View source for Italian irredentism

{{Short description|Italian political movement}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}

[[File:Trento - Statue of Dante.JPG|thumb|The Monument to [[Dante]] in [[Trento]]. Trento and [[Trieste]], whose annexation was the main goal of the Italian irredentists, were annexed by Italy at the end of WW1.]]
[[File:Greater_Italy_1919_map.svg|thumb|Map of the territories claimed by the proponents of a "greater Italy". Some Italian factions used irredentist arguments to promote the annexation of many other territories beyond Trento and Trieste.]]

'''Italian [[irredentism]]''' ({{langx|it|irredentismo italiano}} {{IPA|it|irredenˈtizmo itaˈljaːno|}}) was a [[political movement]] during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the [[Kingdom of Italy]]. It originated to promote the annexation of majority Italian-speaking territories which were still retained by the [[Austrian Empire]] after [[Risorgimento|three wars of independence]] (1848-1849, 1859 and 1866); specifically, [[Trento]] and [[Trieste]] were designated as the main "irredent lands". Both provinces were ultimately annexed as a result of [[World War I]], considered in Italian discourse to be the "fourth war of independence":  the conclusion of the conflict on November 4, 1918, is still commemorated in Italy as [[National Unity and Armed Forces Day|National Unity Day]]. Thereafter, Italian irredentism waned in importance; however, Italian nationalists and fascists would use irredentist arguments to justify the [[Italianization]] of other territories Italy annexed in World War I (such as [[South Tyrol]] and the Slavic parts of [[Istria]]) and claim many other lands beyond Trento and Trieste. Those latter policies and claims have been abandoned by the [[Italian Republic]].<ref name="treccani2">{{cite web |last=Tamaro |first=Attilio |author-link=Attilio Tamaro |date=1933 |title=IRREDENTISMO – Enciclopedia Italiana |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/irredentismo_%28Enciclopedia-Italiana%29/ |access-date=9 September 2023 |publisher=[[Treccani]] |language=it}}</ref>

==Overview==

[[File:Italian-unification.gif|thumb|upright=1.5|Animated map of the [[Italian unification]] from 1829 to 1871]]

Even after the [[Capture of Rome]] (1871), the final event of the unification of Italy, many ethnic Italian speakers ([[Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol|Trentino-Alto Adigan]] Italians, [[Savoyard Italians]], [[Corfiot Italians]], [[Niçard Italians]], [[Swiss Italians]], [[Corsican Italians]], [[Maltese Italians]], [[Istrian Italians]] and [[Dalmatian Italians]]) remained outside the borders of the Kingdom of Italy and this situation created the Italian irredentism. Up until [[World War I]], the main "irredent lands" (''terre irredente'') were considered to be the provinces of [[Trento]] and [[Trieste]] and, in a narrow sense, irredentists referred to the Italian patriots living in these two areas.<ref name="treccani2"/> 

The term was later expanded to also include multilingual and multiethnic areas, where Italians were a relative majority or a substantial minority, within the northern Italian region encompassed by the Alps, with [[Germans|German]], [[Italians|Italian]], [[Slovenes|Slovene]], [[Croats|Croatian]], [[Ladin people|Ladin]] and [[Istro-Romanians|Istro-Romanian]] population, such as [[South Tyrol]], [[Istria]], [[Gorizia and Gradisca]] and part of [[Dalmatia]]. The claims were further extended also to the city of [[Rijeka|Fiume]], [[Corsica]], the island of [[Malta]], the [[County of Nice]] and [[Italian Switzerland]].<ref name="treccani2"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.italiasvizzera150.it/studenti.cfm?target=8|title=La frontiera tra Italia e Svizzera|access-date=9 September 2023|language=it}}</ref>

After the end of World War I, the Italian irredentist movement largely disappared in its original form, having achieved the goal of annexing Trento and Trieste; it was, however, hegemonised, manipulated and distorted by fascism, which made it an instrument of nationalist propaganda, placed at the center of a policy, conditioned by belated imperial ambitions, which took the form of "forced [[Italianization]]s", in the aspiration for the birth of a ''Great Italy'' and a vast [[Italian Empire]].<ref name="Monteleone"/> After World War II, Italian irredentism disappeared along with the defeated Fascists and the Monarchy of the [[House of Savoy]]. After the [[Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947|Treaty of Paris]] (1947) and the [[Treaty of Osimo]] (1975), the territorial claims of Fascist Italy were abandoned by the [[Italian Republic]] (see [[Foreign relations of Italy]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.linkiesta.it/2012/06/litalia-per-de-gaulle-non-un-paese-povero-ma-un-povero-paese/|title=L'Italia per De Gaulle: "Non un paese povero, ma un povero paese"|date=8 June 2012 |access-date=9 September 2023|language=it}}</ref>

[[File:RegioniIrredenteItalia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Italian ethnic regions claimed in the 1930s:
{{bulleted list|Green: [[Italian irredentism in Nice|Nice]], [[Italian irredentism in Switzerland|Ticino]], and [[Italian irredentism in Dalmatia|Dalmatia]];|Red: [[Italian irredentism in Malta|Malta]];|Violet: [[Italian irredentism in Corsica|Corsica]]|[[Italian irredentism in Savoy|Savoy]] and [[Corfiot Italians#Corfiot Italians and the Risorgimento|Corfu]] were claimed later.}}]]

== Characteristics ==

Italian irredentism was not a formal organization but rather an opinion movement, advocated by several different groups, claiming that Italy had to reach its "[[Italy (geographical region)|natural borders]]" or unify territories inhabited by Italians.<ref name="treccani2"/> Similar nationalistic ideas were common in [[Europe]] in the late 19th century. The term ''irredentism'', coined from the Italian word, came into use in many countries (see [[List of irredentist claims or disputes]]). This idea of ''Italia irredenta'' is not to be confused with the ''[[Risorgimento]]'', the historical events that led to irredentism, nor with nationalism or [[Italian imperialism under Fascism|Imperial Italy]], the political philosophy that took the idea further under [[Italian Fascism|fascism]].

During the 19th century, Italian irredentism fully developed the characteristic of defending the Italian language from other people's languages, such as, for example, [[German language|German]] in Switzerland and in the Austro-Hungarian Empire or French in [[Nice]] and [[Corsica]].

The liberation of ''Italia irredenta'' was perhaps the strongest motive for Italy's entry into [[World War I]] and the [[Treaty of Versailles]] in 1919 satisfied many irredentist claims.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/65/ir/irredent.html irredentism] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510032637/http://www.bartleby.com/65/ir/irredent.html |date=2008-05-10 }} – The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001–07</ref>

Italian irredentism has the characteristic of being originally moderate, requesting only the return to Italy of the areas with Italian majority of population,<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/12/23/96282678.pdf NYTimes on Italian irredentism in Istria]</ref> but after World War I it became aggressive – under fascist influence – and claimed to the [[Kingdom of Italy]] even areas where Italians were a minority or had been present only in the past. In the first case, there were the ''Risorgimento'' claims on [[Trento]], while in the second, there were the fascist claims on the [[Ionian Islands]], [[Savoy]] and [[Malta]].

== History ==
=== Origins ===
{{Further|Italian irredentism in Corsica}}
[[File:Pascal Paoli01.jpg|thumb|right|Monument to [[Pasquale Paoli]], the Corsican hero who made Italian the official language of his [[Corsican Republic]] in 1755]]

The Corsican revolutionary [[Pasquale Paoli]] was called "the precursor of Italian irredentism" by [[Niccolò Tommaseo]] because he was the first to promote the Italian language and socio-culture (the main characteristics of Italian irredentism) in his island; Paoli wanted the [[Italian language]] to be the official language of the newly founded [[Corsican Republic]]. 

Pasquale Paoli's appeal in 1768 against the French invader said:
{{quote|We are Corsicans by birth and sentiment, but first of all we feel Italian by language, origins, customs, traditions; and Italians are all brothers and united in the face of history and in the face of God ... As Corsicans we wish to be neither slaves nor "rebels" and as Italians we have the right to deal as equals with the other Italian brothers ... Either we shall be free or we shall be nothing... Either we shall win or we shall die (against the French), weapons in hand ... The war against France is right and holy as the name of God is holy and right, and here on our mountains will appear for Italy the sun of liberty|Pasquale Paoli<ref>N. Tommaseo. "Lettere di Pasquale de Paoli" (in Archivio storico italiano, 1st series, vol. XI).</ref>}}

Paoli's [[Corsican Constitution]] of 1755 was written in Italian and the short-lived university he founded in the city of [[Corte, Haute-Corse|Corte]] in 1765 used Italian as the official language. Paoli was sympathetic to [[Italian culture]] and regarded his own native language as an Italian dialect (Corsican is an [[Italo-Dalmatian languages|Italo-Dalmatian tongue]] closely related to [[Tuscan language|Tuscan]]).

After the [[Italian unification]] and [[Third Italian War of Independence]] in 1866, there were areas with Italian-speaking communities within the borders of several countries around the newly created Kingdom of Italy. The irredentists sought to annex all those areas to the newly unified Italy. The areas targeted were [[Corsica]], [[Dalmatia]], [[Gorizia]], [[Istria]], [[Malta]], [[County of Nice]], [[Ticino]], small parts of [[Grisons]] and of [[Valais]], [[Trentino]], [[Trieste]] and [[Fiume]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://paduaresearch.cab.unipd.it/5452/1/paci_deborah_tesi.pdf|title=Il mito del Risorgimento mediterraneo|date=23 January 2013 |access-date=2 June 2021|language=it |last1=Paci |first1=Deborah }}</ref>

Different movements or groups founded in this period included the Italian politician Matteo Renato Imbriani inventing the new term ''terre irredente'' ("unredeemed lands") in 1877; in the same year the movement ''Associazione in pro dell'Italia Irredenta'' ("Association for the Unredeemed Italy") was founded; in 1885 the ''Pro Patria'' movement ("For Fatherland") was founded and in 1891 the ''Lega Nazionale Italiana'' ("Italian National League") was founded in Trento and Trieste (in the Austrian Empire).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlantegrandeguerra.it/portfolio/lega-nazionale/|title=Lega Nazionale|access-date=2 June 2021|language=it}}</ref>

Initially, the movement can be described as part of the more general [[nation-building]] process in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries when the multi-national [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]], [[Russian Empire|Russian]] and [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Empires were being replaced by nation-states. The Italian nation-building process can be compared to similar movements in Germany (''[[Großdeutschland]]''), [[Hungary]], [[Serbia]] and in pre-1914 [[Poland]]. Simultaneously, in many parts of 19th-century Europe [[liberalism]] and [[nationalism]] were ideologies which were coming to the forefront of political culture. In Eastern Europe, where the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Empire]] had long asserted control over a variety of ethnic and cultural groups, nationalism appeared in a standard format. The beginning of the 19th century "was the period when the smaller, mostly indigenous nationalities of the empire – [[Czechs]], [[Slovaks]], [[Slovenes]], [[Croats]], [[Serbs]], [[Ukrainians]], [[Romanians]] – remembered their historical traditions, revived their native tongues as literary languages, reappropriated their traditions and folklore, in short, reasserted their existence as nations".<ref>Sperber, Jonathan. The European Revolutions, 1848–1851. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. page 99.</ref>

=== 19th century ===
{{Further|Italian irredentism in Nice|Italian irredentism in Savoy|Italian irredentism in Malta|Italian irredentism in Switzerland|Niçard exodus}}
[[File:Map Languages CH.png|thumb|400px|left|Map of Switzerland showing in purple the Italian-speaking areas, where Italian irredentism was strongest]]

In the early 19th century the ideals of unification in a single Nation of all the territories populated by Italian-speaking people created the Italian irredentism.  

The current [[Italian Switzerland]] belonged to the [[Duchy of Milan]] until the [[16th century]], when it became part of [[Switzerland]]. These territories have maintained their native [[Italians|Italian population]] speaking the [[Italian language]] and the [[Lombard language]], specifically the [[Ticinese dialect]]. [[Italian irredentism in Switzerland]] was based on moderate ''Risorgimento'' ideals, and was promoted by Italian-Ticinese such as {{Ill|Adolfo Carmine|it}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rai.it/dl/portaleRadio/media/ContentItem-8351c386-9507-4225-89a3-307dacbde671.html|title=In viaggio con la zia - Firenze del 04/06/2016|access-date=4 June 2021|language=it}}</ref>

Following a brief [[French First Republic|French]] [[French occupation of Malta|occupation]] (1798–1800) the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] [[Malta Protectorate|established control]] over Malta while it was still formally part of the [[Kingdom of Sicily]]. During both the French and British periods, Malta officially remained part of the Sicilian Kingdom, although the French refused to recognise the island as such in contrast to the British. Malta became a [[Crown Colony of Malta|British Crown Colony]] in 1813, which was confirmed a year later through the [[Treaty of Paris (1814)]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rbvex.it/malta.html|title=Malta|access-date=2 June 2021|language=it}}</ref> Cultural changes were few even after 1814. In 1842, all literate Maltese learned Italian while only 4.5% could read, write and/or speak English.<ref>Brincat, Giuseppe. "Malta. Una storia linguistica".Introduction</ref> However, there was a huge increase in the number of Maltese magazines and newspapers in the Italian language during the 1800s and early 1900s,<ref>[http://www.girodivite.it/Sergio-Portelli.html Italian magazines in Malta during the 1800s (in Italian)]</ref> so as a consequence the Italian was understood (but not spoken fluently) by more than half the Maltese people before [[WW1]].
[[File:Giuseppe Garibaldi 1861.jpg|thumb|[[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], a prominent [[Niçard Italians|Niçard Italian]]]]
[[File:Les manifestations pro-italiennes à Nice du 1871.jpg|thumb|Pro-Italian protests in Nice, 1871, during the [[Niçard Vespers]]]]

The [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]] again attacked the [[Austrian Empire]] in the [[Second Italian War of Independence]] of 1859, with the aid of [[Second French Empire|France]], resulting in the liberation of [[Lombardy]]. On the basis of the [[Plombières Agreement]], the Kingdom of Sardinia ceded [[Savoy]] and [[Nice]] to France, an event that caused the [[Niçard exodus]], that was the emigration of a quarter of the [[Niçard Italians]] to Italy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.montecarlonews.it/2017/08/28/notizie/argomenti/altre-notizie-1/articolo/un-nizzardo-su-quattro-prese-la-via-dellesilio-in-seguito-allunita-ditalia-dice-lo-scrittore.html|title="Un nizzardo su quattro prese la via dell'esilio" in seguito all'unità d'Italia, dice lo scrittore Casalino Pierluigi|date=28 August 2017 |access-date=14 May 2021|language=it}}</ref> [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] was elected in 1871 in Nice at the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] where he tried to promote the annexation of his hometown to the [[Kingdom of Italy|newborn Italian unitary state]], but he was prevented from speaking.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://storage.canalblog.com/76/72/572678/57843167.png |title=Times article dated February 13, 1871|access-date=20 October 2011}}</ref> Because of this denial, between 1871 and 1872 there were riots in Nice, promoted by the Garibaldini and called "[[Niçard Vespers]]",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philweb.it/i_vespri_nizzardi_del_1871_conferenza_storica_e_annullo_speciale-st1940.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909073731/http://www.philweb.it/i_vespri_nizzardi_del_1871_conferenza_storica_e_annullo_speciale-st1940.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 9, 2012|title=I Vespri Nizzardi del 1871: conferenza storica e annullo speciale|access-date=20 October 2011}}</ref> which demanded the annexation of the city and its area to Italy.<ref>J. Woolf Stuart, ''Il risorgimento italiano'', Turin, Einaudi, 1981, p. 44 (In Italian).</ref> Fifteen Nice people who participated in the rebellion were tried and sentenced.<ref>Giuseppe André, ''Nizza negli ultimi quattro anni'', Nice, Editore Gilletta, 1875, pp. 334-335 (In Italian).</ref>

In the spring of 1860 [[Savoy]] was annexed to France after a referendum and the administrative boundaries changed, but a segment of the Savoyard population demonstrated against the annexation. Indeed, the final vote count on the referendum announced by the Court of Appeals was 130,839 in favour of annexation to France, 235 opposed and 71 void, showing questionable complete support for French nationalism (that motivated criticisms about rigged results).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=pKQBAAAAYAAJ Wambaugh, Sarah & Scott, James Brown (1920), ''A Monograph on Plebiscites, with a Collection of Official Documents'', New York: Oxford University Press, p. 599]</ref> At the beginning of 1860, more than 3000 people demonstrated in Chambéry against the annexation to France rumours. On 16 March 1860, the provinces of Northern Savoy (Chablais, Faucigny and Genevois) sent to [[Victor Emmanuel II]], to [[Napoleon III]], and to the Swiss Federal Council a declaration - sent under the presentation of a manifesto together with petitions - where they were saying that they did not wish to become French and shown their preference to remain united to the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]] (or be annexed to Switzerland in the case a separation with Sardinia was unavoidable).<ref>[http://notre.savoie.free.fr/default_a.htm Section: our country, Savoy / History]</ref> [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] complained about the referendum that allowed France to annex Savoy and Nice, and a group of his followers (among the [[Italian Savoyards]]) took refuge in Italy in the following years. 

In 1861, with the [[proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy]], the [[Italy|modern Italian state]] was born. On 21 July 1878, a noisy public meeting was held at [[Rome]] with Menotti Garibaldi, the son of Giuseppe Garibaldi, as chairman of the forum and a clamour was raised for the formation of volunteer battalions to conquer the Trentino. [[Benedetto Cairoli]], then [[Prime Minister of Italy]], treated the agitation with tolerance.<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Irredentists |volume=14 |page=840}}</ref> However, it was mainly superficial, as most Italians did not wish a dangerous policy against Austria or against [[United Kingdom|Britain]] for Malta.<ref name=EB1911 />

Many [[Istrian Italians]] and [[Dalmatian Italians]] looked with sympathy towards the ''[[Risorgimento]]'' movement that fought for the unification of Italy.<ref name="corsadelricordo">{{cite web |title=Trieste, Istria, Fiume e Dalmazia: una terra contesa |url=http://www.corsadelricordo.it/la-storia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605202838/http://corsadelricordo.it/la-storia |archive-date=5 June 2021 |access-date=2 June 2021 |language=it}}</ref> However, after the [[Third Italian War of Independence]] (1866), when the [[Veneto]] and [[Friuli]] regions were ceded by the [[Austrian Empire|Austrians]] to the newly formed [[Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)|Kingdom of Italy]], Istria and Dalmatia remained part of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]], together with other Italian-speaking areas on the eastern Adriatic. This triggered the gradual rise of Italian irredentism among many Italians in Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia, who demanded the unification of the [[Julian March]], [[Kvarner Gulf|Kvarner]] and [[Dalmatia]] with Italy. The Austrians saw the Italians as enemies and favored the Slav communities of Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia.<ref name="ReferenceB">''Die Protokolle des Österreichischen Ministerrates 1848/1867. V Abteilung: Die Ministerien Rainer und Mensdorff. VI Abteilung: Das Ministerium Belcredi'', Wien, Österreichischer Bundesverlag für Unterricht, Wissenschaft und Kunst 1971</ref> During the meeting of the Council of Ministers of 12 November 1866, Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria]] outlined a wide-ranging project aimed at the [[Germanization]] or [[Slavization]] of the areas of the empire with an Italian presence:<ref>''Die Protokolle des Österreichischen Ministerrates 1848/1867. V Abteilung: Die Ministerien Rainer und Mensdorff. VI Abteilung: Das Ministerium Belcredi'', Wien, Österreichischer Bundesverlag für Unterricht, Wissenschaft und Kunst 1971, vol. 2, p. 297. Citazione completa della fonte e traduzione in Luciano Monzali, ''Italiani di Dalmazia. Dal Risorgimento alla Grande Guerra'', Le Lettere, Firenze 2004, p. 69.)</ref>
[[File:VenetianDalmatia1797.jpg|thumb|400px|Austrian linguistic map from 1896. In green the areas where [[Slavs]] were the majority of the population, in orange the areas where [[Istrian Italians]] and [[Dalmatian Italians]] were the majority of the population. The boundaries of [[Venetian Dalmatia]] in 1797 are delimited with blue dots.]]

{{blockquote|text=His Majesty expressed the precise order that action be taken decisively against the influence of the Italian elements still present in some regions of the Crown and, appropriately occupying the posts of public, judicial, masters employees as well as with the influence of the press, work in [[Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol|South Tyrol]], [[Dalmatia]] and [[Austrian Littoral|Littoral]] for the Germanization and Slavization of these territories according to the circumstances, with energy and without any regard. His Majesty calls the central offices to the strong duty to proceed in this way to what has been established.|author=|source=Franz Joseph I of Austria, Council of the Crown of 12 November 1866<ref name="ReferenceB"/><ref>{{cite book |author=Jürgen Baurmann, Hartmut Gunther and Ulrich Knoop| title=Homo scribens : Perspektiven der Schriftlichkeitsforschung | year= 1993 |isbn= 3484311347|page=279| publisher=Walter de Gruyter |language=de|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l3tCTXoeAysC&pg=279}}</ref>}}

[[Istrian Italians]] made up about a third of the population in 1900.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Istria | volume= 14 | pages = 886&ndash;887 |short= 1}}</ref> Dalmatia, especially its maritime cities, once had a substantial local ethnic Italian population ([[Dalmatian Italians]]). According to Austrian census, the Dalmatian Italians formed 12.5% of the population in 1865.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last=Peričić|first=Šime|date=2003-09-19|title=O broju Talijana/talijanaša u Dalmaciji XIX. stoljeća|url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/12136|journal=Radovi Zavoda za povijesne znanosti HAZU u Zadru|language=hr|issue=45|pages=342|issn=1330-0474}}</ref> In the 1910 Austro-Hungarian census, Istria had a population of 57.8% Slavic-speakers (Croat and Slovene), and 38.1% Italian speakers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.omm1910.hu/?%2Fde%2Fdatenbank |title=Spezialortsrepertorium der österreichischen Länder I-XII, Wien, 1915–1919 |access-date=10 May 2021 |archive-date=29 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529164005/http://www.omm1910.hu/?%2Fde%2Fdatenbank |url-status=dead }}</ref> For the Austrian [[Kingdom of Dalmatia]], (i.e. [[Dalmatia]]), the 1910 numbers were 96.2% Slavic speakers and 2.8% Italian speakers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.omm1910.hu/?/de/datenbank|title=Spezialortsrepertorium der österreichischen Länder I-XII, Wien, 1915–1919|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529164005/http://www.omm1910.hu/?%2Fde%2Fdatenbank|archive-date=2013-05-29}}</ref> 

Before 1859, Italian was the language of administration, education, the press, and the [[Austrian navy]], and people who wished to acquire higher social standing and separate from the [[Slav]] peasantry became ''Italians''.{{Sfn|Seton-Watson|1967|pp=352–357}} In the years after 1866, Italians lost their privileges in [[Austria-Hungary]], their assimilation of the Slavs came to an end, and they found themselves under growing pressure by other rising nations; with the ''rising Slav tide'' after 1890, [[Italianization|italianized]] Slavs reverted to being Croats.{{Sfn|Seton-Watson|1967|pp=352–357}} Austrian rulers found use of the racial antagonism and financed Slav schools and promoted Croatian as the official language, and many Italians chose voluntary exile.{{Sfn|Seton-Watson|1967|pp=352–357}} In 1909 the [[Italian language]] lost its [[Status (law)|status]] as the official language of Dalmatia in favor of Croatian only, and Italian could no longer be used in the public and administrative sphere.<ref>{{Citation|year=1970|title=Dalmazia|encyclopedia=Dizionario enciclopedico italiano|volume=III|page=730|publisher=[[Treccani]]|language=it}}</ref>
[[File:Dalmatia.png|thumb|247x247px|Proportion of [[Dalmatian Italians]] in districts of Dalmatia in 1910, per the Austro-Hungarian census]]

One consequence of irredentist ideas outside of Italy was an assassination plot organized against the [[Emperor of Austria|Emperor]] [[Francis Joseph I of Austria|Francis Joseph]] in Trieste in 1882, which was detected and foiled.<ref name="EB1911" /> [[Guglielmo Oberdan]], a Triestine and thus Austrian citizen, was executed. When the irredentist movement became troublesome to Italy through the activity of Republicans and Socialists, it was subject to effective police control by [[Agostino Depretis]].<ref name="EB1911" />

Irredentism faced a setback when the [[Treaty of Bardo|French occupation of Tunisia]] in 1881 started a crisis in French–Italian relations. The government entered into relations with Austria and [[German Empire|Germany]], which took shape with the formation of the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]] in 1882. The irredentists' dream of absorbing the targeted areas into Italy made no further progress in the 19th century, as the borders of the [[Kingdom of Italy]] remained unchanged and the Rome government began to set up colonies in [[Eritrea]] and [[Somalia]] in Africa.

=== World War I ===
{{Further|Italian irredentism in Dalmatia|Italian irredentism in Istria}}
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| footer            = On the left, a map of the [[Kingdom of Italy]] before the [[World War I]], and on the right, a map of the Kingdom of Italy after the World War I
}}

Italy entered the [[World War I]] in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity: for this reason, the Italian intervention in the World War I is also considered the [[Fourth Italian War of Independence]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.piacenzaprimogenita150.it/index.php?it%2F176%2Fil-1861-e-le-quattro-guerre-per-lindipendenza-1848-1918|title=Il 1861 e le quattro Guerre per l'Indipendenza (1848-1918)|date=6 March 2015|language=it|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=19 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319075828/http://www.piacenzaprimogenita150.it/index.php?it%2F176%2Fil-1861-e-le-quattro-guerre-per-lindipendenza-1848-1918|url-status=dead}}</ref> in a historiographical perspective that identifies in the latter the conclusion of the [[unification of Italy]], whose military actions began during the [[revolutions of 1848]] with the [[First Italian War of Independence]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/Eventi/visualizza_asset.html_1239896580.html|title=La Grande Guerra nei manifesti italiani dell'epoca|language=it|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923183754/http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/Eventi/visualizza_asset.html_1239896580.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LntMIUOXngC&q=%22quarta+guerra+d%27indipendenza%22&pg=PA41|title=Il Manuale di Storia in Italia, di Piergiovanni Genovesi|isbn=9788856818680|language=it|access-date=12 March 2021|last1=Genovesi|first1=Piergiovanni|date=11 June 2009|publisher=FrancoAngeli }}</ref>

Italy signed the [[Treaty of London (1915)]] and entered World War I with the intention of gaining those territories perceived by irredentists as being Italian under foreign rule. According to the pact, Italy was to leave the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]] and join the [[Allies of World War I|Entente Powers]]. Furthermore, Italy was to [[declaration of war|declare war]] on Germany and [[Austria-Hungary]] within a month. The declaration of war was duly published on 23 May 1915.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A03E6DB1338E633A25757C2A9639C946496D6CF 11 NATIONS NOW INVOLVED IN WAR; Washington Expects Rumania, Bulgaria, and Greece Soon to Join the Allies. TRADE PROBLEMS CREATED Switzerland, Now Isolated, Must Look to Italy for Means to Get in Supplies. 11 NATIONS NOW INVOLVED IN WAR] May 24, 1915, Monday Page 1, 749 words – The New York Times</ref> In exchange, Italy was to obtain various territorial gains at the end of the war. In April 1918, in what he described as an open letter "to the American Nation" [[Paolo Thaon di Revel]], Commander in Chief of the [[Regia Marina|Italian navy]], appealed to the people of the United States to support Italian territorial claims over [[Trento]], [[Trieste]], [[Istria]], [[Dalmatia]] and the [[Adriatic]], writing that "we are fighting to expel an intruder from our home".<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/04/14/112639691.pdf Italy's Navy Chief Explains Italian Claims]; Trent,...(14 April 1918) – The New York Times</ref>

[[File:Promised Borders of the Tready of London.png|thumb|Territories promised to Italy by the secret  [[Treaty of London (1915)]], i.e. [[Trentino-Alto Adige]], the [[Julian March]] and [[Dalmatia]] (tan), and the [[Snežnik (plateau)|Snežnik Plateau]] area (green). Dalmatia, after the WWI, however, was not assigned to Italy but to [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]].]]

The outcome of the World War I and the consequent settlement of the [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)|Treaty of Saint-Germain]] met some Italian claims, including many (but not all) of the aims of the ''Italia irredenta'' party.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/03/28/104231888.pdf ITALY'S PRICE FOR NEUTRALITY] (28 March 1915) – The New York Times</ref> Italy gained [[Trieste]], [[Gorizia]], [[Istria]] and the Dalmatian city of [[Zadar|Zara]]. In Dalmatia, despite the London Pact, only territories with Italian majority as Zara with some Dalmatian islands, such as [[Cres (island)|Cherso]], [[Lošinj|Lussino]] and [[Lastovo|Lagosta]] were annexed by Italy because [[Woodrow Wilson]], supporting Yugoslav claims and not recognizing the treaty, rejected Italian requests on other Dalmatian territories, so this outcome was denounced as a "[[Mutilated victory]]". The rhetoric of "Mutilated victory" was adopted by [[Benito Mussolini]] and led to the [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|rise of]] [[Italian fascism]], becoming a key point in the [[propaganda of Fascist Italy]]. Historians regard "Mutilated victory" as a "political myth", used by fascists to fuel [[Italian imperialism]] and obscure the successes of [[liberal Italy]] in the aftermath of World War I.<ref>G.Sabbatucci, ''La vittoria mutilata'', in AA.VV., ''Miti e storia dell'Italia unita'', Il Mulino, Bologna 1999, pp.101-106</ref>

The city of [[Rijeka|Fiume]] in the [[Kvarner Gulf|Kvarner]] was the subject of claim and counter-claim: Italians claimed it on the principle of self-determination, disregarding its mainly Slavic suburb of Susak.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fiume question |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Fiume-question |access-date=8 May 2025 |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref> Fiume had not been promised to Italy in the London Pact, though it was to become Italian by 1924 (see [[Italian Regency of Carnaro]], [[Treaty of Rapallo, 1920]] and [[Treaty of Rome, 1924]]). The stand taken by the irredentist [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]], which briefly led him to become an enemy of the Italian state,<ref>[http://worldatwar.net/nations/other/fiume/ Stato Libero Di Fiume] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222134740/http://worldatwar.net/nations/other/fiume/ |date=2007-12-22 }} – (English: "Free State Of Fiume")</ref> was meant to provoke a [[Nationalism|nationalist]] revival through [[corporatism]] (first instituted during his rule over Fiume), in front of what was widely perceived as [[political corruption|state corruption]] engineered by governments such as [[Giovanni Giolitti]]'s. D'Annunzio briefly annexed to this [[Italian Regency of Carnaro]] even the Dalmatian islands of [[Krk (island)|Veglia]] and [[Rab (island)|Arbe]], where there was a numerous Italian community.{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}}

[[File:Albania1.jpg|thumb|Satiric picture about the Italian interest in Valona (now [[Vlorë]], Albania) being  detrimental to [[Trieste]] before WWI]]

=== Fascism and World War II ===
[[File:Grande Italia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The fascist nationalist-irredentist project of ''Great Italy'' (in red), inserted in a part of the [[Italian Empire]] (in yellow)]]

After the end of [[World War I]], the Italian irredentist movement was hegemonised, manipulated and distorted by fascism, which made it an instrument of nationalist propaganda, placed at the centre of a policy, conditioned by belated imperial ambitions, which took the form of "forced [[Italianization]]s", in the aspiration for the birth of a ''Great Italy'' and a vast [[Italian Empire]].<ref name="Monteleone">{{Cite journal|first=Renato|last=Monteleone|title=La politica dei Socialisti e democratici irredenti in Italia nella grande guerra|journal=Studi Storici|volume= Anno 11|number=2|year=1970|pages= 313–346|language=it}}.</ref>

Fascist Italy strove to be seen as the natural result of war heroism against a "[[Mutilated victory|betrayed Italy]]" that had not been awarded all it "deserved", as well as appropriating the image of [[Arditi]] soldiers. In this vein, irredentist claims were expanded and often used in Fascist Italy's desire to control the Mediterranean basin. 

To the east of Italy, the Fascists claimed that [[Dalmatia]] was a land of Italian culture whose Italians had been driven out of Dalmatia and into exile in Italy, and supported the return of Italians of Dalmatian heritage.<ref>Jozo Tomasevich. War and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford, California, USA: Stanford University Press, 2001. P. 131.</ref> Mussolini identified Dalmatia as having strong Italian cultural roots for centuries via the Roman Empire and the [[Republic of Venice]].<ref name="ReferenceC">Larry Wolff. Venice And the Slavs: The Discovery of Dalmatia in the Age of Enlightenment. Stanford, California, USA: Stanford University Press, P. 355.</ref> The Fascists especially focused their claims based on the Venetian cultural heritage of Dalmatia, claiming that Venetian rule had been beneficial for all Dalmatians and had been accepted by the Dalmatian population.<ref name="ReferenceC" /> The Fascists were outraged after World War I, when the agreement between Italy and the Entente Allies in the [[Treaty of London (1915)|Treaty of London of 1915]] to have Dalmatia join Italy was revoked in 1919.<ref name="ReferenceC" />

To the west of Italy, the Fascists claimed that the territories of [[Corsica]], [[Nice]] and [[Savoy]] held by France were Italian lands.<ref>Aristotle A. Kallis. ''Fascist Ideology: Expansionism in Italy and Germany 1922–1945''. London, England; UK; New York, New York, USA: Routledge, 2000. P. 118.</ref><ref>''Mussolini Unleashed, 1939–1941: Politics and Strategy in Fascist Italy's Last War''. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1986, 1999. P. 38.</ref> The Fascist regime produced literature on Corsica that presented evidence of the island's ''italianità''.<ref name="Davide Rodogno 2006. P. 88">[[Davide Rodogno]]. ''Fascism's European Empire: Italian Occupation during the Second World War''. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. P. 88.</ref> The Fascist regime produced literature on Nice that justified that Nice was an Italian land based on historic, ethnic and linguistic grounds.<ref name="Davide Rodogno 2006. P. 88" /> The Fascists quoted Medieval Italian scholar [[Petrarch]] who said: "The border of Italy is the Var; consequently Nice is a part of Italy".<ref name="Davide Rodogno 2006. P. 88" /> The Fascists quoted Italian national hero [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], a native of Nizza (now called [[Nice]]) himself, who said: "Corsica and Nice must not belong to France; there will come the day when an Italy mindful of its true worth will reclaim its provinces now so shamefully languishing under foreign domination".<ref name="Davide Rodogno 2006. P. 88" /> Mussolini initially pursued promoting annexation of Corsica through political and diplomatic means, believing that Corsica could be annexed to Italy through Italy first encouraging the existing autonomist tendencies in Corsica and then the independence of Corsica from France, that would be followed by the annexation of Corsica into Italy.<ref>John Gooch. ''Mussolini and his Generals: The Armed Forces and Fascist Foreign Policy, 1922–1940''. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Pp. 452.</ref>
[[File:ItalianMareNostrum.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the Italian ''[[Mare Nostrum]]'' in the summer of 1942, during [[World War II]]. In green are the territories controlled by the [[Italian Navy]], in red are the territories controlled by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]].]]

In 1923, Mussolini temporarily occupied [[Corfiot Italians#Corfiot Italians and the Risorgimento|Corfu]], using irredentist claims based on minorities of Italians in the island, the [[Corfiot Italians]]. Similar tactics may have been used towards the islands around the [[Kingdom of Italy]] – through the [[Maltese Italians]], [[Corfiot Italians]] and [[Corsican Italians]] in order to control the Mediterranean sea (his ''[[Mare Nostrum]]'', from the Latin "Our Sea").

In the 1930s Mussolini promoted the development of an initial Italian irredentism in [[Durrës]], in order to occupy all of [[Albania]] later. Durrës (called "Durazzo" in Italian) has been for centuries, during the Middle Ages, a city with territory under the control of the Italian states (Naples, Sicily, Venice), and many Italians settled there. The Durazzo section of the Albania Fascist Party was created in 1938, which was formed by some citizens of the city with distant and recent Italian roots (they started the local Italian irredentism). In 1939, all of Albania was occupied and united to the Kingdom of Italy: Italian citizens (more than 11,000) began to settle in Albania as [[Italian colonists in Albania|colonists]] and to own land in 1940 so that they could gradually transform it into Italian territory.<ref>Vivante Angelo. "Irredentismo Adrtiatico". Introduzione</ref> The [[italianization]] of Albania was one of Mussolini's plans.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XwtDDwAAQBAJ&dq=mussolini+italianize+albanians&pg=PA42|title = Democratization from within: Political Culture and the Consolidation of Democracy in Post-Communist Albania|isbn = 9788868128258|page= 42|last1 = Cullhaj|first1 = Florian|date = 31 October 2016| publisher=Edizioni Nuova Cultura }}</ref>

During [[World War II]], large parts of Dalmatia were annexed by Italy into the [[Governorship of Dalmatia]] from 1941 to 1943. Corsica and Nice were also administratively annexed by Italy in November 1942. Malta was heavily bombed, but was not occupied due to [[Erwin Rommel]]'s request to divert to North Africa the forces that had been prepared for the invasion of the island.

=== Dalmatia and the World Wars ===
{{Further|Italian irredentism in Dalmatia}}
[[File:Serenissima.png|thumb|center|1000px|Map of [[Dalmatia]] and [[Istria]] with the boundaries set by the [[Treaty of London (1915)]] (red line) and those actually obtained from Italy (green line). The black line marks the border of the [[Governorate of Dalmatia]] (1941–1943). The ancient domains of the [[Republic of Venice]] are indicated in fuchsia (dashed diagonally, the territories that belonged occasionally).]]

Dalmatia was a strategic region during World War I that both Italy and Serbia intended to seize from Austria-Hungary. Italy joined the [[Triple Entente]] [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] in 1915 upon agreeing to the [[Treaty of London (1915)]] that guaranteed Italy the right to annex a large portion of Dalmatia in exchange for Italy's participation on the Allied side. From 5–6 November 1918, Italian forces were reported to have reached [[Vis (island)|Lissa]], [[Lastovo|Lagosta]], [[Šibenik|Sebenico]], and other localities on the Dalmatian coast.<ref>Giuseppe Praga, Franco Luxardo. ''History of Dalmatia''. Giardini, 1993. Pp. 281.</ref> By the end of hostilities in November 1918, the Italian military had seized control of the entire portion of Dalmatia that had been guaranteed to Italy by the Treaty of London and by 17 November had seized Fiume as well.<ref name="Paul O 2005. Pp. 17">Paul O'Brien. ''Mussolini in the First World War: the Journalist, the Soldier, the Fascist''. Oxford, England, UK; New York, New York, USA: Berg, 2005. Pp. 17.</ref> In 1918, Admiral [[Enrico Millo]] declared himself Italy's Governor of Dalmatia.<ref name="Paul O 2005. Pp. 17"/> Famous [[Italian nationalism|Italian nationalist]] Gabriele d'Annunzio supported the seizure of Dalmatia and proceeded to Zara in an Italian warship in December 1918.<ref>A. Rossi. ''The Rise of Italian Fascism: 1918–1922''. New York, New York, USA: Routledge, 2010. Pp. 47.</ref>
[[File:GovernateOfDalmatia1941 43.png|thumb|right|upright=1.8|Detailed map of the three Italian provinces of the [[Governorate of Dalmatia]]: [[province of Zara]], [[Spalato (Italian province)|province of Spalato]] and [[province of Cattaro]]]]

The last city with a significant Italian presence in Dalmatia was the city of Zara (now called [[Zadar]]). In the Austro-Hungarian census of 1910, the city of Zara had an Italian population of 9,318 (or 69.3% out of the total of 13,438 inhabitants).<ref>Guerrino Perselli, ''I censimenti della popolazione dell'Istria, con Fiume e Trieste e di alcune città della Dalmazia tra il 1850 e il 1936'', Centro di Ricerche Storiche - Rovigno, Unione Italiana - Fiume, Università Popolare di Trieste, Trieste-Rovigno, 1993</ref> In 1921 the population grew to 17,075 inhabitants, of which 12,075 Italians (corresponding to 70,76%).<ref>Ministero dell'economia nazionale, Direzione generale della statistica, Ufficio del censimento, [https://ebiblio.istat.it/digibib/Censimenti%20popolazione/censpop1921/VolumeII_Regioni/NAP0106619_III_VeneziaGiulia+OCR_ottimizzato.pdf ''Censimento della popolazione del Regno d'Italia al 1º dicembre 1921'', vol. III ''Venezia Giulia''], Provveditorato generale dello Stato, Roma, 1926, pp. 192-208.</ref> 

In 1941, during the [[Second World War]], [[Yugoslavia]] was occupied by Italy and Germany. Dalmatia was divided between Italy, which constituted the [[Governorate of Dalmatia]], and the [[Independent State of Croatia]], which annexed [[Dubrovnik|Ragusa]] and [[Morlachia]]. After the [[Armistice of Cassibile|Italian surrender]] (8 September 1943) the Independent State of Croatia annexed the Governorate of Dalmatia, except for the territories that had been Italian before the start of the conflict, such as Zara. In 1943, [[Josip Broz Tito]] informed the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] that Zara was a chief logistic centre for German forces in Yugoslavia. By overstating its importance, he persuaded them of its military significance. Italy surrendered in September 1943 and over the following year, specifically between 2 November 1943 and 31 October 1944, Allied Forces [[Bombing of Zadar in World War II|bombarded the town fifty-four times]]. Nearly 2,000 people were buried beneath rubble: 10–12,000 people escaped and took refuge in Trieste and slightly over 1,000 reached Apulia. Tito's partisans entered Zara on 31 October 1944 and 138 people were killed.<ref>Lovrovici, don Giovanni Eleuterio. ''Zara dai bombardamenti all'esodo (1943–1947)'' Tipografia Santa Lucia – Marino. Roma, 1974. p. 66.</ref> With the Peace Treaty of 1947, Italians still living in Zara followed the [[Istrian exodus|Italian exodus from Dalmatia]] and only about 100 Dalmatian Italians now remain in the city.

=== Post-World War II ===
[[File:Italians leave Pola.jpg|thumb|[[Istrian Italians]] leave [[Pula|Pola]] in 1947 during the [[Istrian-Dalmatian exodus]].]]
[[File:Autonomous Regions of Italy.svg|thumb|right|The 5 autonomous [[regions of Italy]] in red and the 15 ordinary regions in grey]]

Under the 1947 [[Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947|Treaty of Peace with Italy]], [[Istria]], [[Kvarner Gulf|Kvarner]], most of the [[Julian March]] as well as the [[Dalmatia]]n city of [[Zadar|Zara]] were annexed by [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]. The treaty provided for the [[Right of option|right]] [[Right of option|of option]] of Italian citizens living in the territories that were to be taken over by Greece, France, and Yugoslavia to remain Italian citizens, with the possibility of request by those states that they moved out of the area within a year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 February 1947 |title=Treaty of Peace with Italy |url=https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%2049/v49.pdf |website=Treaties and international agreements registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat of the United Nations}}</ref><ref name="Ronen22">{{Cite web |last=Ronen |first=Yaël |date=June 2019 |title=Option of Nationality |url=https://opil.ouplaw.com/display/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e856 |website=Max Planck Encyclopedias of International Law |publisher=Oxford Public International Law}}</ref> The ensuing [[Istrian-Dalmatian exodus]] led to the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 of local ethnic [[Italians]] ([[Istrian Italians]] and [[Dalmatian Italians]]), the others being ethnic Slovenians, ethnic Croatians, and ethnic [[Istro-Romanians]], choosing to maintain Italian citizenship.<ref>{{cite web |first=Benedetta |last=Tobagi |url=http://www.treccani.it/scuola/lezioni/storia/la_repubblica_italiana.html |title=La Repubblica italiana &#124; Treccani, il portale del sapere |publisher=Treccani.it |access-date=28 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305001726/http://www.treccani.it/scuola/lezioni/storia/la_repubblica_italiana.html |archive-date=5 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Istrian-Dalmatian exodus started in 1943 and ended completely only in 1960. According to the census organized in [[Croatia]] in 2001 and that organized in [[Slovenia]] in 2002, there were 2,258 Italians in Slovenia and 19,636 in Croatia.<ref name="dzs">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dzs.hr/Eng/censuses/Census2001/Popis/E01_02_02/E01_02_02.html|title=Državni Zavod za Statistiku|language=hr|access-date=10 June 2017|archive-date=27 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227072834/http://www.dzs.hr/Eng/censuses/Census2001/Popis/E01_02_02/E01_02_02.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="stat">{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.si/Popis2002/en/rezultati/rezultati_red.asp?ter=SLO&st=7|title=Popis 2002|access-date=10 June 2017}}</ref>

After World War II, Italian irredentism disappeared along with the defeated Fascists and the Monarchy of the [[House of Savoy]]. After the Treaty of Paris (1947) and the [[Treaty of Osimo]] (1975), all territorial claims were abandoned by the [[Italian Republic]] (see [[Foreign relations of Italy]]). The Italian irredentist movement thus vanished from Italian politics. Today, Italy, [[France]], [[Malta]], [[Greece]], [[Croatia]] and [[Slovenia]] are all members of the [[European Union]], while [[Montenegro]] and [[Albania]] are candidates for accession. The 1947 [[Constitution of Italy]] established five autonomous regions ([[Sardinia]], [[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]], [[Sicily]], [[Aosta Valley]] and [[Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol]]), in recognition of their cultural and linguistic distinctiveness.

In the early 1990s, the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]] caused nationalistic sentiments to re-emerge in these areas; worthy of note in this regard are the demonstrations in [[Trieste]] on 6 October 1991 "for a new Italian irredentism". These were promoted by the [[Italian Social Movement]] and inspired by rumours about negotiations for the passage through Trieste of the Yugoslav troops expelled from [[Slovenia]] during the [[Ten-Day War]] which saw the participation of thousands of people at the political rally in Piazza della Borsa followed by a long procession through the streets of the city, and on 8 November 1992, again in Trieste.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Trieste si ribella il MSI è pronto a 'sconfinare'|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1992/11/08/trieste-si-ribella-il-msi-pronto.html|publisher=La Repubblica|date= 8 November 1992|author=Roberto Bianchin|access-date=31 May 2022}}</ref>

The same Italian Social Movement and [[National Alliance (Italy)|National Alliance]] asked for the review of the peace treaties signed by Italy after World War II, especially with regard to Zone B of the former [[Free Territory of Trieste]], given that the qualification of Slovenia and [[Croatia]] as heirs of Yugoslavia was not a given and that the division of [[Istria]] between Slovenia and Croatia contradicted the clauses of the peace treaties which guaranteed the unity of the surviving Italian component in Istria ([[Istrian Italians]]), assigned to Yugoslavia after World War II, proposing the creation of an Istrian Euro-region also including the city of [[Rijeka]].<ref>[http://www.radioradicale.it/scheda/91686/la-revisione-del-trattato-di-osimo La revisione del Trattato di Osimo]</ref> These claims, which also concerned [[Dalmatia]] (including islands such as [[Pag (island)|Pag]], [[Ugljan]], [[Vis (island)|Vis]], [[Lastovo]], [[Hvar]], [[Korčula]] and [[Mljet]]) and the coast with the cities of [[Zadar]], [[Šibenik]], [[Trogir]] and [[Split, Croatia|Split]], remained completely unheeded by all the [[Italian government]]s that followed one another in that period.<ref>
[https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1994/04/27/parola-ordine-patria.html Parola d'ordine: patria]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=A 40 anni dal trattato di Osimo un convegno della Fondazione An|date=26 May 2015 |url=https://www.secoloditalia.it/2015/05/40-anni-dal-trattato-osimo-convegno-fondazione-an/|access-date=7 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Il revanscismo italiano è poca cosa, ma i Balcani non lo sanno| date=29 November 2019 |url=https://www.limesonline.com/italia-ex-jugoslavia-trattato-di-osimo/115417?prv=true|access-date=7 September 2023}}</ref>

== Claimed territories beyond Trento and Trieste==

Although Trento and Trieste were considered to be the main irredent lands, other territories were variously claimed as such by a part of Italian nationalists and fascists, including:

* [[Istria]] {{flagicon|CRO}} {{flagicon|SLO}}
* [[Dalmatia]] {{flagicon|CRO}} {{flagicon|MNE}}
* [[Monaco]] {{flagicon|MON}}
* [[Nice]] province {{flagicon|FRA}}
* [[Corsica]] {{flagicon|FRA}}
* [[Savoy]] {{flagicon|FRA}}
* [[Malta]] {{flagicon|MLT}}
* [[Ionian Islands]] {{flagicon|GRE}}
* [[Canton Ticino]], parts of [[Valais|Canton Vallese]] and [[Italian Graubünden]] {{flagicon|SWI}}
* [[San Marino]] {{flagicon|SMR}} {{example needed|date=September 2024}}
* Coastal parts of [[Vlorë]] region and [[Vlorë]] {{flagicon|ALB}}
* [[Palagruža]] {{flagicon|CRO}}

Various points were brought forward as arguments in support of the irredentist theses of claim, such as the geographical belonging of those lands to the Italian peninsula or the presence of more or less numerous communities of Italians or Italian speakers.

After World War I the situation of the claimed lands was as follows:<ref>{{Cite book|first=Giulio|last=Vignoli|title=Gli Italiani dimenticati. Minoranze italiane in Europa|year=2000|language=it|publisher=A. Giuffrè|isbn=978-8814081453}}.</ref>
* Italians and Italian speakers in the [[County of Nice]]: around 4,000 (estimate);
* Italian speakers in [[Ticino]] and [[Grisons]] (Switzerland): approximately 230,000;
* Italians and Italian speakers in [[Dalmatia]]: around 20,000;
* Italian speakers in [[Malta]]: approximately 200,000 estimated;
* Italian speakers in [[Corsica]]: approximately 200,000 estimated.

===Italian irredentism by region ===
[[File:Litorale 1.png|thumb|upright=1.7|Changes to the Italian eastern border from 1920 to 1975.
{{legend|#ffff00|The [[Austrian Littoral]], later renamed [[Julian March]], which was assigned to Italy in 1920 with the [[Treaty of Rapallo (1920)|Treaty of Rapallo]] (with adjustments of its border in 1924 after the [[Treaty of Rome (1924)|Treaty of Rome]]) and which was then ceded to Yugoslavia in 1947 with the [[Paris Peace Treaties, 1947|Treaty of Paris]]}}
{{legend|#10FF20|Areas annexed to Italy in 1920 and remained Italian even after 1947}}
{{legend|#00fa9a|Areas annexed to Italy in 1920, passed to the [[Free Territory of Trieste]] in 1947 with the Paris treaties and definitively assigned to Italy in 1975 with the [[Treaty of Osimo]]}}
{{legend|#eee8aa|Areas annexed to Italy in 1920, passed to the Free Territory of Trieste in 1947 with the Paris treaties and definitively assigned to Yugoslavia in 1975 with the Osimo treaty}}]]
[[File:County of nice.svg|thumbnail|A map of the [[County of Nice]] showing the area of the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Italian kingdom of Sardinia]] annexed in 1860 to France (light brown). The area in red had already become part of France before 1860.]]
[[File:SetteGiugno2009.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Sette Giugno]]'' monument, symbol of the pro-[[Italian Maltese]]]]

* [[Italian irredentism in Dalmatia]] was the political movement supporting the unification to [[Italy]], during the 19th and 20th centuries, of Adriatic [[Dalmatia]]. The [[Republic of Venice]], between the 9th century and 1797, extended its dominion to [[Istria]], the islands of [[Kvarner]] and Dalmatia, when it was conquered by [[Napoleon]].<ref>Alvise Zorzi, ''La Repubblica del Leone. Storia di Venezia'', Milano, Bompiani, 2001, ISBN 978-88-452-9136-4., pp. 53-55 (in italian)</ref> After the fall of Napoleon (1814) Istria, the islands of Kvarner and Dalmatia were annexed to the [[Austrian Empire]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coordinamentoadriatico.it/lottocento-austriaco/|title=L'ottocento austriaco|date=7 March 2016 |access-date=11 May 2021|language=it}}</ref> Many [[Dalmatian Italians]] looked with sympathy towards the ''[[Risorgimento]]'' movement that fought for the unification of Italy.<ref name="corsadelricordo"/> The first events that involved the Dalmatian Italians in the unification of Italy were the [[revolutions of 1848]], during which they took part in the constitution of the [[Republic of San Marco]] in [[Venice]]. The most notable Dalmatian Italians exponents who intervened were [[Niccolò Tommaseo]] and [[Federico Seismit-Doda]].<ref name="treccani">''Dizionario Enciclopedico Italiano'' (Vol. III, pag. 729-730), Roma, Ed. Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, founded by Giovanni Treccani, 1970 (In Italian)</ref>
* [[Italian irredentism in Istria]] was the political movement supporting the unification to Italy, during the 19th and 20th centuries, of the peninsula of Istria. It is considered closely related to the Italian irredentism in [[Trieste]] and [[Rijeka|Fiume]], two cities bordering the peninsula. When Napoleon conquered the territory of Istria, he found that Istria was populated by [[Istrian Italians]] on the coast and in the main cities, but the interior was populated mainly by Croats and Slovenians: this multi-ethnic population in the same peninsula created a situation of antagonism between Slovenes, Croats and Italians, when started the first [[nationalism]]s after Napoleon's fall. Since 1815 Istria was a part of the [[Austrian Empire|Austrian monarchy]], and [[Croats]], [[Slovenians]] and Italians engaged in a nationalistic feud with each other.<ref>Benussi, Bernardo. ''L' Istria nei suoi due millenni di storia''. p. 63</ref> As a consequence, Istria has been a theater of a nationalistic ethnic struggle between them during the 19th and 20th centuries. Italian irredentism was actively followed by many Italians in Istria, like the Italian sailor and irredentist [[Nazario Sauro]], native to [[Koper|Capodistria]].<ref>[http://www.marina.difesa.it/storia/movm/parte04/bio04/movm420b.asp Biography of Nazario Sauro]</ref>
* [[Italian irredentism in Corsica]] was a cultural and historical movement promoted by Italians and by [[Corsican people|people from]] [[Corsica]] who identified themselves as part of Italy rather than [[France]], and promoted the Italian annexation of the island. Corsica was part of the [[Republic of Genoa]] for centuries until 1768, when the Republic ceded the island to France, one year before the birth of Napoleon Bonaparte in the capital city of [[Ajaccio]]. Under France, the use of [[Corsican language|Corsican]] (a regional tongue which is closely related to [[Italian language|Italian]]) has gradually declined in favour of the standard [[French language]]. [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] called for the inclusion of the "Corsican Italians" within Italy when the city of [[Rome]] was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, but [[Victor Emmanuel II]] did not agree to it. The course of Italian irredentism did not affect Corsica very much, and only during the Fascist rule of [[Benito Mussolini]] were the first organizations strongly promoting the unification of the island to the Kingdom of Italy founded. Italian was the official language of Corsica until 1859.<ref>Abalain, Hervé, (2007) ''Le français et les langues historiques de la France'', Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, p.113</ref>
* [[Italian irredentism in Nice]] was the political movement supporting the annexation of the [[County of Nice]] to the [[Kingdom of Italy]]. According to some [[nationalism|Italian nationalists]] and [[Fascism|fascists]] like Ermanno Amicucci, Italian- and [[Ligurian (Romance language)|Ligurian]]-speaking populations of the County of Nice (Italian: {{lang|it|Nizza}}) formed the majority of the county's population until the mid-19th century.<ref>Amicucci, Ermanno. ''Nizza e l’Italia''. p 64</ref> However, French nationalists and linguists argue that both [[Occitan language|Occitan]] and Ligurian languages were spoken in the County of Nice. During the [[Italian unification]], in 1860, the [[House of Savoy]] allowed the [[Second French Empire]] to annex Nice from the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] in exchange for French support of its quest to unify Italy. Consequently, the Niçois were excluded from the Italian unification movement and the region has since become primarily French-speaking. The pro-Italian irredentist movement persisted throughout the period 1860–1914, despite the repression carried out since the annexation. The French government implemented a policy of [[Francization]] of society, language and culture.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Paul Gubbins and Mine Holt |title=Beyond Boundaries: Language and Identity in Contemporary Europe |year=2002 |pages=91–100}}</ref> The toponyms of the communes of the ancient County have been francized, with the obligation to use French in Nice,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aiig.altervista.org/Nizzardo/IL%20NIZZARDO%20NEI%20SUOI%20ASPETTI%20GEOGRAFICI.pdf|title=Il Nizzardo|access-date=17 May 2021|language=it}}</ref> as well as certain surnames (for example the Italian surname "Bianchi" was francized into "Leblanc", and the Italian surname "Del Ponte" was francized into "Dupont").<ref name="limesonline">{{cite web|url=https://www.limesonline.com/unitalia-sconfinata/2845|title=Un'Italia sconfinata|date=20 February 2009 |access-date=17 May 2021|language=it}}</ref>
* [[Italian irredentism in Savoy]] was the political movement among Savoyards promoting annexation to the [[House of Savoy|Savoy dynasty's]] Kingdom of Italy. It was active from 1860 to [[World War II]]. During the Italian unification, in 1860, the House of Savoy allowed the Second French Empire to annex [[Savoy]] from the Kingdom of Sardinia in exchange for French support of its quest to unify Italy. Italian irredentists were citizens of Savoy who considered themselves to have ties with the House of Savoy dynasty. Savoy was the original territory of the duke of Savoy that later became King of Italy. Since the [[Renaissance]] the area had ruled over [[Piedmont]] and had for regional capital the town of [[Chambéry]]. 
* [[Italian irredentism in Malta]] is the movement that uses an irredentist argument to propose the incorporation of the Maltese islands into Italy, with reference to past support in [[Malta]] for Italian territorial claims on the islands. Although Malta had formally ceased to be part of the [[Kingdom of Sicily]] only since 1814 following the [[Treaty of Paris (1814)|Treaty of Paris]], Italian irredentism in Malta was mainly significant during the [[Italian Fascism|Italian Fascist era]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Melita Historica|last=Frendo|first=Henry|title=Intra-European Colonial Nationalism: The Case of Malta: 1922-1927|url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Melita%20Historica/MH.11(1992-95)/MH.11(1992)1/07.pdf|volume=11|issue=1|pages=79–93|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416143544/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Melita%20Historica/MH.11(1992-95)/MH.11(1992)1/07.pdf|archive-date=16 April 2016}}</ref> Until the end of the 18th century [[History of Malta|Malta's]] fortunes—political, economic, religious, cultural—were closely tied with [[History of Sicily|Sicily's]]. Successive waves of immigration from Sicily and Italy strengthened these ties and increased the demographic similarity. Italian was Malta's language of administration, law, contracts and public records, [[Culture of Malta|Malta's culture]] was similar to [[Culture of Italy|Italy's]], Malta's nobility was originally composed of Italian families who had moved to Malta mainly in the 13th century and the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta|Maltese Catholic Church]] was suffragan of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo|Archdiocese of Palermo]]. For many centuries and until 1936, Italian was the official language of Malta (see [[Maltese Italian]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/magazine/lingua_italiana/articoli/scritto_e_parlato/Europa16.html|title=L'italiano, lingua ufficiale di Malta per quattro secoli|access-date=9 September 2023|language=it}}</ref>
* [[Italian irredentism in Switzerland]] was a political movement that promoted the unification to Italy of the Italian-speaking areas of [[Switzerland]] during the ''Risorgimento''. The current [[Italian Switzerland]] belonged to the [[Duchy of Milan]] until the 16th century, when it became part of Switzerland. These territories have maintained their native [[Italians|Italian population]] speaking the Italian language and the [[Lombard language]], specifically the [[Ticinese dialect]]. In the early 19th century the ideals of unification in a single Nation of all the territories populated by Italian speaking people created the Italian irredentism. Italian irredentism in Switzerland was based on moderate ''Risorgimento'' ideals, and was promoted by Italian-Ticinese such as [[Adolfo Carmine]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rai.it/dl/portaleRadio/media/ContentItem-8351c386-9507-4225-89a3-307dacbde671.html|title=In viaggio con la zia - Firenze del 04/06/2016|access-date=4 June 2021|language=it}}</ref>
* [[Corfiot Italians#Corfiot Italians and the Risorgimento|Italian irredentism in Corfu]] was the political movement supporting the unification to Italy, during the 19th and 20th centuries, of the island of [[Corfu]]. [[Corfiot Italians]] are a population from the [[Greece|Greek]] island of Corfu (Kerkyra) with ethnic and linguistic ties to the Republic of Venice. Their name was specifically established by Niccolò Tommaseo during the Italian ''Risorgimento''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archeologiamedievale.it/2015/03/24/la-comunita-italiota-a-corfu-negli-anni-della-serenissima/|title=La comunità italiota a Corfù negli anni della Serenissima|date=24 March 2015 |access-date=3 June 2023|language=it}}</ref> During the first half of the 20th century, Mussolini (whose fascist regime promoted the ideals of Italian irredentism) successfully used the Corfiot Italians as a pretext to occupy Corfu twice. The Italian ''Risorgimento'' was initially concentrated in the Italian peninsula with the surrounding continental areas (Istria, Dalmatia, Corsica, County of Nice, etc.) and did not reach Corfu and the [[Ionian islands]]. One of the main heroes of the Italian ''Risorgimento'', the poet [[Ugo Foscolo]], was born in [[Zante]] from a noble Venetian family of the island, but only superficially promoted the possible unification of the Ionian islands to Italy. According to historian Ezio Gray, the small communities of Venetian-speaking people in Corfu were mostly assimilated after the island became part of Greece in 1864 and especially after all Italian schools were closed in 1870.<ref name="Gray, Ezio p. 118">Gray, Ezio. ''Le terre nostre ritornano... Malta, Corsica, Nizza'', p. 118.</ref> After [[World War I]], however, the Kingdom of Italy started to apply a policy of expansionism toward the Adriatic area and saw Corfu as the gate of this sea.

== Political figures in Italian irredentism ==
* [[Guglielmo Oberdan]]
* [[Cesare Battisti (politician)|Cesare Battisti]]
* [[Nazario Sauro]]
* [[Carmelo Borg Pisani]]
* [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]]
* [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]]
* [[Simon Petru Cristofini|Petru Simone Cristofini]]
* [[Petru Giovacchini]]
* [[Maria Pasquinelli]]


== See also ==
{{Portal|Italy|History}}
* [[Kingdom of Italy]]
* [[Istrian-Dalmatian exodus]]
* [[Istrian Italians]]
* [[Dalmatian Italians]]
* [[Niçard exodus]]
* [[Niçard Italians]]
* [[Italian Empire]]
* [[Italian geographical region]]
* [[Italian Regency of Carnaro]]
* [[Italian unification]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
* Bartoli, Matteo. ''Le parlate italiane della Venezia Giulia e della Dalmazia. Tipografia italo-orientale''. Grottaferrata. 1919.
* Colonel von Haymerle, ''Italicae res'', Vienna, 1879 – the early history of irredentists.
* Lovrovici, don Giovanni Eleuterio. ''Zara dai bombardamenti all'esodo (1943–1947)''. Tipografia Santa Lucia – Marino. Roma. 1974.
* Petacco, Arrigo. ''A tragedy revealed: the story of Italians from Istria, Dalmatia, Venezia Giulia (1943–1953)''. University of Toronto Press. Toronto. 1998.
* {{Cite book |last=Seton-Watson |first=Christopher |url=https://archive.org/details/italyfromliberal0000seto/page/353/mode/1up?q=Dalmatia |title=Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870–1925 |publisher=Methuen & Co |year=1967}}
* Večerina, Duško. ''Talijanski Iredentizam'' ("Italian Irredentism"). {{ISBN|953-98456-0-2}}. Zagreb. 2001.
* Vivante, Angelo. ''Irredentismo adriatico'' ("The Adriatic Irredentism"). 1984.

== External links ==
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=NK3PAAAAMAAJ&dq=italian+irredentism+in+istria&pg=PA455 Unredeemed Italy (Google Books)]
* [http://www.dalmatia.it/dalmazia/history.htm Articles on the History of Dalmatia]
* [http://www.dalmatia.it/dalmazia/scompa/indexen.htm Articles on the Italians in Dalmatia]
* [http://www.dalmatia.it/dalmazia/calvario/indexen.htm Articles on Zadar, when was a city of the Kingdom of Italy.]
* [http://www.kozina.com/premik/poreng2.htm Slovene – Italian relations between 1880–1918] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205155625/http://www.kozina.com/premik/poreng2.htm |date=2007-02-05 }}

{{Italian irredentism by region}}
{{Irredentism}}
{{Risorgimento}}
{{Italian people}}
{{Italy topics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Italian Irredentism}}
[[Category:Italian irredentism|*
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[[Category:History of Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:History of Istria]]
[[Category:History of Dalmatia]]
[[Category:Political history of Malta]]
[[Category:Politics of World War II]]
[[Category:Politics of World War I]]
[[Category:National unifications|Italy]]

[[de:Irredentismus#Italienischer Irredentismus]]