Traditiones 53 (3): 137–161 | COBISS: 1.01 | CC BY 4.0 | DOI: 10.3986/Traditio2024530306
Trieste Ethnographies in the Eyes of Contemporary 
Observers in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Aleksej Kalc
ZRC SAZU, Slovenian Migration Institute, Slovenia; University of Primorska, Faculty of 
Humanities, Slovenia
akalc@zrc-sazu.si; aleksej.kalc@fhs.upr.si
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9740-3257
The paper examines how contemporary ob-
servers portrayed the ethnography of Trieste 
in the 19th and early 20th centuries, specifically 
focusing on their understanding of cultural di-
versity and interethnic relations. The emphasis 
is on nationalizing narratives from authors 
living in various historical contexts, offering 
insights into Trieste’s ethnic and national 
realities during a period characterized by the 
rise of national ideologies and polarization.
 ⬝ Keywords: Trieste, eastern Adriatic, Ital-
ian-Slavic relations, nationalizing narratives, 
multicultural identities
Avtor obravnava, kako so sodobniki portre-
tirali etnografijo Trsta v 19. in zgodnjem 20. 
stoletju, s posebno pozornostjo na njihovem 
razumevanju kulturne raznovrstnosti in me-
detničnih razmerij. Pozornost na nacionaliza-
cijske pripovedi piscev, ki so živeli v različnih 
zgodovinskih kontekstih, omogoča pogled na 
etnične in narodnostne realnosti Trsta v času, 
za katerega je bil značilen vzpon nacionalnih 
ideologij in polarizacij.
 ⬝ Ključne besede: Trst, vzhodni Jadran, itali-
jansko-slovanska razmerja, nacionalizacijske 
pripovedi, večkulturne identitete
Trieste/Trst/Triest as a case
Trieste is a city known by many epithets, the most frequent being “the city on the 
frontier” (città di frontiera). This title relates to Trieste’s physical location at the 
crossroads of the Roman and Slavic worlds and reflects the geopolitical shifts that 
have seen Trieste transition between states throughout the 20th century. Additionally, 
Trieste’s coastal location, its economic role as a port in the Danube Monarchy, and 
Mediterranean cultural influences have earned it the epithets of a “Mediterranean city” 
and “Central European city” (Ara, Magris: 1982; Gombač, 1993: 15; Biondi, 1995).
The presence of a diverse population comprising different ethnic groups, languages, 
and cultural features has led to Trieste being referred to as a “multi-ethnic/multinational 
city” and a “multilingual city”, or more broadly, a “plural city” (Finzi, Panjek, 2001). 
This diversity also includes the description of Trieste as a “multi-confessional city” or 
a “city of religious tolerance”. Trieste earned this reputation due to its status as a free 
port, even before the issuance of Joseph II’s Religious Tolerance Patent in the 1780s.
Trieste is also described as a “cosmopolitan city”, a term referring to its mercantile 
bourgeoisie, which originated from a wide international area and notably influenced 
the city’s social fabric and cultural orientation (Ara, Magris, 1982: 12; Millo, 2007). 
Simultaneously, Trieste is known as a city of national conflict and as a disputed city, 
Aleksej Kalc 
138 |     Traditiones
traits that have marked its history in the second half of the 19th century and a significant 
portion of the 20th century. In Italian consciousness and nationalist rhetoric, which em-
phasized its Italian civilization and claimed it as inherently belonging to Italy, Trieste 
acquired the appellations “unredeemed city” (città irredenta) and “very Italian city” 
(città italianissima) (Bufon, 2023).
On the other hand, Slovenian national thought symbolically defined Trieste, which 
was the largest Slovenian-speaking urban community before the First World War, as the 
“Slovenian lungs”, meaning the lifeblood of the entire Slovenian national space (Cankar, 
1976 [1918]: 121; Pirjevec, 2008; Bufon, 2023). Trieste was certainly a city of diversity, 
a meeting point and a crossroads of cultures, both in its origins and due to the influx of 
immigrants from ethnically and culturally diverse areas. However, it was also a city of 
deep contradictions. As Ara and Magris note, while the individual national communi-
ties coexisted and interacted in practical everyday life, they often largely ignored each 
other, practicing a kind of mutual isolation in national terms (Ara, Magris, 1982: 4, 16).
This paper aims to discuss the ethnography1 of Trieste during the long 19th century, 
specifically examining how some contemporary observers perceived the city’s ethnic 
and cultural diversity. Many ethnographies and records were written by numerous 
researchers and observers, including Girolamo Agapito, Domenico Rossetti, Cesare 
de Franceschi, Carlo Combi, Simon Rutar, Scipio Slataper, Fran Cegnar, Ivan Tavčar, 
Ivan Cankar and many others who with their discourses participated in the debate on 
the social, national, and cultural character and belonging of the city. My focus is on five 
authors whose works span different decades, reflecting the evolving socio-economic 
and political processes of Trieste. The selected authors are Pietro Kandler, Pacifico 
Valussi, Josip Godina Verdelski, Ruggero Fauro Timeus, and Angelo Vivante. These 
authors, each nationally identified and presenting views from clearly defined positions, 
lived in different historical moments with varying worldviews and political stances. 
Consequently, their works reflect diverse perspectives on the socio-economic and 
political processes, as well as Trieste’s ethnic/national reality, during a century marked 
by the emergence of national ideas and polarization.
Pietro Kandler (Trieste 1804-1872), a lawyer, politician, civil servant, municipal 
administrator, and President of the Trieste Municipal Council, was a man of Italian sen-
timents and a firm supporter of Trieste’s loyalty to the Danube Monarchy. He was also a 
distinguished historian, geographer, and archaeologist (Šah, 1982; Schingo, 2004). Among 
his extensive historiographical output, the monographic work Notizie storiche di Trieste 
e guida per la città, published in 1851 under the pseudonym Giovannina Bandelli, will 
be discussed in this essay. Additionally, some articles from the journal L’Istria, which 
he published and primarily authored between 1846 and 1852, will also be analyzed.
1  Ethnography in this text refers to ethnic and cultural specificities, ethnic and national composition, and 
inter-ethnic relations.
Trieste Ethnographies in the Eyes of Contemporary Observers in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Traditiones     | 139
Pacifico Valussi (Talmassons 1813-Udine 1893) was the editor of the journal La 
Favilla (1836−1847), which from 1838 to 1846 highlighted Trieste’s multicultural 
character. Influenced by the ideas of Niccolò Tommaseo, Valussi viewed the Italian 
and Slavic communities on the eastern Adriatic as a laboratory for national relations, 
advocating for a peaceful coexistence between free peoples. After the revolutionary year 
of 1848, he supported the emancipation of the Habsburg nationalities. In the pamphlet 
Trieste e l’Istria e le loro ragioni nella questione italiana (1861), discussed here, he 
argued Italy’s claims on Trieste and Istria and presented arguments for negotiated 
Italian-Slavic national relations (Marušič, 1990; Micelli, 2020).
Josip Godina Verdelski (Trieste 1808-1884) was a representative of the emerging 
Slovenian nationally conscious middle class. As a Triestine (more precisely, a native 
of Trieste’s rural environs), he presented a depiction of Trieste’s past in his 1872 work 
Opis in zgodovina Tersta in njegove okolice, with a particular focus on the indigenous 
Slovenian population (Jevnikar, 1978).
Ruggero Fauro Timeus (Trieste 1892-Pal Piccolo 1915) was associated with the 
circle of intransigent Italian nationalism and extreme irredentism. This ideology in-
tertwined the struggle for Trieste’s redemption from Austrian rule and its unification 
with the Italian homeland with the notion of Italian imperialistic ambitions. In 1914, 
in his book Trieste, italiani e slavi, il governo austriaco, l’irredentismo, he outlined 
his convictions about the history and future of Trieste. A year later, he sacrificed his 
young life as an Italian volunteer in the Great War against Austria-Hungary, in the 
name of these beliefs (Redivo, 1995).
Angelo Vivante (Trieste 1869-1915), a member of Trieste’s wealthy bourgeoisie, 
was committed to Austro-Marxist socialism. He opposed all forms of irredentism 
and advocated an internationalist vision of Trieste as a multiethnic and multicultural 
city. With Irredentismo adriatico (1912), he presented an alternative, non-nationalist 
interpretation against the political manipulation of Trieste’s history by Italian national 
liberals and irredentists at a time of increasing national conflicts and international 
tensions (Cattaruzza, 1998; Millo, 1998; Zorzenon, 2017).
By examining the representations of Trieste’s ethnography by the aforementioned 
authors and their perspectives on social and inter-ethnic relations, two assumptions 
are noteworthy. The first relates to the spatial structure and administrative division of 
the Trieste municipality, which included the urban settlement, or Città (city), and the 
surrounding rural area, known as Territorio (territory) in Italian and Okolica (environs) 
in Slovenian. The territory, divided into karstic villages and rural neighbourhoods 
spreading over the area between the city and the karstic plateau, was populated almost 
exclusively by Slovenian speakers. In contrast, the city itself was characterized by pre-
vailing Italian linguistic and cultural traditions despite its ethnic diversity. Italian served 
as the official municipal administrative language, the predominant spoken language and 
commercial “lingua franca”, and the language of written communication and culture.
Aleksej Kalc 
140 |     Traditiones
The early modern perception of the city as advanced and civilized, in contrast 
to the backward rural countryside – a perception that modernization continued to 
reinforce – was thus reflected in Trieste in terms of ethnic identification with space 
and population. The city was regarded as Italian and Italianizing, while the countryside 
was seen as Slavic and the Slavic population as rural. This socio-economic and ethnic 
Italian-Slavic dichotomy became, in the second half of the 19th century, a “trench 
in defence of national space” in the discourse of Italian national liberals across the 
Adriatic Italian-Slavic national contact zone. It also became a central concept in the 
political relationship between Trieste (and other cities in the north-eastern Adriatic) 
and the broader Slavic hinterland, as well as a paradigm used in Italian historiography 
to explain Italian-Slavic national relations (Verginella, 2003, 2017; Toncich, 2017).
The second assumption concerns demography, specifically immigration. Immigration, 
which was a driving force behind demographic growth and the economic development 
of Trieste, also shaped the city’s social fabric and ethnic physiognomy (Cattaruzza, 
1979, 2002; Breschi et al. 2001). Immigrants contributed to the cosmopolitan and 
multicultural character of Trieste. However, in the second half of the 19th century, with 
the rise of national ideas and nationalizing processes, immigration became a subject of 
national-political contention and a battleground for national identification and political 
dominance. The main actors in these dynamics were immigrants from the immediate 
Slovenian and broader Slavic hinterland on one hand, and those from the Kingdom of 
Italy on the other. Unlike other immigrant groups, which remained numerically modest 
and separated from their national spaces of origin, Slovenian and Italian immigrants 
directly influenced relations between the two nations in Trieste, each vying for its 
status and national interests.
An erudite-conservative view of Trieste ethnography
In his time, in the 1840s and 1850s, Pietro Kandler was regarded as the foremost 
expert on the history of Trieste. As a politician, he championed the cultural and ad-
ministrative Italianization of the city, yet he perceived the Habsburg Empire to be a 
source and guardian of the development of Trieste, as both an Austrian hub and the 
northernmost Adriatic city. His influence waned when a new, national-liberal Italian 
bourgeois elite emerged in the 1850s, dominating both the municipal and provincial 
councils. This new elite rejected Kandler’s belief that Trieste’s connection with the 
Habsburg Empire was crucial for the city’s historical and future prosperity (Cervani, 
1993; Gombač, 1993: 40−44).
Kandler’s scientific and journalistic works are characterized by an erudite and ration-
alist style, devoid of emotional or other embellishments. He employs an academic and 
empirically documented methodological approach typical of legal and historiographical 
Trieste Ethnographies in the Eyes of Contemporary Observers in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Traditiones     | 141
scholarship. This approach is evident in his descriptions of Trieste ethnography, which 
often form part of larger monographic works or specific studies on selected topics.
Kandler presents Trieste’s multiethnicity as a defining historical characteristic, 
detailing its territorial, social, and cultural articulations. He notes the ethnic homogeneity 
of the Territorio, highlighting the Slovenian colonization of the Karst area that began 
during the Lombard Kingdom and expanded towards the town in the Triestine ager 
areas during the early modern period. As mercantile Trieste developed, and the “urban 
peasantry” declined, the Slovenian peasantry extended up to the city walls, leading to 
the Territorio becoming predominantly Slavic. Over the centuries, the inhabitants of the 
village of Škedenj, originally from Cremona, also assimilated and became Slovenians 
(Kandler, 1846; Bandelli, 1851: 192).
Kandler observed that Slovenian inhabitants had adopted new socio-economic habits 
by settling in the immediate areas around the town, which had served as a source of 
agricultural products for centuries. The Slovenian settlers in these areas had become 
arable farmers, shifting away from their traditional pastoral livestock farming, which 
remained prevalent in the Karst, including within the Trieste municipality. This pastoral 
heritage was still evident in the term mandrieri, used to refer to these inhabitants of 
the part of Territorio close to the city.
Kandler did not hold a favourable view of the Triestine Slovenian territorials and 
Slovenians in general, describing them as backward and ignorant. He attributed to 
them the disappearance of the once-thriving olive cultivation, noting that they had cut 
down the olive trees, positing they had ceased and never replanted them because “this 
plant was so foreign to the Slavs” (Kandler, 1846: 181; Bandelli, 1851: 192). However, 
he acknowledged that they had improved over time and suggested that by attending 
agrarian Sunday schools for youth and adults, they could make adequate progress in 
modern farming practices.
The city was ethnically and religiously diverse, with Greek, Helvetian, Serbian, and 
Protestant communities enjoying religious and administrative autonomy, while preserving 
their respective languages and cultural practices. Despite significant immigration, the 
urban population remained predominantly Italian, as new, non-Italian arrivals typically 
adopted the Italian language. However, Kandler noted that these newcomers were easily 
identifiable because Trieste’s social reality did not develop into a homogeneous fabric. 
As an emporium, the city naturally became and remains an agglomerate of people from 
various origins (Bandelli, 1851: 192).
Kandler relied on governmental censuses to describe the demographic and ethno-
linguistic composition of the city and its territory. In 1842, he himself commissioned 
a census to investigate the languages people used within their families and in prayer 
(“in conversation with God”) (Kandler, 1848a: 176). Using these statistics, he challenged 
claims made by Viennese newspapers during the politically charged atmosphere of 1848 
that Trieste was a German city. Kandler demonstrated that the Italian population was by 
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142 |     Traditiones
far the majority, with the Slovenian community being the second largest, present both 
in the countryside and the city. He particularly emphasized that the Italian language 
dominated all levels of socio-economic and institutional life in Trieste, while German 
was confined to state administration circles. According to Kandler, German was the 
language of the administrators, not the administered people.
Kandler emphasized the necessity of Trieste’s multiethnic and polyphonic character, 
highlighting the dynamic interactions among its various communities. He associated 
language shifts in the second and subsequent generations of immigrants with different 
national “temperaments”. According to Kandler, Germans were the most likely to 
retain their native language, with some never learning Italian. In contrast, the “pliable” 
Slavs, especially Slovenians, were more inclined to adopt the Italian language. In the 
city, the linguistic landscape was also shaped by national/linguistic exogamy, which 
people readily embraced. In the Territorio, however, there was little intermarriage 
across linguistic lines, not due to opposition, but simply because the peasantry was 
predominantly of Slovenian lineage.
Children of foreign parents in Trieste typically learned their parents’ native language 
at home and picked up Italian from their peers on the street. Mothers played a crucial 
role in preserving and passing on the family’s language. In mixed families with an Italian 
mother, the use of the father’s language often diminished. Despite these efforts, the 
second generation of immigrants frequently denied or rejected their original language 
during their formative years, and by the third generation, the non-Italian language 
typically disappeared from daily use. Among Italian immigrants, however, such a 
process of linguistic abandonment did not occur, even when their formal education 
was in another language.
Kandler emphasized the unique identity of Trieste, rooted in its cultural, historical, 
and legal distinctiveness, to argue for the primacy of Italian ethnicity and culture in 
the region. He portrayed this spiritual and civilizing characteristic of Trieste, and the 
broader Austrian Littoral, as aligned with Austrian statehood and loyalty to the monarchy, 
reflecting shared interests. Kandler dismissed claims that Trieste was a German city, 
asserting that the city’s identity, anchored in its natural language, could not be separated 
from its role as the capital of the Austrian Littoral and a key mercantile hub on the 
Adriatic. Similarly, he refuted the notion of Trieste as a Slavic city, considering such 
views irrelevant and misguided. He argued that Slavic languages had never attained 
the status of cultural or educational languages in Trieste, existing instead as vernacular 
dialects among the Slavic population. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that Slovenian 
had some influence in Trieste, evidenced by its presence in administrative terminology; 
for instance, the term suppano, derived from the Slovenian župan (meaning ‘mayor’) 
was used for the heads of village communities.
Trieste Ethnographies in the Eyes of Contemporary Observers in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Traditiones     | 143
From a multicultural to a nationalistic and irredentistic narrative
In the 1840s, Pacifico Valussi, the editor of La Favilla, advocated for Trieste’s autonomy. 
The newspaper promoted Italian culture, science, and literature while respecting other 
nations. La Favilla portrayed Trieste as a city where diverse cultural and linguistic 
groups coexisted harmoniously, with families preserving their customs without facing 
opposition or ridicule (Vivante, 1945: 25). The publication celebrated the city’s national 
and cultural diversity. Valussi expressed admiration for the whole Slavic world and called 
for friendly relations among different communities. However, during the revolutionary 
year of 1848, Valussi began to lean towards separatism (Gombač, 1993: 4). Valussi 
envisioned a “Svizzera marittima” (Adriatic Switzerland), with Trieste serving as its 
port. This entity, emerging from the dissolution of the doomed Habsburg Monarchy, 
was to act as an intermediary state between Italy and the Slavic world within a new 
Danube confederation.
By the time he published Trieste e l’Istria e loro ragioni nella quistione italiana 
in 1861, this idea had long been forgotten because Valussi, influenced by the Italian 
unification movement, had become an advocate for Italian national interests and irreden-
tism (Pirjevec, 1977; Marušič, 1990; Lazarević Di Giacomo, 2009). This work marked 
the first formal proposal for Trieste’s separation from Austria and was considered a 
manifesto of Adriatic irredentism, as noted by Vivante (Vivante, 1945: 68).
Valussi defended the Italian identity of Trieste and Istria, advocating for the right 
of Italians to liberate themselves from Austrian rule. He distinguished between the 
peoples of the region based on their levels of cultural and civilizational development, 
categorizing some as fully formed and others as still evolving. Valussi argued that these 
territories rightfully belonged to Italy, citing natural geography, ethnography, language, 
and historical ties. He emphasized that the aspirations of the people and the broader 
Italian national interests were paramount in justifying this claim (Valussi, 1861: 7−8).
Valussi portrayed Trieste and Istria as inherently Italian, emphasizing the predom-
inance of the Italian population and language in the region. In contrast to his earlier 
stance in 1849, where he acknowledged the Slavs as indigenous and advocated for 
Italian-Slavic fraternity within a neutral area, Valussi later described the Slavs as 
“invaders” of Italian national territory. He depicted them as uncultured and lacking 
a “true” language, suggesting that they were destined for non-violent assimilation 
into the predominantly Italian culture (Valussi, 1861: 21; Vivante, 1945: 69). Valussi 
argued that in Trieste, all newcomers eventually became part of the “Italian element” 
due to the prevailing cultural dynamics. He claimed that even the Slovenian dialect 
spoken in the Trieste countryside was being Italianized and fading away wherever it 
encountered civilization. According to Valussi, the local Slavs, whom he referred to 
as “ours” to differentiate them from Slavs with no contact with Italians, retained their 
Slavic identity only as long as they remained “barbarians”. He believed that as soon 
Aleksej Kalc 
144 |     Traditiones
as they aspired to social mobility and emancipation, they would inevitably assimilate 
into Italian culture, losing their distinct identity. Valussi argued that the Triestines were 
fundamentally Italian, and he considered the government’s efforts to Germanize education 
and administration futile because the city’s Italian character was both necessary and 
inevitable. He also noted that even the children of Trieste’s cosmopolitan merchant 
community were growing up with a strong Italian identity (Valussi, 1861: 22−23).
Valussi categorized the Slavs in Trieste and Istria, referred to by him as “Piemonte 
Orientale” (Eastern Piedmont), into two groups: the “pure” and those who had already 
been Italianized. He noted that the number of Italianized Slavs was steadily increasing, 
despite government efforts to incite other nationalities against the Italians. According 
to Valussi, Slavs predominantly lived in rural areas, while Italians resided in towns 
and in areas of the countryside that exhibited “any sign of culture” (Valussi, 1861: 62). 
He further divided the Slavs into two distinct clans, the Slovenian and the Serbian, 
which he described as physically and spiritually very different. Valussi suggested that 
the Slovenian language and customs had been contaminated, indicating an earlier 
settlement in the region, while the Serbs, having arrived later, had maintained more of 
their original national characteristics. Despite these differences, Valussi asserted that 
both groups lacked institutions, civilization, and any resemblance to the Italian people. 
Consequently, he believed they were destined to disappear in the face of what he con-
sidered the inevitable and progressive influence of Italian culture (Valussi, 1861: 62).
Valussi emphasized that the defining characteristic that made Triestines (and Istrians) 
Italians was their volontà (will), which he saw as the crucial element distinguishing 
nations from mere groups of people. He argued, “A nation exists when it does not vegetate 
without self-consciousness, like a herd that lets itself be led by dogs or wanders like a 
troop of wild animals”. According to Valussi, a nation could only truly exist through a 
collective will, manifesting in a shared material and spiritual life (Valussi, 1861: 25). 
He noted that the Triestine people’s will and national consciousness emerged after the 
revolutionary events of 1848. Before this period, Triestines identified themselves as 
local in their economic interests and habits, and as Italians in their cultural and spiritual 
identity. Valussi suggested that Trieste might have continued as a kind of “Adriatic 
Hamburg”, maintaining a unique cultural and administrative identity within the Austrian 
Empire, if not for the central Austrian government’s imposition of its own rules. This 
shift disturbed the traditional political relationship with Vienna and threatened Trieste’s 
Italian cultural and administrative freedoms. That is why post-1848, a significant change 
occurred with the rise of a new, purely Italian generation in Trieste, characterized by 
an intolerance for subjugation and persecution. This generation demanded separation 
from what they saw as despotic Austrian rule and sought unification with their cultural 
motherland, Italy (Valussi, 1861: 26−28).
Valussi envisioned a promising future for the Adriatic Slavs outside Trieste and 
Istria, encouraging them to liberate themselves from Austrian and Ottoman domination 
Trieste Ethnographies in the Eyes of Contemporary Observers in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Traditiones     | 145
and to establish their own state, where Slavic civilization and national interests could 
flourish. He acknowledged the historical presence of Italians in these regions but 
suggested that the Italian community was willing to concede the Dalmatian/Dinaric 
part of the eastern Adriatic to a Slavic state, in the spirit of fostering good relations 
between the Italian and Slavic nations. Valussi asserted that the Slavs should respect 
the Italian character and the natural Italianization of Trieste and Istria. This perspective 
was part of a broader argument that while Italians were open to Slavic autonomy and 
statehood in other areas, the Italian nature of Trieste and Istria was indisputable and 
should not be challenged (Valussi, 1861: 15−17).
Trieste ethnography in the views of a Slovenian national activist
Josip Godina Verdelski, a native of the Trieste countryside portrayed by Italian authors 
as uncultivated and underdeveloped, emerged as one of the early advocates of the 
Slovenian national movement in Trieste. Among the actors engaging and sensitizing 
the Slovenian population in and around Trieste about their ethnicity or nationality, 
such as Simon Rutar, Fran Cegnar, and institutions like the Slovenian Reading Room 
in Trieste, Godina held a special status. Encouraged by Ivan Nabergoj, a Slovenian 
representative in the city council, Godina wrote his Opis in zgodovina Tersta in njegove 
okolice to educate Slovenian Triestines and the broader Slovenian population about the 
historical presence of Slovenians in Trieste. His work aimed to counter the narratives 
presented by Kandler and other Italian historians, who had downplayed, misrepresented, 
or ignored the Slovenian presence in the city (Godina, 1872: 126). Godina argued that 
the Slovenian influence in Trieste was far more significant and visible in the city’s 
history, daily life, public image, and cultural diversity than depicted by Italian authors. 
Through his writings, he sought to provide an alternative narrative that highlighted the 
substantial and diverse contributions of Slovenians to the fabric of Trieste.
The work, notable as the first Trieste history in the Slovenian language, was written 
during a sensitive phase of the Slovenian nationalization process, influenced by the 
evolving Slovenian-Italian relations of the time. Throughout the 1850s and 1860s, the 
Italian middle class in Trieste was consolidating its identity on a national basis, with 
Italian national liberals increasingly reinforcing ideological influence against the old, 
cosmopolitan ruling elite. Concurrently, Slovenians, or Slavs, were also making significant 
strides towards national awareness and asserting their identity. The late 1860s saw the 
onset of conflicts, with Italians striving to maintain political and cultural dominance, 
while Slovenians sought recognition and equal participation in governing the city and 
its surroundings. A notable incident in this period was the 1868 street fight linked 
with the opening of a čitalnica (Slovenian reading room), which resulted in the death 
of an Italian youth, allegedly shot by the Okoličanski Bataljon (the Slovenian militia 
Aleksej Kalc 
146 |     Traditiones
battalion) (Gombač, 1993: 47−49; Merkú, 2002). After this incident, which led to the 
disbanding of the militia battalion under pressure from Italian national liberals, further 
episodes hindered the path of the Slovenian national movement. In 1869 the government 
prohibited the establishment of the local branch of the gymnastic organization Južni 
Sokol (Southern Sokol) to prevent escalating national polarization and confrontation 
(Rupel, 1981; Dorigo, 2021). The čitalniško gibanje (the movement for establishing 
Slovenian reading rooms), which initially had been a significant part of the Slovenian 
national movement, began to lose momentum in the early 1870s (Sturman, 1996).
Godina’s description bears in its title the historical administrative articulation of 
the Trieste municipality between the city and the countryside, for which he uses the 
term Okolica (environs). In doing so, he challenges the social and national dichoto-
mic distinguishing between these two areas and emphasizes their complementarity 
and coexistence. According to Godina, both the diverse merchants and newcomers, 
including Slovenians and Slavs, as well as the indigenous inhabitants of the city and 
countryside, contributed to Trieste’s prosperity and development. Godina’s central thesis 
is that Trieste was “a city standing on Slavic soil” because it was initially inhabited 
by people “of our” (Slavic) tribe. He opposed the Roman origin of the city by linking 
the Carni, whom Italian historians such as Agapito and Kandler had identified as the 
earliest inhabitants, to the Carnioli or Carniolians. He supported this theory also with 
evidence from the migration history of Slavic tribes (Godina, 1872: 292).
Godina described Trieste’s multiethnicity by emphasizing the contributions of 
various ethnic and national groups to the city’s development. His focus was particu-
larly on the Slovenian Trieste. He drew attention to Slovenian toponomastics, which 
had been overlooked in Italian narratives, and highlighted the topographical markers 
of Slovenian presence through the many churches in the city where Slovenian masses 
and sermons were conducted (Godina, 1872: 61). Godina also noted the increasing 
presence of Slovenian craftsmen and merchants in Trieste, as well as the expanding 
job opportunities for Slovenian speakers. He argued that members of this burgeoning 
middle class were the most devoted representatives of “our nation” and constituted the 
foundational core of the organized Slovenian movement (Godina, 1872: 97).
Godina portrayed the inhabitants of the Okolica with a blend of admiration and 
critique, reflecting his personal connection to the area. On one hand, he idealized them 
as exemplary individuals in various trades such as farming, vine-growing, gardening, 
masonry, stonemasonry, and fishing (Godina, 1872: 108). He credited the Slovenians 
of the Okolica and Slovenian immigrant workers with contributing significantly to both 
public and private construction projects in Trieste (Godina, 1872: 31). Despite their 
lack of formal education, many self-taught peasants from the Okolica displayed a keen 
interest in literature and newspapers, and a traditional love for music was widespread 
among them. Slovenians in the city were also known for their dedication and skill as 
church singers (Godina, 1872: 107). At the same time, Godina expressed concern over 
Trieste Ethnographies in the Eyes of Contemporary Observers in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Traditiones     | 147
the educational shortcomings of the Okolica inhabitants. He noted that families in the 
countryside showed little interest in their children’s education, preferring to involve 
them in farm work instead of sending them to school. Consequently, these young people 
had limited access to well-paying jobs in the city labour market, often being relegated 
to difficult and poorly compensated occupations.
Godina devotes significant attention to the economic and social conditions of the 
Okolica, highlighting a decline from past prosperity. Contrary to Kandler’s attribution 
of agricultural decline to the supposed backwardness of the Slavs, Godina ascribes 
the increasing poverty of the area to the detrimental effects of urbanization on the 
traditional peasant lifestyle that had persisted into the 18th century. In earlier times, 
the Triestine peasantry benefited from a favourable relationship with the smaller, less 
wasteful town. However, as the city expanded, this relationship deteriorated, leading 
to negative consequences for the countryside. Urban growth encroached on cultivated 
land, reduced the landholding class, and fragmented land ownership, which, in turn, 
contributed to the rise of a marginalized proletariat. Moreover, urbanization brought 
about changes in living habits, introducing new consumer desires, demands, and 
expenses that the traditional peasant was ill-prepared to handle. The peasant, once 
content and accustomed to enduring daily hardships, now faced increased economic 
pressures and social stratification. This shift led to the observation that “the peasant 
near the city has all the vices of both the peasant and the bourgeois” (Godina, 1872: 
99). Godina also pointed to the negligence of the municipal administration of Trieste, 
which, driven by nationalistic motives, failed to address even the basic infrastructure 
needs of the Okolica. This deliberate neglect further exacerbated the challenges faced 
by the rural population (Godina, 1872: 105).
The second major issue directly arising from urbanization was Italianization. Despite 
the growing Italian influence, the inhabitants of the Okolica remained fundamentally 
loyal to their Slovenian language and nationality. They only abandoned these aspects 
in their interactions with Italians when faced with social dependence or a subordinate 
social position. This observation challenged the Italian authors’ thesis that Slovenians 
were ethnically unstable and readily succumbed to Italianization. Godina argued that 
the Slovenians’ sense of identity and self-esteem began to strengthen with the rise of 
the national movement, the circulation of Slovenian newspapers, and the publications 
of the St. Mohor Society. However, progress in national sentiment was insufficient, as 
the Slavs lagged in educational and cultural development due to what Godina described 
as their “too long sleep” in developing written languages and higher culture. This lack 
of advancement left them vulnerable in interactions with other peoples. The original 
proto-Slovenians in Trieste had disappeared in such a way, and contemporary Sloveni-
ans in the city faced a similar threat. Godina criticized the effects of the revolutionary 
year 1848, noting that while Italianism thrived and secured political dominance in the 
Trieste municipality, the Slovenian national spirit failed to gain substantial traction. 
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This was largely due to the social and economic subordination of the Slovenians and 
their increasing dependence on Italians. As a result, Godina concluded with a pessimistic 
outlook on the future of Triestine Slovenians, emphasizing that their prospects would 
remain bleak without a strong alliance with their compatriots in Carniola.
Trieste ethnography from the perspective of an extreme irredentist
Just before the First World War, a book titled Trieste, italiani e slavi, il governo 
austriaco, l’irredentismo was published by a young 22-year-old named Ruggero Fauro 
Timeus. Timeus’s work is a political pamphlet written under the influence of significant 
transformation in Trieste from the 1880s onwards. This era saw the Slovenians evolve 
into a well-structured national community and one of the outposts of the consolidating 
Slavism in Austria. Concurrently, socialism emerged as a new political force, advo-
cating for internationalism and presenting an alternative vision of national relations 
that challenged the dominance of the Italian national liberals. Timeus observed that 
the multiethnic nature of Trieste, including its Slovenian community, did not pose a 
significant issue as long as the socialists, which attracted a lot of Slovenian voters, 
challenged Italian national-liberal hegemony.
Timeus portrays Trieste as an embattled Italian enclave under siege from foreign, 
specifically German and Slavic elements, whom he identifies as enemies of the Italian 
nation (Timeus, 1914: 9). He argues that the conflict is not merely about the relation-
ship between the city and its countryside, but centres on the broader struggle between 
Italianness and Slavicness, particularly concerning Austrian Slavic influence. In this 
context, the Slovenians, as representatives of the immediate hinterland, are seen as 
instruments of Austrian-German centralism, used to undermine Italian cultural and 
political dominance in Trieste. This depiction reflects a narrative of cultural and 
national conflict, emphasizing a perceived threat to Italian identity from external and 
internal Slavic forces.
Timeus expresses the perceived superiority of Italian civilization and asserts the right 
to dominate other nationalities in starkly radical terms. This viewpoint is encapsulated 
in his metaphor of Trieste as an Italian city that has always assimilated newcomers 
with the “calm omnipotence of the sea, which takes in the waters of a thousand rivers” 
(Timeus, 1914: 77). He claims that Slovenian workers, upon encountering the urban 
Italian environment, quickly realized their “despicable national origin” and sought to 
shed it. Similarly, German officials, initially carrying derogatory stereotypes, supposedly 
developed a genuine interest in and sympathy for Italian culture. However, Timeus 
argues that the newer, nationally conscious immigrants of the last few decades resisted 
assimilation. Even if these immigrants severed their national roots, they would remain 
intrinsically foreign, akin to “a false note in harmony”. According to Timeus, their 
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descendants could be fully assimilated, drawn by the allure of the Italian environment 
and eventually learning to think and feel Italian. He concludes that Italian identity is 
a victorious ideal, one that even made German culture appear pale and mediocre by 
comparison (Timeus, 1914: 78−81).
According to Timeus, the Austrian Slavs were ethnically and politically passive, 
lacking unity and consequently subjected to various fates. He likened them to sand, 
which “is shaped, moved, and stirred by the waters”, suggesting they were a mobile, 
pliable substance easily influenced without impacting the purity of the sea (Timeus, 
1914: 98). Timeus argued that no Slavic nation in Austria, apart from the Polish, had a 
significant history. They were late in developing national self-awareness, facing the harsh 
reality of having to create their history, language, alphabet, and grammar from scratch.
Timeus claimed that the Austrian Slavs had never independently developed an 
advanced economy or culture, always relying on others. He described them as histor-
ically conquered and subjugated, leaving no lasting mark. In Dalmatia, he noted, the 
Croats supposedly adopted ideas of progress, a sense of freedom, and resistance to 
German policies from their interactions with Italians, leading some in Zagreb to label 
them “Italijanci” (Timeus, 1914: 103). In Bohemia, where Germans had established a 
significant industrial base, Slavs allegedly took political control and sought economic 
dominance through rural immigration. According to Timeus, Jews were becoming 
Czechs, poor workers were rising to become entrepreneurs, and the formerly German 
bourgeoisie was acquiring Czech characteristics.
A similar Slavic conquest march was underway in Trieste, Dalmatia, and Istria. 
Timeus viewed this not as the rise of a distinguished race or innovative culture, but as 
a mere appropriation of what Italians and Germans had established. He argued that the 
Slavs were incapable of absorbing others into their culture, framing their ascendancy as a 
substitution rather than a true cultural or civilizational development (Timeus, 1914: 105).
The Slovenians, lacking a traditional nobility and bourgeoisie, were unfamiliar 
with social stratification and class struggle. Consequently, they were easily recruited 
by socialists into a struggle against Italian and German industrialists, a conflict they 
framed as a national struggle. The two major Slovenian national parties, the Liberal 
and the Clerical, were also engaged in this struggle against Germans and Italians while 
remaining staunchly loyal to the monarchy (Timeus, 1914: 111). These parties adhered to 
the doctrine of trialism, which aimed to establish a more inclusive and balanced structure 
within the Habsburg Empire. Trialists were fervent advocates for the Slavicization of 
Trieste, envisioning it as the maritime capital of the Habsburg Slavs. Their strategy 
included promoting the influx of Slovenian working masses, preventing immigration 
from the Kingdom of Italy, Slavicizing civil service positions, expanding Slovenian 
schools, and fostering a Slavic economy. In response to these efforts, Timeus argued 
that Italians needed to combat trialism and support the Serbian national movement. 
He suggested that the political project of Greater Serbia, which included the Austrian 
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southern Slavs, would negate their aspirations over Trieste. Under this plan, Split would 
emerge as the Serbian national port (Timeus, 1914: 117).
In a chapter aptly titled ‘The Slavic Assault on Trieste’, Timeus asserts that the 
Slovenians in Trieste were solely focused on their national struggle against the Italians, 
and that this struggle was actively supported by the Austrian government. He contends 
that the well-developed Slovenian socio-economic, political, and cultural organizations 
were merely tools in this nationalistic effort. The Narodni Dom (National Home), 
along with other Slavic national homes in Austria, functioned as a fortress in a hostile 
environment, financially sustained by the broader Austrian Slavic community (Timeus, 
1914: 122). The Narodna Delavska Organizacija (National Workers’ Organisation), was 
established to mobilize Slovenian labourers from impoverished Carniola, who were 
perceived as a means to displace Italian workers by accepting lower wages (Timeus, 
1914: 122). Additionally, Timeus accuses banks, supported by capital from within 
the Monarchy, of exploiting financial difficulties faced by Italian companies through 
unscrupulous methods (Timeus, 1914: 129−130).
The anti-Italian Slovenian clergy, bolstered by the Italo-phobic diocese of Trieste, 
also played a significant role as national actors. Slovenian priests viewed Italians as 
cursed by God and framed the struggle against the Italian presence as a holy war. This 
perspective imbued the conflict with a religious fervour rather than purely nationalis-
tic motivations. Consequently, pious Slovenian peasants nurtured a form of religious 
animosity toward the Italians, perceiving their priests as leaders and champions in the 
anti-Italian struggle (Timeus, 1914: 131).
The transformation in Trieste’s ethnography, achieved through socio-economic 
means, set the stage for a Slavic political offensive against the city. This offensive 
began in the countryside of Trieste, where the Slovenian community emerged as the 
first electoral stronghold and the only modest Slavic national opposition within the city 
council. As the urban Slovenian national presence grew, strategically established in 
key districts and legitimized by misleading census data from the Italo-phobic Austrian 
state, the conflict’s focus shifted from the periphery to the heart of the city. The Slavs 
were not so far concerned with the expansion of the Italian population into their former 
strongholds now, because the spoils were no longer the stony Karst but the city’s wealth 
and grandeur (Timeus, 1914: 134).
Socialists played a significant role in these ethnic changes. By promoting interna-
tionalism and undermining national consciousness, they attracted and accelerated the 
growth of Slovenian immigrants in the city, who, despite their socialist affiliations, 
remained staunch nationalists. This contributed to the weakening of Italian national 
consciousness and laid the groundwork for Slavic ethnic dominance (Timeus, 1914: 
138−141). The Austrian government further facilitated this shift by assigning Slovenian 
civil servants to Trieste, thereby bolstering the Slovenian bourgeoisie and enhancing 
their influence in the city (Timeus, 1914: 147−149).
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Timeus made a sharp racial distinction between Italians and Slavs, viewing the latter 
with inherent contempt and hostility. This animosity was evident even among Italian 
children, who displayed a natural aversion when seated next to Slavic classmates (Timeus, 
1914: 67). He also differentiated between various types of Italians. The “timid Italian 
element”, which included those loyal to Austria and those not aligned with the Italian 
National Liberal Party, were deemed unworthy Italians and considered collaborators 
with the Slavic enemies (Timeus, 1914: 157). Regarding the Regnicoli, immigrants 
from the Kingdom of Italy, Timeus believed that, as foreign citizens without voting 
rights, they contributed minimally to the defence of Italianness. Their presence was 
noted mainly for occupying positions that might otherwise have been filled by Slavs 
(Timeus, 1914: 167).
From passive to active: In between  
ideology that overcomes nationalities and nationalism
Angelo Vivante, a Marxist and socialist thinker, stood out as a unique figure in the 
context of Trieste’s turbulent national and ethnic dynamics. His ideology transcended 
nationalities and nationalism, advocating for class solidarity and social justice over 
ethnic divisions.
His Iredentismo adriatico is a historical study that aims to analyze national relations 
in the Upper Adriatic, focusing on the genesis of irredentism. Vivante approaches 
this topic with a commitment to objective facts, deliberately avoiding the influence of 
national sentiments and mythologized values. Rather than advocating for the rights of 
one ethnic or national group over another, Vivante preferred to discuss the underlying 
forces and conflicts at play. As a declared internationalist, he stood in stark contrast 
to national ideologies and nationalism, embodying the antithesis of such perspectives. 
Despite this, Vivante remained an Italian, albeit one who was “lukewarm” in his 
national allegiance.
Vivante highlights the conceptual shift that occurred among the Italians of Trieste 
during the creation of the Italian nation-state. As late as the 1850s, Trieste still believed 
in its historical economic ties to Austria and its symbiosis with the natural Slavic 
hinterland. The Italian national consciousness, which began to form and consolidate 
from 1848 onwards, was not initially separatist. The desire to belong to Italy emerged 
only after Italian unification in 1861 and the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy.
Unlike the other Italian authors considered, Vivante did not discuss the nature and 
cultural values of ethnic or national groups in emotional or political terms. Grounded in 
a Marxist dialectic, he focused on the structural aspects and socio-economic dynamics 
that characterized inter-ethnic relations in Trieste and the wider north-eastern Adriatic 
region, known as “Julia”. He countered the “phraseology of Italian liberal nationalist 
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writers” with objective evidence, explaining the emergence of irredentism and its 
ideological foundations. To understand these developments and inter-ethnic relations, 
Vivante emphasized the need to wipe out the binary division between Italianness and 
Slavicness as two well-defined and culturally antithetical concepts. He challenged the 
narrative that portrayed Italians as a homogeneous, clearly formed national community 
– direct successors of Rome and Venice – and Slavs as recent foreigners incited by 
German Vienna to oppose Italianness (Vivante, 1945: 128). He noted that few Italians 
in Trieste and the Jiulia were descendants of the Roman tradition, referencing Kandler’s 
and Facchinetti’s theses on the presence of Slavic elements in Istria before Roman 
times, and the Slavs as native to the region. The social fabric of the Julia region was a 
result of the mixing of two linguistic groups that had coexisted for centuries. Italians, 
being more economically and culturally advanced, dominated the cities, while the Slavs 
were the majority in the countryside. In urban settings, the Italians assimilated the 
Slavs, keeping them “lulled” in rural areas until the Slavs began resisting assimilation 
and subordination. The national conflict thus became a struggle to either maintain or 
dismantle this centuries-old hierarchy of Italian dominance over the Slavs (Vivante, 
1945: 129−132).
This conflict began in the 1860s. Vivante highlights how, in 1848 and 1849, even the 
most liberal Italians in Trieste viewed the Slavs with sympathy, affection, and approval 
of their national awakening. He describes how the first Slavic association could be 
founded in the Tergesteo Palace – the symbol of Trieste’s liberalism – without Slavic 
national symbols evoking feelings of threat or offense to Italian national sensibilities. 
The Slovenian language and culture were accepted without reservation, with plans to 
establish a chair of Slovenian language at the newly proposed law faculty, reflecting 
the idea of the Julia region as a shared Italian-Slavic space resisting Austrian-German 
centralism. In short, the seeds of future national conflict were not yet visible then 
(Vivante, 1945: 137−141).
However, the absolutism of Bach buried these ideas. By the 1860s, as the Slovenian/
Slav national movement began to consolidate, the space for coexistence disappeared, 
and the national struggle commenced. Vivante argues that the Slavic national awakening 
was not the result of artificial agitation or German politics, as Italian nationalists “chol-
erically” and “one-sidedly” claimed. Instead, its real and deep causes lay in capitalist 
development and related socio-economic processes, particularly urbanization and mass 
migration from the countryside to the cities (Vivante, 1945: 147).
In his analysis of these processes, Vivante provides an overview of the history of 
the Slovenians as a nation of peasants and shepherds, without nobility, who had lived 
for centuries under foreign rule. German feudalism and the Roman Catholic Church 
had stifled every germ of Slovenian national life after the Counter-Reformation had 
dispersed the Trubar heresy, which might have led to the development of a Slovenian 
nation based on a single language. Only during the French period, and later through the 
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work of figures like Bleiweis, Kopitar, and Miklošič – who standardized the Slovenian 
language and demonstrated its ancient historical and cultural roots – did Slovenian 
national consciousness begin to consolidate and resist national assimilation (Vivante, 
1945: 150).
This elite national movement in Carniola, however, could not fully tame Slovenian 
nationalism among the peasant population. Vivante notes that in Trieste, the first and 
most powerful centre of capitalist development, Slovenian immigrants were rapidly 
becoming Italianized by the mid-19th century and beyond. This spontaneous assimi-
lation was also at work in other urban environments in the Julia region. However, in 
the latter half of the century, capitalist processes intensified in Slovenian territories, 
with Slovenians entering “capitalist civilization” earlier than other southern Slavs. 
This shift was reflected in economic indicators such as the growth of capital, banking 
institutions, and deposits, as well as the decline in illiteracy, the rise of education, and 
the emergence of an intelligentsia. It was also evident in increasing migration to cities, 
especially Trieste. The growing attraction of Trieste for the hinterland and the mass 
influx of immigrants led to the breakdown of the assimilation system. The mass of 
immigrants gave rise to a Slovenian bourgeoisie that led the national movement and 
spurred resistance to assimilation. Thus, the Slovenian national awakening and upsurge, 
both in Trieste and elsewhere, were the result of changing socio-economic structures 
and relations, which in turn determined the reversal of assimilation (Vivante, 1945: 
156). In Istria however, Vivante noted different mechanisms at play. There, the Slavic 
national awakening was linked to peasant indebtedness and dependence on the Italian 
bourgeois financial and political elite. Slavic propagandists exploited this, portraying 
themselves as saviours from subordination, with the Slavic peasants becoming nationally 
conscious and emancipated (e.g. through credit institutions) under economic influences 
even before developing a national identity (Vivante, 1945: 157).
Vivante also analyzes the role of administrative systems and institutions in the 
national struggle, particularly census statistics and schools. From the 1880s onward, 
the concept of the colloquial language (Umgangssprache) was especially useful for 
the Italian liberal-national elite who, after the decline of spontaneous assimilation, 
sought to prove Italian national superiority through statistical assimilation. However, 
this manipulation was challenged by other indicators (e.g. electoral results) and in 
1910 by the revision of the census at the request of Slovenian political organizations. 
Schools were another instrument used by Italians to attempt to override spontane-
ous assimilation, as only Italian primary schools were permitted in the city. The 
Slovenian response was to open a private school. Both schools targeted Slovenian 
children, but while the Italian school aimed to maintain assimilation, the Slovenian 
school sought to educate children in the Slovenian national spirit. Vivante warned 
that Italian school policy in Trieste did not have the desired effect, as the introduction 
of Slovenian private education narrowed the circle of its recipients (Vivante, 1945: 
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154 |     Traditiones
164−167). He also emphasized that schooling did not guarantee assimilation. In Istria 
for example, Italian schools initially Italianized Slovenian children, as evidenced by 
census results. However, when a Slovenian private school opened in town, it quickly 
attracted most of the children. Simultaneously, the Slovenian National Party achieved 
unprecedented electoral success (Vivante, 1945: 172).
Vivante addressed accusations that the government was artificially encouraging 
Slavic immigration at the expense of Italians with socio-economic arguments and 
evidence. There was simply a shortage of Italian workers, who were unwilling to accept 
lower-paid jobs and positions in public service. The state employed more Slavs than 
Italians because the former learned Italian, while the latter did not learn Slovenian. This 
was also true for senior civil service positions, which Italians tended not to apply for. 
However, public institutions and private firms with Italian nationalist management often 
employed many Slovenians because they were seen as good and reliable workers or 
because of economic considerations. Vivante also pointed out that the conflict was not 
driven solely by material or national reasons. Other factors were also at play, including 
the atavistic conflict between town and countryside and the town’s disdainful attitude 
towards villagers who, moreover, spoke a different language (Vivante, 1945: 184).
The Italian petty bourgeoisie, Vivante observed, was driven to conflict by frustration 
over the rapidly developing Slavic community and the perceived threat to their social 
position and sense of being surrounded. The Slavic middle class, on the other hand, 
was motivated by the enthusiasm for all-around development and emancipation, which 
was challenging the existing national relations. The national conflict spread from the 
middle classes down to the lower classes and up to the higher social strata. However, 
the higher social classes were less enthusiastic about the national cause and ethnic 
antagonisms. The petty-bourgeois conflict also had two faces: competition among 
small merchants was marked by national struggle, while when it came to defending 
common class interests, national divisions were put aside. (Vivante, 1945: 186−187).
Vivante pays special attention to the complex national differences and relationships 
within the proletariat, distinguishing between the “amorphous” (those without class and 
often national awareness) and those organized under the banner of internationalism. 
In Trieste, the Italian and Slovenian proletariats were not in economic competition, 
because the former was predominantly skilled labour, while the latter constituted the 
lower working classes. Initially, the Italian-speaking proletariat of Trieste identified 
itself as Triestine, expressing anti-Slavic sentiments rooted in urban pride and a sense 
of superiority over the peasantry. Meanwhile, the Slovenian proletariat, which also 
exhibited regionalist tendencies, became increasingly nationally unified during the 
second half of the 19th century. The church played a significant role in fostering national 
consciousness among the Slovenians, whereas the Italian clergy found itself in a more 
ambivalent position on this issue. For the Slovenian proletariat, the national struggle 
was closely intertwined with the class struggle against exploitation.
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As class consciousness grew and workers’ internationalism gained strength, the 
organized Italian-speaking proletariat in Trieste came to recognize its Italian national 
identity. Simultaneously, it found common class interests and ideological alignment 
with the Slovenian proletariat, supporting its efforts against national assimilation. This 
alliance, and the fact that workers’ reformism implicitly contributed to the betterment 
of the state, provoked the ire of Italian liberal-nationalists. They accused socialism of 
being pro-Austrian, anti-separatist, and supportive of the Slavic national movement 
and of the Slavicization of the city (Vivante, 1945: 188−191).
Vivante also examined the internal divisions within both the Italian liberal-nation-
alist and Slovenian bourgeois camps, each of which played a role in exacerbating the 
national conflict. He highlighted the contradictions that undermined nationalist rhetoric 
and demonstrated the utopian nature of resolving the national question in Trieste and 
the entire Julia region by asserting the dominance of one nationality over the other.
Some concluding notes and considerations
The texts reveal the predominant contextual and formal elements used by the authors 
to describe the ethnography of Trieste, highlighting differences and perceptions of the 
“self” and the “other”. Italian authors, save Vivante, emphasize the primacy of the 
Italian language and culture, considering them as markers of historical continuity and 
civilization, rooted in ancient Rome. They use these criteria to classify national and 
cultural subjects, evaluating their hierarchical positions. In Kandler’s work, the Italian 
character of Trieste is portrayed as a dominant feature of local (and regional) particu-
larism. This particularism includes a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, and multi-cultural 
fabric, which emerged naturally from the city’s mercantile cosmopolitanism and was 
crucial for its role as a Central European seaport.
Valussi emphasizes the gap between a well-established nation with a unified ethnog-
raphy, civilizational elements and an emancipatory drive, and the diverse, heterogeneous 
Slavic peoples who were just beginning to form their national identities. He argues that 
the residents of Trieste were Italians by culture and by choice, suggesting that both the 
older and newer non-Italian inhabitants were gradually assimilating into this dominant 
civilization according to what he describes as the natural laws of cultural dominance.
Timeus’s ethnography of Trieste, situated within an overtly political and national 
conflict, depicts a defence of Italian identity against the perceived Slavic threat. The 
Slavic enemy is characterized as inferior and incapable of independent advancement. 
He has forsaken the assimilation into a civilization deemed otherwise unattainable and 
undertaken an offensive to displace and conquer Italian cultural positions.
Vivante also observes the ethnography of Trieste and the wider Julia region in the 
context of the national conflict, but presents it in the light of the complex structural 
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changes and dynamics associated with the emergence of “capitalist civilization”. He 
treats national characteristics and relations with the distance of a rational internationalist 
thinker, who is concerned with objective facts and with understanding the positions 
and also the interests and sentiments of all the players in the socio-economic, political, 
and cultural-national field of confrontation.
Godina’s ethnography, focusing primarily on the Slovenian community in Trieste, 
examines a group in the early stages of ideological and organizational nationalistic 
mobilization. This ethnography highlights the dilemmas and contradictions faced by 
the community in defining its identity amidst the inevitable processes of modernization.
In all the narratives examined, a central theme is the assimilation – or Italianization 
– and the preservation of the original ethnic and cultural identities of both indigenous 
and immigrant communities. In this respect, authors also discuss behaviours that 
diverge from or transcend the norms of the original identity groups or the emerging 
national identities.
Kandler’s portrayal of Trieste depicts a city with a cosmopolitan polyphony 
where, despite the dominance of the Italian language, various ethnic and religious 
communities maintained their original linguistic and cultural practices. Kandler 
suggests that this diversity prevented the cultural homogenization of Triestine society. 
However, he notes that younger generations of immigrants tended to Italianize. He 
identifies this process as resulting in linguistic hybridity, a temporary phase where 
the original languages spoken at home and Italian used in public spaces merged 
into a grammatical and cultural blend (Kandler, 1848a). Kandler views the family 
and public spaces of the city as the primary arenas where identity preservation and 
negotiation occurred, through either conservative adherence to traditional practices 
or innovative adaptations.
Valussi’s pamphlet, while not specifically addressing practical behaviours in social 
interactions, presents multilingualism as a necessary and contemporary means of everyday 
communication. As for cosmopolitanism, defined as prioritizing materialistic concerns 
over national values, he regards it as an outdated concept associated primarily with a 
small, elite circle of immigrants. Timeus focuses on the divergence from original roots 
and the transformation of ethnic and national identities, emphasizing the social context 
and hierarchical relations present in daily life. He uses abstract illustrative examples to 
describe the assimilation process as a linear mechanism functioning through everyday 
interactions. On a theoretical and political level, Timeus indicates internationalism as 
a social and ideological space that ambiguously operates to the detriment of Italian 
and in favour of the Slavic identity.
Josip Godina provides more detailed descriptions of practical behaviours that 
reflect attitudes toward ethnic and national values and identification. Drawing from 
direct observation and his extensive knowledge of the Slovenian population in both 
urban and rural settings, Godina identifies these behaviours as problematic, hindering 
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the Slovenian community in Trieste from fully emerging as a distinct national entity. 
He places the core of the Slovenian identity in Trieste within the middle class, com-
prising both natives and immigrants, who remain committed to their Slovenian nation-
ality despite close contact with the Italian environment. However, Godina notes that 
there were significant social spaces and situations where Slovenian identity was either 
weakening or failing to develop into a strong national consciousness. A critical area 
of concern was the interface between the city and its rural surroundings, particularly 
where urbanization extends to the Okolica. In these areas, Godina observes a disconnect 
from national traditions, exemplified by men adopting urban attire similar to that of 
the lowest urban proletariat, instead of traditional clothing. While women tended to 
maintain traditional costumes, they often abandoned the Slovenian language, even in 
their homes, in favour of the Italian dialect. Godina also points to villages further from 
the city, such as Križ, where a shift towards Italian cultural influences is evident. For 
instance, when asked about their reading habits, locals remarked, “Our people have 
turned more towards the Italian ones” (Godina, 1872: 289).
Godina lamented that many Slovenians in Trieste, despite the advancement of the 
national idea, remained “lukewarm”, or indifferent, to national feelings. This apathy 
extended even to those who engaged with the initiatives of national activists. One clear 
indication of this indifference was the decline in the number of reading rooms. At the 
time of Godina’s writing, only one čitalnica remained active in the Okolica, down 
from seven previously. Godina also noted a lack of interest in his book as a further 
sign of this indifference, not only in Trieste but among the Slovenian population more 
broadly. He had distributed the book in bundles to encourage its dissemination, but 
most of these were returned, including those sent to the reading rooms. Reflecting on 
this situation, Godina concluded, “the Slovenian nationality has awakened, but few 
felt and loved it yet” (Godina, 1872: 478).
In Vivante’s analysis, assimilation and nationalization emerge as central themes. He 
frequently mentions the social spaces and circumstances in which assimilation occurred, 
as well as the factors and situations that facilitated both assimilation and the awakening 
of national identity. The author highlights the existence of significant segments of society 
with weak, unstable, or non-existent national identities – groups that national activists 
targeted and sought to incorporate into their respective national spheres. Vivante also 
addresses the concept of “in-betweenness”, particularly the phenomenon of hybridism 
in Istria, which Kandler had also noted. Unlike the urban hybridism of Trieste, Istrian 
hybridism was “rural” in nature, occurring among the Slavic population living near 
towns. This hybridism arose from daily interactions with Italian towns but was more 
enduring than urban hybridism, which often led more quickly to Italian assimilation 
(Vivante, 1945: 171). The fluidity and instability of national identification in Vivante’s 
work is implicitly or explicitly evident across all contexts of national confrontation he 
discusses, from economics and society to education and politics.
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To conclude, we can observe that the nationalistic narratives presuppose ethnic or 
national communities as clearly defined entities. This perspective limits their utility 
in observing so-called in-between practices and spaces, i.e. situations and behaviours 
that occur outside formally defined ethnocultural codes, whether these behaviours are 
conscious-unconscious or deliberate-unintentional. Nonetheless, all the works implic-
itly and explicitly highlight the significant presence of such spaces, which played a 
crucial role in everyday life. The discussions also resonate with the aforementioned 
Angelo Vivante’s argument about inconsistency and misconception of rigid concepts 
of Italianness and Slovenianness (or Slavicness) as clearly defined national categories 
(Vivante, 1945: 128). To achieve an objective understanding of the multiethnic landscape 
of Trieste and the north-eastern Adriatic, it is essential to move beyond mythologized 
images and values, embracing a more nuanced view of identity and cultural interaction.
Acknowledgements
The article is a result of the Austrian-Slovenian bilateral project Discourses and Practices 
of the In-Between in the Alpine-Adriatic Region: Klagenfurt, Ljubljana and Trieste 
1815–1914 (N6-0294), funded by the Österreichische Wissenschaftsfond (FWF) and 
the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS) (2023–2026), and the research 
program National and Cultural Identity of Slovenian Emigration in the Context of 
Migration Studies (P5-0070), financed by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency.
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Pogledi sodobnikov na tržaško etnografijo v 19. in zgodnjem 20. stoletju
V prispevku je predstavljena analiza, kako so nekateri pisci v 19. in na začetku 
20. stoletja opisovali večetnični Trst in opredeljevali njegove jezikovne ter 
kulturne sestavine. Štirje italijanski in en slovenski pisec izražajo različna ra-
zumevanja narodnih razmerij in družbeno-ekonomskih ter političnih procesov v 
času uveljavljanja nacionalnih idej. V središču teh razmerij sta vprašanje izvora, 
oblikovanja in utemeljevanja narodnih identifikacij ter vprašanje narodnega in 
kulturnega nasprotovanja oziroma asimilacije. 
Narodno oziroma nacionalistično usmerjeni italijanski avtorji poudarjajo 
prvenstvo italijanskega jezika in kulture kot civilizacijski nasledek starega Rima 
in Benetk. S tega stališča postavljajo posameznike »druge« narodne in kulturne 
pripadnosti na hierarhično lestvico omike. Znameniti tržaški zgodovinar Pietro 
Kandler je sredi 19. stoletja opisoval italijanski značaj Trsta kot prevladujočo 
značilnost sicer kozmopolitskega mesta in trgovskega središča habsburškega 
cesarstva. Pacifico Valussi, ki je še leta 1849 sanjal o italijansko-slovanski 
Švici na vzhodnem Jadranu, je leta 1861 v manifestu iredentizma opredeljeval 
civilizacijsko razdaljo med izoblikovanim italijanskim narodom in komaj prebu-
jajočim se slovanstvom, ki naj bi bilo v Trstu in Istri obsojeno na italijanizacijo. 
Imperialistično usmerjeni iredentist Timeus je leta 1914 Trst slikal kot italijansko 
kulturno trdnjavo pod udarom nacionalističnega nasilja manjvrednega slovenstva 
Trieste Ethnographies in the Eyes of Contemporary Observers in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Traditiones     | 161
(slovanstva). To je zaradi nesposobnosti samostojnega razvoja izrinjalo itali-
janstvo in si prilaščalo njegovo civilizacijo. Slovenski narodnjak Josip Godina 
Verdelski se je osredinil na slovenski Trst, ki so ga italijanski pisci zamolčevali 
oziroma ga istili z nazadnjaškim in kulturno nedoraslim kmetstvom. Poudarjal je 
zgodovinski prispevek slovenskega prebivalstva k razvoju mesta, opozarjal pa 
je na omahljiv narodni čut v začetni fazi uveljavljanja slovenskega narodnega 
gibanja. Od vseh se razlikuje socialistično usmerjeni Angelo Vivante, ki je 
medetnične odnose in nacionalne spore opazoval z racionalnimi očmi inter-
nacionalističnega misleca in jih s stališča marksistične dialektike razlagal kot 
sestavni del uveljavljanja »kapitalistične civilizacije«.
V razpravi o oblikovanju, ohranjanju in spreminjanju družbenih, kulturnih 
in etničnih/narodnih identitet pisci opisujejo okoliščine in mehanizme teh 
dinamik. Kandler, Godina in Vivante poročajo tudi o vsakdanjih ravnanjih 
in okoliščinah, ki kažejo na odmik od izvornih identitet oziroma programsko 
opredeljenih vzorcev kulturne in narodne identifikacije. Tak primer je jezikovna 
hibridnost, ki jo Kandler in Vivante opredeljujeta kot prehodni pojav vgrajevanja 
prišlekov v prevladujočo italijansko jezikovno in kulturno tržaško okolje, v Istri 
pa kot trajnejšo značilnost obmestnih kmečkih območij. Godina piše o oblačilni 
kulturi in jezikovnih praksah prebivalstva slovenske okolice, ki se spreminjajo 
pod pritiskom družbeno-ekonomskih dejavnikov, a tudi zaradi pomanjkanja 
narodnega čuta. 
Besedila, ki izražajo stališča pripovedi o narodu in predpostavljajo etnične 
oziroma narodne skupnosti kot jasno opredeljene entitete, so le delno primerna 
za opazovanje odmikov od formalno opredeljenih narodno-kulturnih kod. Vsa 
upoštevana besedila pa eksplicitno in implicitno opozarjajo na pogostnost 
takšnih položajev, ki jih je treba vrednotiti z upoštevanjem specifičnih okliščin 
in zgodovinskih dejavnikov.