Page 145 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 11(2) (2023)

with an architectural trend that emerged after had been designated as a place of commemora-
the move away from Futurism and towards clas- tion for years. The promenade and park in which
sical elements of Expressionism, the Renaissance the collective imaginary was able to find its link
and, above all, the Italian imitation of ancient with the past also provided an ideological vision
Rome. This was overseen by the Ministero Cor- for the future. In addition to the monument, a
porativista with twenty associations, the seven- primary school named Anna Sauro Depang-
teenth of which was dedicated to the ‘Belle Arti’. her was built in Koper between 1939 and 1940,
Control over the architectural sector was fur- but never opened due to the outbreak of the war
ther tightened with the creation of the nation- (Sauro 2017, 311; Čebron Lipovec 2012, 215).
20
al Syndicate of Fascist Architects, headed by Al- The naming of the school after the self-sacrific-
berto Calza Bini between 1923 and 1936. Three ing mother of an executed seaman from Koper
architects made the decisions on urban plan- probably had strong symbolic value. The mod-
ning at the national level: Gustavo Giovanno- ernist building, which was never completed, dis- 145
ni, Marcello Piacentini and the aforementioned tanced itself from the historic land subdivision
ti Calza Bini. They were also present in the Fine and created new intermediate market spaces
Arts and Public Works Committees and were
with offset sections.
authorised to approve urban development plans
ta (Kastelic 2007, 155–156). The architect Ferdinan- Conclusion
do Forlati had the main say regarding Koper, es-
The tendency to present Italy as a ‘strong’ na-
pecially from the point of view of architectural
tion on a par with other ‘great’ nations took on
and cultural heritage. In the absence of ‘suitable
traces of the Roman Empire’, he focused on the more militant forms in Italian nationalism, and
especially later under fascism. This ‘violent’ atti-
di lic. The history of the Serenissima’s hegemony in tude was also adopted towards members of the
iconography and motifs of the Venetian Repub-
same nation (Erjavec 1988). Social loyalty to the
the Adriatic coincided well with Italy’s imperial-
state apparatus had to be nurtured and glorified
ist aspirations in the Mediterranean and the Bal-
through historical practices. In interwar Kop-
here peninsula was reminiscent of the territory that several ideological concepts including historical the historical background to the erection of the monument to nazario sauro in koper ...
kans. The reconquest of Trieste and the Istrian
er, the monument to Nazario Sauro embodied
the Venetian Republic had once dominated, and
myth, the ideological narrative of fascist rheto-
the port cities of the newly conquered territories
ric, and was a suitable tool for constructing gen-
were thus once again under the former domina-
eral commemorative belonging to the ruling
tion. Venice had the opportunity to regain its
local community. At the same time, it is neces-
status as a privileged centre on the Adriatic (Fin-
sary to take into account the change in the so-
19
cardi 2001, 3–5).
In Koper, the Italian authorities used ar-
studiauniversitatis
changed together with the figures in power in
chitecture for two purposes: as a tool for mark- cial perception of the subject in question, which
local politics, along with a change in the exter-
ing space and as a convenient ideological appara- nal appearance of this space. The creation of the
tus (Čebron Lipovec 2020, 249–158). The town myth of ‘Nazario Sauro’ did not actually be-
of Koper, as an urban interventions entity, had
only just begun its transformation when the 20 In her article entitled Architectural monuments in Kop-
er’s reconstruction after World War Two, Neža Čebron Li-
war interrupted the planned constructions. The povec states: The central body of the building was built in
Nazario Sauro monument and its surroundings 1940 according to plans drawn up by the architect F. Maz-
zoni and assistant engineers S. Scimone and V. Quasimodo
19 Marco Fincardi points out that the rise of fascism saw two (SAT, ASopTS Istria Quarnero Dalmazia, busta 2, fasc.117
Venetians take the reins of very important state portfolios: and busta 4, fasc.172). The partially preserved plans in the
Giuseppe Volpi became the Minister for Finance and Gio- archival material are not signed, but the accompanying
vanni Giuriati Minister for Public Works. We cannot say documents from Edilit mention the architect of the post-
this was a political affirmation, but a targeted strategic in- war remodelling of the school, ‘our architect Matossi’, ‘il
vestment for the port of Venice and the coastal industry. nostro architetto Matossi’.