National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia

The Associazione Nazionale Venezia Giulia e Dalmazia (ANVGD) is an Italian association founded in 1947, described by its own website as the first national-level organization created to coordinate and organize the tens of thousands of autochthonous Italian refugees from the territories of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia. Its stated purpose is to represent the Italians who fled Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia at the end of World War II, a displacement driven by the ethnic cleansing of Yugoslav militias and the fear of the foibe, which resulted in an exodus of some 350,000 people of every social class and the violent death of thousands of innocents in the foibe. The association brings together first- and second-generation exiles across Italy, working to recover a page of Italian history that it says was denied for decades for reasons of international politics. It also campaigns for the preservation of the cultural and traditional values of the lost lands, a struggle aided by Law 92/2004, which established the Giorno del Ricordo (Day of Remembrance) on 10 February each year. ANVGD is headquartered in Rome and maintains a presence throughout Italy through provincial committees. It publishes news and organizes conferences, documentary screenings and cultural events, and it is associated with the Museo della Civiltà istriana, fiumana e dalmata. Membership is open to exiles, their family members and sympathizers. The association is not a commercial company but a non-profit cultural and memorial organization; it operates as a brand-like entity in the public and cultural sphere.

The Associazione Nazionale Venezia Giulia e Dalmazia (ANVGD) states that it was founded in 1947, making it the first national-level association of its kind. According to Mario de Vidovich, an exile from Zara, it was founded in Rome on 20 June 1948 with the participation of eighty provincial committees of Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian exiles already active in local areas. In its early years there were many and diverse refugee associations; ANVGD was the only one to structure itself at the national level, and it was characterized from the outset by a pronounced religious faith and an apolitical ideological commitment. According to archival research by Silvia Arrigoni at the ANVGD national headquarters in Rome, from 1948 the presence in leadership positions of men from both the old and new Julian fascism—including Libero Sauro, Luigi Papo, Bruno Coceani, Cesare Pagnini and Silvano Drago—accentuated the association's nationalist and revanchist political orientation, bringing it closer to the positions of the M.S.I. and putting it in conflict with the M.I.R. (Movimento Istriano Revisionista, heir of the C.L.N. of Istria). In 2013 Paolo Scandaletti wrote about the association. Membership is open to exiles, their family members and sympathizers. To help refugees, various organizations had existed since 1945 and later joined ANVGD; the best known was the Comitato Nazionale per la Venezia Giulia e Zara. The first and second generations of Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian exiles throughout Italy collaborate and compare notes to bring to light that page of Italian history denied for decades due to reasons of international politics. This also entails a daily battle for the maintenance of the cultural and traditional values of those lands from which they were torn, facilitated by Law 92/2004 establishing the Giorno del Ricordo, which every 10 February brings those painful events back under the spotlight. At the same time, the values of national identity to which the Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian exiles are attached are reinforced. This makes the Giorno del Ricordo a moment of reflection for the whole nation, in which the words foibe and Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian exodus are revived in their most dramatically profound meaning, but at the same time in a confident perspective for the future. The presidents of ANVGD have included, from 1948, Dr. Alfonso Orlini from Cherso, followed by Elio Bracco, Libero Sauro, Maurizio Mandel, Paolo Barbi, Gianni Bartoli, Lucio Toth, Antonio Ballarin and Renzo Codarin. The association continues to be active, publishing news, organizing conferences, documentary screenings and cultural events, and maintaining a presence throughout Italy.

• 2004

  Law 92/2004 establishes the Giorno del Ricordo on 10 February.

• 1948

  Founded in Rome on 20 June with eighty provincial committees (per Mario de Vidovich).

• 1947

  Association founded (per official website).

Non-profit cultural and memorial association representing Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian exiles; not a commercial enterprise.

1. 1Home - ANVGDanvgd.it
2. 2Chi Siamo - ANVGDanvgd.it
3. 3Associazione nazionale Venezia Giulia e Dalmazia - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Associazione Nazionale Venezia Giulia e Dalmazia - Wikipediait.wikipedia.org