Who are we?

We are Giuliano-Dalmati. This name refers to the area from which we come.
It is the area that stretches from Gorizia all the way to Ragusa, Dalmazia.

Those who are considered Giuliano-Dalmati are: Goriziani, Triestini,
Fiumani, Quarnerini (islands of Cherso, Veglia and Lussino), Zaratini and
all the Dalmatian islands of the eastern Adriatic coast.

These regions have always been inhabited by Latin peoples and
also by the local peoples who combined with the roman-latin culture. This
Mediterranean civilization developed in conjunction with the maritime
merchants of the Mediterranean and elsewhere.

The origins of the pre-Roman inhabitants of this area, especially those in
Istria, were from central Europe as were the Celtici, Veneziani, Carni,
Illirci. They lived in rudimentary cities or villages that were protected
and surrounded by walls. These were known as Castellieri. The ruins of
these walls are still found in this region.

Before the Romans, Istria had a distinct people who were ruled by a king.
King Epulo (180 to 100 B.C.) was one of the most glorious of these kings.
King Epulo, who was the last Istrian king killed himself after killing his
wife and children to avoid surrendering to the Romans. The ruins of the
Istri capital can be found not too far from Pola at
Nasazio.

Rome civilized the area by bringing prosperity and a good standard of
living. Remains from the Roman era have been found in the villas,
fortifications and ports of Ragusa, Spalato, Zara, Fiume, Pola with its
magnificent Arena (one of the best preserved in the world),
and Trieste with its Roman Forum.

With the fall of the Roman Empire our region was one of the first to be
invaded and destroyed by nomadic peoples from the north. It almost
tragically eliminated 600 years of Roman rule.

During this time the characteristic island cities were
founded. The locals found refuge in these cities which were protected by
the sea: Capodistria, Isola d’Istria, Rovigo, Venezia and many other
cities of the north Adriatic. Slowly the Venetian civilization was
eventually born from what remained of the Roman civilization.

It is from this civilization that we are a part. We speak the Italo-Venetian
language and cultivate its culture and customs.

After the fall of Rome, European empires slowly began to form. They
competed for power by trying to emulate the Roman Empire. Venice, the
Serenissima , reached its height and maximum splendor in 1700
as the center of art, culture and commerce. The Republic of Venice was
eventually divided between France and Austria. The House of
Hapsburg dream came true. It was now connected to the sea and to
all world routes. Venice continued to fight.

As a result of this treaty between France and Austria, the Republic of
Venice was submissive to their control. This also marked the beginning of
our odyssey and we, the Giuliano-Dalmati became
Austro-Hungarian citizens until 1918. However we were briefly
under the Franco-Napoleonic rule from 1797-1812.

The region prospered under Austria-Hungary. Trieste, Pola, Fiume, Zara,
Spalato, Sebenico, Ragusa, le Bocche di Cataro became great and some of the
most powerful maritime ports of the European powers of the time. They were
technically avant-garde. They moved from sail-boats to steamships creating
one of the biggest and most modern navies of the time military or
commercial. These great maritime companies ploughed through the seas and
oceans.

The Hapsburg Empire favoured the Slavic population of the interior, thus
promoting a migration towards the Adriatic coast. Under the administration
of the Austria-Hungary, the local Italian population was relegated to
inferior administrative positions. These conditions basically rendered them
as second class citizens in their own homeland.

At the end of the first World War (1914-1918) the geo-political scene
changed completely. The great Austro-Hungarian Empire was defeated. Italy
was one of the winning nations. For the first time the
Italians were filled with joy, finally free from years of Hapsburg control.
A new Yugoslavian state, complete with its own king, was formed from
Austro-Hungarian territories. It included the regions of Slovenia, Croatia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia and all of Dalmazia (with
the exception of Zara and Fiume which were under Italy). Pola, Trieste and
Gorizia became provinces of the region of Venezia Giulia in
north east Italy. Unfortunately, the Italo-Dalmati became citizens of the
new Yugoslavia and thus many began to abandon their homes and leave the
area. Thus began the first mass exodus.

This summary which I present to you is not complete, however it is what we
have experienced.

And now we hit the present, which for many of us is a story that was lived,
albeit sad and often tragic.

After the second World War (1941-1945) our region changed for the worse. It
was a drastic and irrevocable change. For the Italo-Veneti it marked the
end. Italy became a member of the Axis Powers and an ally of Germany. As a
result of this alliance, when Germany declared war on Yugoslavia, so did
Italy.

The tense situation between the Italian and Slavic communities worsened.

After the war, Italy emerged defeated. Communist Yugoslavia under Tito
emerged victorious under the protection of the British and Americans.
Tito's troops occupied the entire Venezia-Giulia region. Gorizia was
divided in two. Trieste was now a strip of land connected to Monfalcone and
the rest of Italy. Tito called this the liberation, and
consequently created a hatred of all that was Italian. Many alleged
fascists were thrown into mass graves. The cruel reality was that these
people had one thing going against them.....they were Italian.
The Italian Giuliano-Dalmati were devastated because they were faced by
such hatred, acts of terror and a politically motivated ethnic cleansing.
They thus abandoned their land, their homes, their farms, their sea and were
scattered around in refugee camps in Italy. They consequently ended up all
over the world including Canada from Halifax all the way to Vancouver.
In just a few years 350,000 Giuliano-Dalmati left this region and roughly
10,000 now live in Canada.

Our club, the Club Giuliano Dalmato of Toronto was founded in 1968. It is
from these foundations noted above that we maintain and protect our
traditions and our link to the Italo-Veneto culture.

All Italo-Veneti who speak our dialect, or are descendants are ALWAYS
WELCOME IN OUR CLUB.

GB.