Page 16 - Mellinato, Giulio, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime Port Cities: The Northern Adriaticin a Comparative Perspective. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 16
plex Gateways
ment difficulties, and the need to create extremely complex and articu-
lated governance structures. From this point of view, the North Adriatic
case begins to diverge from the standard, opening a new possible line of
research dealing with the history of ports in proximity inside the same
gateway region, but linked to different political frameworks.
For all three ports, a succession of strong political wills have support-
ed their developments, overcoming the difficulties arising from chang-
es in the local social conditions and international trade developments.
The historical evolution of work conditions could be a good mirror: the
need to import workforce from the hinterland was similar in Genoa and
Trieste, starting from pre-industrial times. However, the Genoa city au-
thorities successfully managed not to integrate the immigrated workforce
into the urban society, while in Trieste some problems emerged precise-
ly because of the impossibility (or the unwillingness) of sending the im-
migrant workers back to their hometowns in the countryside, as Piccinno
and Kalc show in their chapters. Not such a dated problem, since Panariti,
Schemmer, and Centrih can actualize it to our days.
Another long-lasting issue is the institutional one, especially from
the point of view of the burdens public authorities were willing to im-
pose on the seaports’ management, gaining control but at the same time
risking the loss of opportunities and momentum for economic develop-
ment, as Delogu and Darovec show in their essays, while a significant lit-
erature regarding Trieste already exists (Andreozzi 2003; Andreozzi 2013;
Andreozzi 2015). With reference to the Upper Adriatic case, in order to
analyse the relationship between port development and public authori-
ties, we believe that the best observation point is the first decade follow-
ing the Second World War. The book devotes two chapters to this peri-
od, embracing all three ports we have considered (Giulio Mellinato and
Deborah Rogoznica).
Essentially, a strong governmental will backed the creation of all
three ports. In the case of Trieste and Rijeka it was the Habsburg em-
perors, and a heavy involvement of the new Slovenian republican insti-
tutions in the case of Koper. At different times, all three ports were bur-
dened with the task of representing symbols of national pride, causing
long-lasting problems in Trieste and Rijeka (Mellinato 2018), but also fa-
vouring an early development for the port of Koper, due to the large com-
mitment of the population in its construction, with the gift of free work
by the common people and the great dedication of its first management.
16
ment difficulties, and the need to create extremely complex and articu-
lated governance structures. From this point of view, the North Adriatic
case begins to diverge from the standard, opening a new possible line of
research dealing with the history of ports in proximity inside the same
gateway region, but linked to different political frameworks.
For all three ports, a succession of strong political wills have support-
ed their developments, overcoming the difficulties arising from chang-
es in the local social conditions and international trade developments.
The historical evolution of work conditions could be a good mirror: the
need to import workforce from the hinterland was similar in Genoa and
Trieste, starting from pre-industrial times. However, the Genoa city au-
thorities successfully managed not to integrate the immigrated workforce
into the urban society, while in Trieste some problems emerged precise-
ly because of the impossibility (or the unwillingness) of sending the im-
migrant workers back to their hometowns in the countryside, as Piccinno
and Kalc show in their chapters. Not such a dated problem, since Panariti,
Schemmer, and Centrih can actualize it to our days.
Another long-lasting issue is the institutional one, especially from
the point of view of the burdens public authorities were willing to im-
pose on the seaports’ management, gaining control but at the same time
risking the loss of opportunities and momentum for economic develop-
ment, as Delogu and Darovec show in their essays, while a significant lit-
erature regarding Trieste already exists (Andreozzi 2003; Andreozzi 2013;
Andreozzi 2015). With reference to the Upper Adriatic case, in order to
analyse the relationship between port development and public authori-
ties, we believe that the best observation point is the first decade follow-
ing the Second World War. The book devotes two chapters to this peri-
od, embracing all three ports we have considered (Giulio Mellinato and
Deborah Rogoznica).
Essentially, a strong governmental will backed the creation of all
three ports. In the case of Trieste and Rijeka it was the Habsburg em-
perors, and a heavy involvement of the new Slovenian republican insti-
tutions in the case of Koper. At different times, all three ports were bur-
dened with the task of representing symbols of national pride, causing
long-lasting problems in Trieste and Rijeka (Mellinato 2018), but also fa-
vouring an early development for the port of Koper, due to the large com-
mitment of the population in its construction, with the gift of free work
by the common people and the great dedication of its first management.
16
