. His final opera appearance was in Il signor Bruschino by Rossini at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan in 1917. Remembered as one of the greatest buffo singers of his generation. Died in Milan on April 21, 1918.
Giuseppe Praga
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| Giuseppe Praga, Dalmatian Italian (March 19, 1893 - February 19, 1958) |
Giuseppe Praga — Born on March 19, 1893 in Sant'Eufemia on the island of Ugliano in Dalmatia. Italian historian and archivist. Graduated from San Grisogono High School in Zara in 1911. Studied philology at the University of Vienna. Drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army. Dispensed from military service in 1915. Graduated from the University of Vienna in 1918. Moved to the island of Arbe in 1919. Married the Dalmatian Italian woman Antonietta Sbisà in 1922. Taught in Idria in the Province of Gorizia. Taught the Italian language and history at the Francesco Rismondo Technical Institute in Zara. Co-founded the Dalmatian Society of Fatherland History (Società dalmata di storia patria) in 1926. President of the Dalmatian Society of Fatherland History from 1926-1934. Vice President of the National League (Lega Nazionale) from 1926-1930. Honorary Inspector of Medieval and Modern Art of the Province of Zara in 1928. Lecturer in Latin and diplomatic paleography at Sapienza University in Rome in 1930. Lecturer in medieval and modern history at Sapienza University in Rome in 1932. Director of the Paravia Communal Library in Zara in 1932. Member of the Royal Academy of Italy in 1933. Superintendent of the State Archives of Zara in 1936. President of the Deputation of the History of the Fatherland of Triveneto (Deputazione di Storia Patria per le Venezie) from 1939-1940. Fled to Venice following the Allied bombing of Zara in 1943-1944. After the occupation and annexation of Dalmatia by the Yugoslav Communists at the end of World War II, he was de facto permanently exiled and never permitted to return to his home in Dalmatia. Published more than 100 books and articles on Dalmatian history. Remembered as the most important Dalmatian historians of all time. Died in Venice on February 19, 1958.
Domenico Ragnina
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| Domenico Ragnina, Dalmatian Italian (1536 - 1607) |
Domenico Ragnina — Born in 1536 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian poet. Member of the noble Ragnina family, of ancient Roman origin (or which, according to another tradition, originated in Taranto, Italy and settled in Dalmatia in the Middle Ages). Member of the Grand Council of Ragusa in 1556. Married the sister of Italian poet Francesco Luccari. Moved to Messina, Sicily and Florence. Made a Knight of the Order of St. Stephen by Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici of Tuscany in 1567. Returned to Ragusa. Rector of Ragusa seven times. Published numerous poems and sonnets in Italian and Croatian, strongly influenced by Francesco Petrarch and Italian poetry. Died in Ragusa, Dalmatia in 1607.
Giorgio Raguseo
Giorgio Raguseo or Giorgio da Ragusa — Born in 1580 in Ragusa, Dalmatia or Venice. Italian philosopher, theologian, orator, philologist, mathematician, physician and Catholic priest. Member of the illustrious Raguseo family, which originated in Ragusa, Dalmatia and settled in Venice. Taught the rudiments of mathematics by his father Luca. Studied letters in Venice under Lorenzo Natali. Studied astronomy under Italian mathematician and astronomer Francesco Barozzi. Studied medicine under Italian anatomist Girolamo Fabrici d'Acquapendente. Completed his studies in Siena and Pisa in 1599-1601. Lived in Florence, Rome and Naples. Nominated Professor of the Second Chair of Philosophy by Doge Marino Grimano in 1601. Occupied the Chair of Philosophy at the University of Padua from 1601-1622. Advocate of Aristotelian philosophy. Published numerous works on astronomy, astrology and philosophy. Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Died in Padua on January 13, 1622.
Oscar Randi
Oscar Randi — Born on June 19, 1876 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian historian. Graduated in law from the University of Graz. Friend of Italian politician and patriot Roberto Ghiglianovich. Wrote for the Dalmatian Italian newspaper “Il Dalmata”. Official of the post office in Zara. Moved to Brno, Moravia in 1910. Returned to Dalmatia and continued to work as an official of the post office in Zara. Alleged to have secretly collaborated with the Italian Navy in World War I. Supported the unification of Dalmatia with the Kingdom of Italy. Member of the Italian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Worked in the Press Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Rome. Condemned the Treaty of Rapallo (which assigned almost all of Dalmatia to Yugoslavia, except Zara, Lagosta, Pelagosa and Cazza) in 1920. Publicist of the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Italy. Returned to Dalmatia following the unification of one third of Dalmatia with the Kingdom of Italy in 1941. Promoted of Italian culture in Dalmatia. Returned to Rome in 1943. After the occupation and annexation of Dalmatia by the Yugoslav Communists at the end of World War II, he was de facto permanently exiled and never permitted to return to his home in Dalmatia. Collaborated with Istrian and Dalmatian exiles in Italy. Published numerous historical works, especially on Yugoslavia and on Italian culture in Dalmatia. Died in Rome on December 13, 1949.
Francesco Rismondo
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| Francesco Rismondo, Dalmatian Italian (April 15, 1885 - August 10, 1915) |
Francesco Rismondo — Born on April 15, 1885 in Spalato, Dalmatia. Italian soldier and patriot. Cycling enthusiast. President of the Cycling Club (Veloce Club) of Spalato. Studied at the University of Graz. Volunteered in the Italian Army in World War I in 1915. Joined the 8th Bersaglieri Cyclist Battalion. Fought against the Austro-Hungarian army on Monte San Michele in the Carso region. Wounded in battle. Captured and imprisoned by the Austrians. Executed with a bayonet near Opacchiasella or Gorizia on August 10, 1915. His body was never found. Posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour.
Benedetto Rogacci
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| Padre Benedetto Rogacci, Dalmatian Italian (March 18, 1646 - February 8, 1719) |
Benedetto Rogacci — Born on March 18, 1646 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian theologian, grammarian, poet and Jesuit priest. Studied in Ancona and Rome. Entered the Jesuit Order. Taught letters and rhetoric in Montepulciano, Spoleto and Rome. Secretary of all Jesuit colleges in Italy. His most famous works are a treatise “On the One Necessary Thing” (Dell'uno necessario) and a poem on the 1667 earthquake of Ragusa. Published numerous poems, didactics, orations, moral and ascetical works, and a book on Italian grammar. Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Died in Rome on February 8, 1719.
Romeo Romei
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| Romeo Romei, Dalmatian Italian (August 14, 1906 - March 31, 1941) |
Romeo Romei — Born on August 14, 1906 in Castelnuovo di Cattaro, Dalmatia. Italian naval officer, corvette captain and submarine commander. Nicknamed “Corsar of the Abyss” (Corsaro degli abissi). Entered the Italian Naval Academy in Livorno in 1924. Promoted to midshipman in 1928. Embarked on the Italian cruiser Trieste in 1929. Promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1929. Promoted to lieutenant in 1933. Commanded the Italian submarine Perla during the Spanish Civil War from 1935-1936, where he participated in special missions. Promoted to corvette captain in 1940. Commanded the Italian submarine Pier Capponi during World War II from 1940-1941. Distinguished himself in several war missions. Noted for his high military virtue and aggressive spirit. Conducted an attack against the British Navy in the Strait of Sicily in 1940. Awarded two Bronze Medals of Military Valour in 1940 and 1941. The submarine Pier Capponi was sunk by the British during a submarine battle in the Mediterranean Sea on March 31, 1941, killing him and his entire crew. Posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour.
Martino Rota
Martino Rota — Born in 1520 in Sebenico, Dalmatia. Italian engraver, etcher, painter and cartographer. Worked as a reproductive engraver in Rome in 1540. Worked in Florence. Moved to Venice in 1558. Worked as a reproductive engraver in Venice for the Italian painter Titian. Moved to Vienna in 1568. Appointed court portrait engraver at Vienna in 1573. His works include between 120-170 engravings and etchings, including maps, vedute, portraits, illustrations for pamphlets, coats of arms and depictions of saints, strongly influenced by the Venetian School. Remembered as one of the greatest graphic artists of the second half of the 16th century. Died in Prague or Vienna in 1583.
Giuseppe Sabalich
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| Giuseppe Sabalich, Dalmatian Italian (February 13, 1856 - September 13, 1928) |
Giuseppe Sabalich — Born on February 13, 1856 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian historian, journalist and poet. Moved to Venice with his family a few months after his birth. Lived in Venice until 1866. Returned to Zara in 1866. Wrote for the Dalmatian Italian student newspaper “Tra noi” in 1872. Graduated in law from the University of Graz in 1878. Collaborated with about one hundred Italian and Dalmatian Italian newspapers and magazines, including “L'Ofanto”, “Cronaca bizantina”, “Natura e arte”, “La Lettura”, “Avvenire”, “Difesa” and “Libertà e lavoro”. Founded the Dalmatian Italian literary magazines “Scintille” in 1886 and “Cronaca Dalmatica” in 1888. Co-founded the Pro Patria Association of Zara (Associazione Pro Patria) in 1887. Supported Italian culture and the preservation of Italian identity in Dalmatia. Published hundreds of comedies, monologues, theatrical reviews, biographies, chronicles, articles, song lyrics, poems and other works. Wrote exclusively in Italian and in the Venetian-Zaratino dialect. Died in Zara, Dalmatia on September 13, 1928.
Franco Sacchetti
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| Franco Sacchetti, Dalmatian Italian (1332 - 1400) |
Franco Sacchetti — Born in 1332 in Ragusa, Dalmatia to a noble Italian family. Italian poet and novelist. Moved to Florence in 1363. Ambassador to Bologna in 1376. When the Sacchetti family was banished from Florence in 1380, Franco Sacchetti was the only member exempted from banishment. Mayor of Bibbiena in 1385. Mayor of San Miniato in 1393. Mayor of Faenza in 1396. Captain of Romagna from 1398-1399. His most famous work is “Three Hundred Novellas” (Il Trecentonovelle). Also published numerous sonnets, canzoni, madrigals and other poems in the Italian language. Died in San Miniato, Italy in 1400.
Leonardo Salimbeni
Leonardo Salimbeni — Born in 1752 in Spalato, Dalmatia. Italian engineer and mathematician. Studied engineering at the Military College of Castelvecchio in Verona. Teacher and Governor of the Military College of Castelvecchio. Transfered to the Military Academy of Modena in 1798. Made important contributions to the field of building science, especially static arches and masonry vaults. Discovered the pressure curve of arches. Published numerous works on building science, geometry, mechanics, dynamics and ballistics for military use. Died in Verona in 1823.
Ercolano Salvi
Ercolano Salvi — Born in 1861 in Spalato, Dalmatia. Italian politician and patriot. Attended school in Spalato. Graduated in law from the University of Graz. Returned to Spalato. Member of the pro-Italian Autonomist Party of Dalmatia. Collaborated with Antonio Bajamonti, the last Italian Mayor of Spalato. Deputy of the Dalmatian Diet in 1891. Wrote for the Dalmatian Italian newspapers “Il Dalmata”, “L'Avvenire” and “La Difesa”. Member of the Dalmatian Political Association (Società politica dalmata). Member of the Pro Patria Association of Spalato (Associazione Pro Patria). Founder and President of the Spalato branch of the National League (Lega Nazionale) in 1893. Contributed to the establishment of Italian elementary schools in Spalato, Sebenico, Ragusa, Curzola, Lesina and Veglia. Arrested by the Austrian government on charges of high treason in 1915. Imprisoned in Dernis, Tenin, Trento and Graz. Released in 1917. Moved to Italy. Supported the unification of Dalmatia with the Kingdom of Italy. Collected 8,000 signatures from the citizens of Spalato demanding unification with the Kingdom of Italy in 1918. Organized a conference in the Doge's Palace in Venice proclaiming the historical right of Italy to annex Dalmatia in 1919. Condemned the Treaty of Rapallo (which assigned almost all of Dalmatia to Yugoslavia, except Zara, Lagosta, Pelagosa and Cazza) in 1920. Senator of the Kingdom of Italy in 1920. Died in Rome on November 18, 1920.
Giorgio Schiavone
Giorgio Schiavone — Born in c. 1433 or 1436 in Scardona, Dalmatia. Italian painter. Son-in-law of Giorgio Orsini da Sebenico. Studied under Italian painter Francesco Squarcione in Padua in 1456. Worked in Padua, Zara and Sebenico. Married Elena, daughter of Giorgio Orsini da Sebenico, in 1463. Painted religious subjects. Influenced by the Ferrara School and Venetian School of art. Works preserved in Padua, Milan, Turin, Bergamo, London, Paris, Berlin and Baltimore. Died in Sebenico, Dalmatia in 1504.
Federico Seismit-Doda
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| Federico Seismit-Doda, Dalmatian Italian (October 1, 1825 - May 8, 1893) |
Federico Seismit-Doda — Born on October 1, 1825 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian politician, patriot and journalist. Studied philosophy at various institutes in Venice, Spalato and Zara. Studied law at the University of Padua in 1843. Wrote for the Italian magazine “Caffè Pedrocchi”. Investigated by the Austrian authorities for his pro-Italian writings and friendships with the Italian patriots Daniele Manin and Niccolò Tommaseo. Arrested by the Austrian government in Venice and imprisoned in Trieste in 1847. Participated in the Venetian uprising that preceded the First Italian War of Independence in 1848. Fought as a volunteer against the Austrians in Treviso and Vicenza. Exiled to Tuscany. Wrote for the Italian newspaper “L'Alba”. Supported the Roman Republic and fought alongside Giuseppe Garibaldi at at Porta San Pancrazio in 1849. Briefly moved to Greece. Moved to Turin in 1850. Spent his life in exile by collaborating with various Italian newspapers and magazines. Published an autobiography “Venetian Volunteers” (I volontarii veneziani) in 1852. Initially supported Mazzinian republicanism, then supported the idea of a United Italy under the House of Savoy. Disappointed by the failure to include Rome and Dalmatia in the new Kingdom of Italy, he became a politician and Italian irredentist. Supported the unification of Dalmatia with the Kingdom of Italy. Elected deputy of the College of Comacchio in 1865. Minister of Finance and Minister of the Treasury of the Kingdom of Italy in 1878. Elected deputy of the College of Udine in 1882. Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Italy from 1889-1890. Forced to resign from politics for supporting irredentism in 1890. Died in Rome on May 8, 1893.
Giovanni Soglian
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| Giovanni Soglian, Dalmatian Italian (March 3, 1901 - September 23, 1943) |
Giovanni Soglian — Born on March 3, 1901 in Cittavecchia on the island of Lesina, Dalmatia. Italian teacher and linguist. Attended school in Zara. Graduated in letters from the University of Bologna in 1925. Editor-in-Chief of the Dalmatian Italian newspaper “San Marco” in Zara. Won the position of Italian lecturer at the University of Warsaw in 1934. Leader of the Institute of Italian Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1937. Head of the Classical Lyceum of Bressanone in 1939. Supervisor of Studies (Provveditore agli Studi) in Dalmatia in 1941. Refused to abandon the city of Spalato during its occupation by the Yugoslavs in World War II. Published two works on the Dalmatian language. Murdered by Yugoslav Partisans in Spalato, Dalmatia on September 23, 1943.
Shortly before being arrested and murdered by the Yugoslavs, Giovanni Soglian wrote in a letter to Rome on August 30, 1943:
“Allow me to begin by saying that no one has fought more than me for the Italianity of Dalmatia. I have struggled and suffered hard for a quarter of a century now. I hope and desire that this land will remain united to the Motherland.”
(“Mi sia lecito premettere che nessuno più di me, che per l'italianità della Dalmazia ho lottato e duramente sofferto in un quarto di secolo ormai, desidera e spera che nonostante tutto questa terra rimanga congiunta alla Madre Patria.”)
Luca Sorgo
Luca Sorgo — Born on January 13, 1734 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian composer. Member of the noble Sorgo family. Father of Antonio Sorgo. Member of the Grand Council of Ragusa in 1752. Taught the rudiments of music by Italian composer Giuseppe Valenti, maestro di cappella of the Cathedral of Ragusa. Studied musical composition in Rome under Italian composer Rinaldo di Capua. Married an Italian woman from the noble Luccari family. Ambassador to the imperial court at Vienna. Composed eight symphonies, two overtures, a violin sonata and other works in Italian style. Committed suicide in Ragusa, Dalmatia on September 11, 1789.
Benedetto Stay
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| Mons. Benedetto Stay, Dalmatian Italian (1714 - February 25, 1801) |
Benedetto Stay — Born in 1714 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian poet and Jesuit priest. Moved to Rome at age twenty-eight. Studied at Sapienza University in Rome under Italian Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga. Professor of Rhetoric at the Sapienza University of Rome. Appointed Secretary of Latin Letters by Pope Clement XIII. Canon of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Published a poem on Cartesian philosophy, a poem on the Newtonian system and three orations. Wrote exclusively in Latin. Died in Rome on February 25, 1801.
Giovanni Domenico Stratico
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| Bishop Giovanni Domenico Stratico, Dalmatian Italian (1732 - November 24, 1799) |
Giovanni Domenico Stratico or Gian Domenico Stratico — Born in 1732 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian bishop and theologian. Member of the noble Stratico family, of Venetian origin. Brother of Michele Stratico and Simone Stratico. Entered the Dominican Order. Studied in Rome. Confined to the Monastery of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. Obtained the Chair of Biblical Exegesis at the University of Siena in 1763. Transfered to the University of Pisa in 1769. Returned to the University of Siena in 1772. Bishop of Cittanova d'Istria from 1776-1784. Bishop of Lesina from 1784-1799. Reformed customs and promoted the revival of agriculture in Dalmatia. Published numerous theological works, pastoral letters, homilies, funeral orations, poems and an economic treatise. Wrote exclusively in Italian and Latin. Died on the island of Lesina in Dalmatia on November 24, 1799.
Michele Stratico
Michele Stratico — Born on July 31, 1728 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian composer and violinist. Member of the noble Stratico family, of Venetian origin. Brother of Giovanni Domenico Stratico and Simone Stratico. Attended school in Zara. Studied law at the University of Padua from 1737-1745 . Taught music by Italian composer Giuseppe Tartini and Italian abbot Antonio Bonaventura Sberti. Violinist in the orchestra of the Basilica of Sant'Antonio in Padua. Viceroy of Sanguinetto in 1763. Lived in Verona until 1782. Composed 283 sonatas, concertos, symphonies, duos, trios and quartets, and two treatises on musical theory. Died in Sanguinetto, Italy on January 31, 1783.
Simone Stratico
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| Simone Stratico, Dalmatian Italian (October 16, 1733 - July 16, 1824) |
Simone Stratico - Born on October 16, 1733 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian mathematician, physicist and nautical scientist. Member of the noble Stratico family, of Venetian origin. Brother of Giovanni Domenico Stratico and Michele Stratico. Graduated in medicine from the University of Padua. Professor at the University of Padua. Member of the Venetian delegation to King George III of England in 1761. Member of the Royal Society of London. Obtained the Chair of Mathematics and Navigation at the University of Padua. Participated in various hydraulic operations. Member of the Academy of the Ricovrati in Padua in 1764. Member of the Academy of Agrarian Arts (Accademia di Arte Agraria) in Padua in 1776. Founded the Academy of Science, Letters, and Arts (Accademia di scienze lettere e arti) in Padua in 1779. President of the Academy of Science, Letters, and Arts from 1783-1784. Member of the Italian National Academy of Sciences (Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze; a scientific academy founded by patriotic Italian scientists aspiring towards Italian Unification) in 1786. Witnessed the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797. Supported the Napoleonic occupation. Professor of Nautical Science at the University of Pavia in 1801. Studied physics under Italian physicist Alessandro Volta. Inspector General of Roads and Bridges of the Kingdom of Italy. Senator of the Kingdom of Italy in 1809. Awarded the Order of the Legion of Honour and the Order of the Iron Crown by Napoleon. Granted the title Professor Emeritus of the universities of Padua and Pavia by Emperor Francis I. Published approximately 35 works on physics, hydraulics and naval architecture. Died in Milan on July 16, 1824.
Antonio Tacconi
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| Antonio Tacconi, Dalmatian Italian (April 22, 1880 - January 25, 1962) |
Antonio Tacconi — Born on April 22, 1880 in Spalato, Dalmatia. Italian politician. Brother of Ildebrando Tacconi. Distant relative of Niccolò Tommaseo. Studied at the University of Innsbruck. Witnessed the anti-Italian Innsbruck Riots in 1904. Supported Italian culture and the preservation of Italian identity in Dalmatia. Trustee of the Dante Alighieri Society. Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy in 1921. Senator of the Kingdom of Italy from 1923-1943. Founder and President of the Italian Cultural League of Dalmatia (Lega culturale italiana) in 1925, which descended from the Spalato branch of the National League (Lega Nazionale). Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy in 1931. Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus in 1933. Mayor of Spalato from 1941-1943. Arrested by Yugoslav Partisans and accused of high treason in 1945. After the occupation and annexation of Dalmatia by the Yugoslav Communists at the end of World War II, he was de facto permanently exiled and never permitted to return to his home in Dalmatia. Co-founder and President of the National Dalmatian Association (Associazione Nazionale Dalmata; AND) in 1948, which descended from the Dalmatian Committee of Rome (Comitato dalmatico). Died in Rome on January 25, 1962.
Ildebrando Tacconi
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| Ildebrando Tacconi, Dalmatian Italian (March 1, 1888 - April 30, 1973) |
Ildebrando Tacconi — Born on March 1, 1888 in Spalato, Dalmatia. Italian historian, lecturer and scholar. Brother of Antonio Tacconi. Distant relative of Niccolò Tommaseo. Attended school in Spalato. Injured during a clash between Italian and German students at the University of Vienna in 1908. Supported the establishment of an Italian university in Trieste. Graduated in letters and philosophy from the University of Vienna in 1912. Taught philosophy and the Italian language in Ragusa from 1912-1918 and in Spalato from 1918-1920. Supported the unification of Dalmatia with the Kingdom of Italy. Lost his job and moved to Zara following the annexation of Spalato by Yugoslavia in 1920. Director of the Dalmatian Italian magazine “La Rivista Dalmatica” in 1922. Member of the Directive Committee of the Dalmatian Society of Fatherland History (Società dalmata di storia patria) in 1926. Extraordinary Commissioner of Spalato in 1941. Moved to Zara. Head of the Francesco Rismondo Technical Institute in Zara. Fled to Venice following the Allied bombing of Zara in 1943-1944. Returned to Zara to save documents in 1944. Fled to Venice again following the occupation of Zara by the Yugoslav Communists in 1944. After the occupation and annexation of Dalmatia by the Yugoslav Communists at the end of World War II, he was de facto permanently exiled and never permitted to return to his home in Dalmatia. Principal of the Nicolò Tommaseo Teachers' Institute and the Paolo Sarpi Technical Institute in Venice. Retired in 1958. Published numerous articles and essays on history, art, philosophy, literature, current affairs and Italian culture in Dalmatia. Remembered as one of the last prolific Dalmatian Italian authors. Died in Venice on April 30, 1973.
Niccolò Tommaseo
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| Niccolò Tommaseo, Dalmatian Italian (October 9, 1802 - May 1, 1874) |
Niccolò Tommaseo — Born on October 9, 1802 in Sebenico, Dalmatia. Italian linguist, writer and patriot. Studied in Sebenico and at the Seminary of Spalato from 1811-1814. Moved to Padua in 1817. Graduated in law from the University of Padua in 1822. Moved to Milan in 1824. Moved to Florence in 1827. Wrote for the Italian cultural magazine “Antologia”, founded by Giovan Pietro Vieusseux. Exiled to Paris by the Austrian authorities for writing an article in support of the Greek Revolution in 1834. Moved to Corsica and studied the local Italian dialect. Granted amnesty and returned to Italy in 1839. Briefly returned to Sebenico and then moved to Venice. Arrested by the Austrian authorities on charges of treason in 1848. Freed from prison during the Venetian uprising that preceded the First Italian War of Independence in 1848. Minister of Religion and Education of the Republic of San Marco from 1848-1849. Exiled to Corfù by the restored Austrian government in 1849. Moved to Turin in 1854. Moved to Florence in 1859. Wrote for the Italian magazine “Imparziale Fiorentino”. Supported Italian Unification, but opposed the House of Savoy and refused a seat in the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy. Opposed the annexation of Dalmatia to Croatia. Devout Catholic intellectual. Criticized Darwinism and the atheism of Giacomo Leopardi. Remembered as one of the early supporters of Italian Irredentism and for his prolific literary production. Published numerous works, including poems, novels, essays, a commentary on Dante's Divine Comedy, a collection of Italian folk songs and a dictionary on the Italian language. Died in Florence on May 1, 1874.
Letter of Niccolò Tommaseo to Cesare Cantù in June 1837:
“I am Italian because I was born to Venetian subjects, because my first language was Italian, because my grandmother's father came to Dalmatia from the valleys of Bergamo. Dalmatia is virtually more Italian than Bergamo, and in my heart I am more Italian than Italy. ... I repeat, Dalmatia is Italian land, at least as much as Tyrol, certainly more than Trieste, and even more than Turin.”
(“Io sono italiano perchè nato da sudditi veneti, perchè la mia prima lingua fu l'italiana, perchè il padre di mia nonna è venuto in Dalmazia dalle valli di Bergamo. La Dalmazia, virtualmente è più italiana di Bergamo, ed io, in fondo in fondo son più italiano dell'Italia. ... La Dalmazia, ripeto, è terra italiana per lo meno, quanto il Tirolo, certo più di Trieste, e più di Torino.”)
Ruggero Tommaseo
Ruggero Tommaseo — Born in the 19th century in Postire on the island of Brazza in Dalmatia. Italian journalist, writer and patriot. Descendant of Niccolò Tommaseo. Volunteered in the Italian Army in World War I from 1915-1918. Editor of the Dalmatian Italian newspaper “Il Popolo di Spalato”. Murdered by Yugoslav Partisans in Spalato on September 18, 1943.
Biagio di Giorgio da Traù
Biagio di Giorgio da Traù — Born in the 14th century in Traù, Dalmatia. Italian painter. Studied painting in Traù, Venice and Marche. Decorated the roof of the Cathedral of Spalato in 1412. Lived in Ragusa from 1421-1427. Returned to Traù in 1429. Member of the Confraternity of the Holy Spirit of Traù (Confraternita dello Spirito Santo di Traù) in 1929. Worked on the island of Curzola in 1431. Prefect of the Confraternity of the Holy Spirit of Traù in 1436. Painted religious subjects. Influenced by Italian painters Zanino di Pietro, Jacobello del Fiore and Gentile da Fabriano. Works preserved in various churches and buildings in Curzola, Bua, Sebenico, Spalato, Stagno, Ragusa, Zara and Traù. Remembered as one of the most important painters of the 14th and 15th century in Dalmatia. Died in 1449 in Zara.
Nicolò Trigari
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| Nicolò Trigari, Dalmatian Italian [seated in center] (1827 - October 30, 1902) |
Nicolò Trigari — Born in 1827 in Zara. Italian politician. Member of the pro-Italian Autonomist Party of Dalmatia. Mayor of Zara from 1874-1899. Oversaw the modernization of the city of Zara. Founded the Riva Nuova in Zara, an uninterrupted row of civil buildings and avenues lined with trees and flower beds, which became a symbol of Zara. Supported Italian culture and the preservation of Italian identity in Dalmatia, but opposed Italian irredentism. Supported Dalmatian autonomy and collaboration with the Austro-Hungarian government as a means of preserving Italian identity. Died in Zara, Dalmatia on October 30, 1902.
Ludovico Cerva Tuberone
Ludovico Cerva Tuberone — Born in 1459 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian historian. Member of the noble Cerva family, of ancient Roman origin, which was one of the original founding families of Ragusa. Studied philosophy, theology and mathematics in Paris. Entered the Benedictine Order at age twenty-five. Entered the Monastery of San Giacomo in Visgnizza near Ragusa. Studied ancient Roman history. Published historical works on the history of Ragusa, on the origin of the Turks, and on the history of the Jagiellon period in Hungary. Wrote exclusively in Latin. Died in Ragusa, Dalmatia in 1527.
Antonio Varisco
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| Lt. Col. Antonio Varisco, Dalmatian Italian (May 29, 1927 - July 13, 1979) |
Antonio Varisco — Born on May 29, 1927 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian carabiniere officer. Survived the Allied bombing of Zara in 1943-1944. Witnessed the invasion and sack of Zara by the Yugoslav Partisans in 1944 at age sixteen. Witnessed the murder of Carabinieri Lt. Ignazio Terranova by the Yugoslavs in 1944. After the occupation and annexation of Dalmatia by the Yugoslav Communists at the end of World War II, he and his family were de facto permanently exiled and never permitted to return to their home in Dalmatia. Moved to Italy with his family. Joined the Carabinieri Corps in 1951. Promoted to captain in 1957. Promoted to major in 1973. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1976. Assassinated by the Red Brigades in Rome on July 13, 1979. Posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Civil Valour in 1982.
Giorgio Ventura
Giorgio Ventura — Born in the 16th century in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian painter. Worked in Istria, Dalmatia and Venice. Painted religious subjects. Works preserved in various churches of Istria and Dalmatia. Died in the 17th century.
Antonio Veranzio
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| Antonio Veranzio, Dalmatian Italian (May 29, 1504 - June 15, 1573) |
Antonio Veranzio — Born on May 29, 1504 in Sebenico, Dalmatia. Italian cardinal, archbishop and diplomat. Uncle of Fausto Veranzio. Graduated from the University of Padua in 1526. Studied in Vienna and Krakow. Provost of Buda Cathedral in 1530. Deputy of King John Zapolya of Hungary from 1530-1539. Sent on a diplomatic mission to the Ottoman Empire by Emperor Ferdinand I in 1553. Bishop of Pecs from 1553-1557. Bishop of Eger from 1560-1570. Sent on a diplomatic mission to the Ottoman Empire by Emperor Maximilian II in 1567. Archbishop of Esztergom from 1569-1573. Appointed Cardinal by Pope Gregory XIII in 1573. Died in the Kingdom of Hungary on June 15, 1573.
Fausto Veranzio
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| Fausto Veranzio, Dalmatian Italian (1551 - January 17, 1617) |
Fausto Veranzio — Born in 1551 in Sebenico, Dalmatia. Italian philosopher, historian, bishop, inventor, lexicographer and polymath. Nephew of Antonio Veranzio. Moved to Venice as a child. Studied mathematics, engineering, mechanics, physics and law in Venice and at the University of Padua. Chancellor for Hungary and Transylvania. Ordained a priest after the premature death of his wife. Bishop of Csanad in Hungary from 1594-1608. Moved to Venice in 1609. Entered the Barnabite Order in Venice, where he studied science. Published numerous historical works, a five-language dictionary, a book on logic and a book on Christian ethics. His most famous work is “Machinae vovae”, which contains 49 illustrations of technological innovations, including cable cars, navigation systems, leaf springs, mills, wind turbines, dredging systems, solar energy, portable boats and watches. Remembered for being the first to construct and test a parachute (which took place in Venice), and for inventing the concept of suspension bridges, cable-stayed bridge, tied-arch bridges, through arch bridges, truss bridges and aerial lifts. Died in Venice on January 17, 1617.
Roberto de Visiani
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| Dr. Roberto de Visiani, Dalmatian Italian (April 9, 1800 - May 4, 1878) |
Roberto de Visiani — Born on April 9, 1800 in Sebenico, Dalmatia. Italian botanist, naturalist, physician and scholar. Studied at the Seminary of Spalato. Graduated in medicine from the University of Padua in 1822. Worked as a physician in Sebenico, Dernis, Cattaro and Budua. Wrote for the German botanist magazine “Botanische Zeitung”. Prefect of the Botanical Garden at the University of Padua in 1837. Greatly enlarged the Botanical Garden of Padua. Co-founded the Venetian Society for the Cultivation of Flowers (Società del Veneto a promuovere la coltura de' fiori). Participated in the Congress of Italian Scientists in 1839 and subsequent years. General Secretary of the Congress of Italian Scientists in 1842. Acquired Italian citizenship in 1866, after the unification of Veneto with the Kingdom of Italy. Friend of Italian patriot Niccolò Tommaseo. Remembered as one of the fathers of modern botanical study in Italy and as the first person to study plant fossils in Italy. His most famous work is “Dalmatian Flora” (Flora Dalmatica), which classifies and describes over 2,500 species of plants in Dalmatia according to Linnaeus' scientific method. Published hundreds of scientific publications in Italian and Latin. Died in Padua on May 4, 1878.
Bernardo Zamagna
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| Count Bernardo Zamagna, Dalmatian Italian (November 9, 1735 - April 20, 1820) |
Bernardo Zamagna — Born on November 9, 1735 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian poet, translator, theologian and Catholic priest. Member of the noble Zamagna family, of ancient Roman origin. Member of the noble Caboga family, which originated in Fermo, Italy and settled in Ragusa in the 8th century. Educated by Jesuit priests. Moved to Rome at age eighteen. Began his novitiate at Sant'Andrea al Quirinale. Took vows after two years. Studied under the Dalmatian Italian priests Raimondo Cunich and Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich. Moved to Siena. Had a passion for astronomy. Sent to the court of Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Tuscany by the Senate of Ragusa. Refused the Greek chair at the University of Milan offered by Empress Maria Theresa. Returned to Ragusa in 1783. Published numerous works in Latin. Died in Ragusa, Dalmatia on April 20, 1820.
Luigi Ziliotto
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| Luigi Ziliotto, Dalmatian Italian (February 8, 1863 - February 5, 1922) |
Luigi Ziliotto — Born on February 8, 1863 in Zara, Dalmatia. Italian politician, lawyer and patriot. Lived in Bencovazzo and Macarsca as a child. Attended high school in Spalato. Graduated in jurisprudence at the University of Graz. Founded the Giosuè Carducci Cultural Circle. Moved to Zara and worked at a law firm. Member of the pro-Italian Autonomist Party of Dalmatia. Supported Italian culture. Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of Zara and City Councilor of Zara in 1892. Deputy of the Dalmatian Diet in 1895. President of the National League (Lega Nazionale) from 1895-1898. Co-founded the Dalmatian Italian magazine “La Rivista Dalmatica” in 1899. Mayor of Zara from 1899-1916. Accused of treason and deposed by the Austro-Hungarian authorities for his pro-Italian politics in 1916. Co-founder and Head of the self-constituted National Committee of Zara in 1918. Resumed position as Mayor of Zara from 1918-1922. Supported the annexation of Dalmatia to Italy. Senator of the Kingdom of Italy in 1920. Died in Zara, Dalmatia on February 5, 1922.
Luigi Ziliotto condemned the Treaty of Rapallo (which assigned almost all of Dalmatia to Yugoslavia, except Zara, Lagosta, Pelagosa and Cazza) in a speech to the Italian Senate on December 16, 1920:
“Italy can not make peace against Gabriele D'Annunzio. ... A peace without D'Annunzio is not a peace for Italy. ... He accepts the Treaty of Rapallo in regards to Fiume, but he does not accept it in regards to Dalmatia. ... I am still an Italian irredentist... the Nation has a duty to defend itself, it has a duty not to detatch any member from its body, it has a duty to demand true peace and to not create new upheavals. The Senate has an obligation to reject the Treaty of Rapallo.”
(“L'Italia non può fare la pace contro Gabriele d'Annunzio. ... Una pace senza d'Annunzio non è una pace per l'Italia. ... Ed egli accetta il Trattato di Rapallo per quello che riguarda Fiume, non lo accetta per la Dalmazia. ... Io sono ancora un italiano irredento... la Nazione ha il dovere di curare la propria difesa, ha il dovere di non lasciarsi distaccare alcun membro del proprio corpo, ha il dovere di pretendere una pace vera e non di creare nuovi sconvolgimenti. Il Senato ha quindi l'obbligo di negare la ratifica al Trattato di Rapallo.”)
Bernardo Zuzzeri
Bernardo Zuzzeri — Born on January 2, 1683 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian missionary and Jesuit priest. Member of the noble Zuzzeri family. Entered the Jesuit Order at age fourteen. Moved to Rome in 1697. Studied the sciences and theology. Teacher of theology and rhetoric at the Roman College. Apostolic missionary for Dalmatia. Visited Fiume, Trieste, Gorizia, Segna and several cities of Dalmatia. Official Preacher of the Cathedral of Ragusa in 1734. Returned to Rome in 1742. Rector of the Collegium Ragusinum in Ragusa. Praefectus spiritus of the Roman College. Published numerous sermons and religious works. Died in Rome on April 3, 1762.
Flora Zuzzeri
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| Flora Zuzzeri, Dalmatian Italian (1552 - December 1, 1648) |
Flora Zuzzeri — Born in 1552 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian poetess. Member of the Zuzzeri family. Member of the noble Radagli family, which originated in Venice. Moved to Ancona at age eleven. Married the Italian noble Bartolomeo Pescioni of Florence in 1577. Returned to Ragusa. Befriended Nicolò Vito di Gozze. The writings of Gozze—dedicated to Zuzzeri—caused scandal in Ragusa, causing her to leave the city. Returned to Ancona in 1583. Founded a reading and literary exchange group in Ancona. Became a widow in 1593. Published numerous poems and epigrams in the Italian language, none of which survive. Never wrote a single line in Croatian. Died in Ancona, Italy on December 1, 1648. Torquato Tasso dedicated three sonnets and five madrigals to her. Several other Italian authors also dedicated poems to her in the Italian language, including Michele Bona, Marino Battitorre, Domenico Ragnina and Michele Monaldi.
Giovanni Luca Zuzzeri
Giovanni Luca Zuzzeri — Born in 1716 in Ragusa, Dalmatia. Italian numismatist, archaeologist and Jesuit priest. Member of the Zuzzeri family. Entered the Jesuit Order at a young age. Moved to Rome. Studied at the Roman College. Taught human letters at Siena, Loreto and Macerata. Sent to Paris by his superiors. Returned to Italy. Published two works on archeology and numismatics. Described an ancient sundial discovered in Tusculum. Died in Rome on November 18, 1746 at age thirty.
