MASTERARBEIT Titel der Masterarbeit “The other Trieste: integration of a community on the border” verfasst von Alessandro Baracetti BA angestrebter akademischer Grad Master of Art (M.A.) Wien, 2013 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A066 656 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: CREOLE-Cultural Differences and Transnational Processes Betreuerin: Mag.a Dr.in Jelena Tošić The other Trieste: a community on the border 2 Construction of a local identity Contents Acknowledgments and remarks .................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 8 1. Research Methods ................................................................................................................................... 12 1.1. Interviews ............................................................................................................................................ 12 1.2. Observations and research notes ................................................................................................... 14 1.3. Translations ........................................................................................................................................ 17 2. Trieste through time: history, social texture and ethnic communities ............................................... 18 2.1. Trieste: patterns of coexistence ...................................................................................................... 19 2.2. An Italianità on the border ................................................................................................................ 21 2.4. Historical facts in a nutshell: Italian-Slovenian relations .............................................................. 28 2.5. Defending a Triestine identity: the other communities through time .......................................... 37 3. Research about identity: how to move through the theory ................................................................. 46 3.1. Social identity and personal identity ............................................................................................... 46 3.2. Identity and space: place for the definition of the Self ................................................................. 51 3.3. Individual and collective memory: social means of group identity ............................................. 53 3.4. Language and ethnic implications ................................................................................................... 58 4. Case study: the Slovenian minority in Trieste ...................................................................................... 63 4.1. Semi-isolation of ethnic groups ....................................................................................................... 63 4.2. Negative affirmation of identity ........................................................................................................ 70 4.3. Bilingualism and biculturalism: Slovenian as a language of diversity ........................................ 79 5. Trieste: an anthropological view of the local identity ........................................................................... 89 5.1. The Slovenian minority in multicultural Trieste ............................................................................. 89 5.2. ‘Authentic hybrids’ for a local culture: Trieste, the Istrian capital ............................................... 90 5.3. Multiculturalism in Trieste? .............................................................................................................. 94 7. Appendix .................................................................................................................................................. 101 8. References .............................................................................................................................................. 103 9. Abstracts .............................................................................................................................................. 113 9.1. Abstract in English ........................................................................................................................... 113 9.2. Abstract in German ......................................................................................................................... 114 9.3. Abstract in Italian ............................................................................................................................. 115 Curriculum Vitae .......................................................................................................................................... 116 3 The other Trieste: a community on the border 4 Construction of a local identity Sugnu sempri alla finestra e viru a ranni civiltà ca ha statu, unni Turchi, Ebrei e Cristiani si stringeunu la manu, tannu si pinsava ca “La diversità è ricchezza” tempi di biddizza e di puisia, d'amuri e di saggezza. Carmen Consoli, A finestra (*) 5 The other Trieste: a community on the border (*) Translation: I’m always at the window, looking at the great civilization which it has been/ when Turks, Jews and Christians extended a hand of friendship./ At the time people thought that “Diversity is a value”/ times of beauty, poetry, loves and wisdom. 6 Construction of a local identity Acknowledgments and remarks This master thesis is the result of my work, which is not limited to the time in Trieste, but rather represents the end of a cycle of studies. I would like to thank my family for both the emotional and economic support during these years of research. I would also like to thank all of my old friends who still follow my innumerable transfers around Europe. I would like to thank my supervisor Jelena Tošić. She has been a great help, particularly with my thesis but generally during my period at the University of Vienna, I attended her courses with huge interest. I would like to thank Ashley Arreola, my friend and colleague, who reviewed my thesis; her accurate and precise work has been indispensable. Lastly, I would like to devote a few words to the great city of Trieste. Upon reading my thesis you very well may sense my passion for this town. Although I am originally from this region of Italy, I had never lived in Trieste before conducting my fieldwork. This is one of the most charming cities I have ever visited in Europe: not just from the aesthetical point of view, but in terms of its flair as well. I first started to read and do research about this city as a thesis topic, but now I cannot stop searching for new Trieste literature, created by either famous writers or inhabitants themselves. I am ceased by amazement every single day as I walk through its streets. Moreover, I would like to also thank all those people who helped me find and obtain research material, those who participated in my research and answered my questions, and to all those new friends who welcomed me and made Trieste yet another one of my numerous “homes”. 7 The other Trieste: a community on the border Introduction ‘We are the furthest limit of Latinity,’ the Mayor of Trieste exclaimed to me one day, ’the southern extremity of Germanness.’ Triestini love this sort of hyperbole. Jan Morris, Destinations, 1980. This work is a first step towards my understanding of a history, a history that has been silenced for a long time. The relevant historical events are a part of my cultural heritage having been born in this region. Its history involves ancient relations of neighbourhood and disagreements; all past events still represent an obstacle for the peaceful coexistence of both identities currently sharing the same space. All collected data are the outcomes of a research process, which I primarily conducted for the University of Vienna’s European Master of Social and Cultural Anthropology. It was in Vienna where I had the opportunity to enter into this anthropological discourse. Anthropology was not my main subject in my previous studies in Italy, where I learned to study “culture” using a linguistic and literary approach. During my last semester at the University of Vienna, I inquired more about the specific topic of identity and how it is related to certain cultural paradigms, which according to my interests, are connected to Eastern and South- Eastern European countries, or include studies related to Former Socialist Countries. In an attempt to overcome the ‘forma mentis’, which focuses my interest on the linguistic aspect, I adopted a general approach to study the multicultural environment in a city which has been the birthplace and melting point of different communities, of which some acquired the status of minorities, and others remained historical communities of the territory. I will focus my work on the nationally recognized minority of the Slovenes, which both previously and today still remain to play a principle role in the historical, political and social conformation of Trieste. There are other minorities and communities that are important for this 8 Construction of a local identity cultural environment, such as the Serbian, the Croat, the Jewish, the Greek and others. However, I decided to concentrate on the Slovenian community for several reasons, starting from their status of a minority. In addition, I am interested in the particular ways the community