Nationality as a Burden or Advantage in Art. How National Identity Became the Core of a Cultural Conflict on the Adriatic North-East Coastline at the Beginning of the 20th Century

At the turn of the 20th century on the Adriatic north-east coastline, there was a growing sense of national identity within the Italian and Slovenian communities. After the First World War, the region became part of the Kingdom of Italy, which thereby favoured the Italians over the local Slovenian people. The Italian Irredentism first, and Fascism later, extended their nationalist beliefs to every aspect of life, including artistic expressions. Therefore, the local cultural scene was subject to a binary narration in which the artists were defined mainly by their nationality rather than their work. Comparing the Italian and Slovenian press in the area helps to understand and retrace a complicated story in which the national identity doesn’t define the artists once and for all. Law and politics gave directions, but they have been applied, interpreted, disobeyed, and bypassed to a great extent. With its rising power, Fascism took control over the social and cultural life and censorship, which widely affected every nonconforming initiative. The Slovenian artists, at a certain time, seemed surrendered. However, they somehow resisted the constraint, safeguarding their culture and freedom as best they could.