Page 141 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 11(2) (2023)

Special Committee was able to rely on the rec- Benito Mussolini authorised the signing of the
ommendations of an external expert advisor, contract with the competition winners, and on
whose suggestions were then sent to the Duce 3 May the contract was signed and endorsed by a
for review. Another aspect indicating the signifi- decree of the Council of Ministers (Consiglio dei
cance of the monument’s erection can be detect- ministri). On 18 May, the contract was approved
ed from this meeting – Zupelli compared it with by the Ministry of Finance. In line with the con-
the Victory Memorial in Bolzano as a response tract, 300,000 lire were released in June 1933 so
to the pro-German demonstrations. In view of the works could begin. The Commission for Na-
possible violence and demonstrations by the Yu- tional Monuments in Honour of Cesare Battisti
goslavs, Zupelli stressed that the erection of a and Nazario Sauro also drew up a funding pro-
monument to Nazario Sauro in Koper was es- gramme for the works in Koper, which was orig-
sential for confirming Italy’s new and inviolable inally included in the budget of the Ministry of
right to the Adriatic. It is noteworthy that in the Public Works. The cost of demolishing the for- 141
mer Patzowsky salt warehouse, where the mon-
case of Nazario Sauro, the Italian political lead-
ti ership did not question Nazario’s ‘anti-Austrian- ument was to be erected, and of building a wall
along the quay called ‘Riva Nuova’ amounted
ism’ and whether the erection of the monument
would lead to pro-Austrian or pro-German to 39,652.30 lire (equivalent to €42,138.06). The
ta erection was primarily intended to demonstrate amounted to a further 708,183.37 lire (equivalent
landscaping of the monument’s surroundings
demonstrations, but rather that the planned
to €752,578.63). Sources indicate that the Minis-
Italian supremacy in the Adriatic. The Mayor of
try of the Interior contributed 640,000 lire, as
Koper, Nino de Petris, added that on 15 January
di 1933, the general assembly held in Koper to cel- the construction work did not only benefit port
9
activities.
ebrate the ‘fascist befana’ voted in favour of an
agenda item stipulating that in the 11th year of
Construction of the Monument to Nazario
the fascist era a monument should be erected to
the Italian hero, the martyr of irredentism and Sauro
here response to Yugoslav provocations. Based on ex- poned to 10 August 1934 and the proposed open- the historical background to the erection of the monument to nazario sauro in koper ...
As work had not begun even a year after the con-
defender of the Italian character of the Adriat-
tract was signed, the completion date was post-
ic Sea – Nazario Sauro, as a solemn warning and
ing date to 4 November 1934, the anniversary of
tant sources, it is clear that the memorial on the
the Italian victory in World War I. The multi-
Koper seafront was not only intended to pre-
ple postponements of the construction dead-
serve the memory of the town’s seaman but that
it was also intended to reflect the ‘warrior sea-
or anti-state actions or on the ‘inactivity’ of the
faring tradition’ of its Italian population. Ac-
studiauniversitatis
people involved but on the technical complexity
cording to prominent representatives of the au- line could not be blamed on possible subversive
thorities, the monument was also supposed to and demanding nature of the construction itself,
reflect historical continuity in past naval battles, as can be seen from the archival documentation.
from the Battle of Lepanto (1571) at the time of The sculptor Selva expressed the opinion that
the Venetian Republic to Sauro’s naval exploits in order for the monument to be of the desired
8
in World War I (Marini 1936, 129–140). The quality the construction deadline should be ex-
completion date was set for 10 August 1933, fol- tended, and that it would only be reasonable to
lowed by the opening on 10 August 1934, coin- talk about the date of completion once work had
ciding with the anniversary of Nazario Sauro’s actually begun (Marini 1936, 129–140). Frances-
execution. On 23 March 1933, Prime Minister co Salata pointed out that the selected contrac-
tors or artists should be encouraged as much as
8 The latter is evident from the speech given by Carlo Del-
croix at the unveiling of the monument. 9 PAK, 7, 510, Fond Mestne občine Koper