Province of Pola
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The Province of Pola (in Italian Provincia di Pola) was a province of the Kingdom of Italy created after WWI, that officially existed from 1923 until 1947.
Characteristics
The Province of Pola was divided in 1938 in 42 "Comuni" (municipalities) and had an area of 3,718 km2 with a population of 294,492 inhabitants (80 ab./km2).[1] It was located in the peninsula of Istria.
The 1921 Italian Census showed that in the Province there were 199,942 Italians (67%) and 90.262 Croats (23%), with 9% of Slovenians and Austrians, most of them former employees of the Hasburg empire. The city of Pola had 41,125 Italians (91%) e 5,420 Croats (9%). In the Province there was a small community of Istroromanians, concentrated around the Valdarsa area in central Istria.
Nearly 96% of the population was Catholic and they were members of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Parenzo and Pola, in those years under the "Arcidiocesi di Gorizia".
History
The Province of Pola was created in January 1923 with "Regio Decreto # 53" after Italy's victory in WWI that united Istria to the Kingdom of Italy: it was the former "Margraviato d'Istria" with the islands of Quarnaro, Cherso and Lussino.
Initially the province was made of all the areas of Istria, less Muggia and other small municipalities united to the Province of Trieste. But in 1924 the area of "Circondario di Volosca-Abbazia" -less the municipalities of Castelnuovo d'Istria and Matteria- was united to the Province of Fiume.[2]
Following the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918, Pola and the whole of Istria – except the territory of Castua – were assigned to Italy.[3]
Pola became the capital of the newly created "Province of Pola". The city's decline in population after World War I [4] was mainly due to economic difficulties caused by the withdrawal of Austro-Hungarian military and bureaucratic facilities and the dismissal of workers from the shipyard.
Under the Italian Fascist government of Benito Mussolini, non-Italians, especially Slavic residents, faced stringent political and cultural repression (as a retaliation for what happened to Italians before and during WWI), and many fled the city of Pola and Istria altogether. After the collapse of Fascist Italy in September 1943, the city and the province were occupied by the German Army. Consequently, the province was subjected to repeated Allied bombing from 1943 until the end of 1944. In the last phase of the war Pola and the province saw arrests, deportations and executions of people suspected of aiding the Tito's partisans, because of the Foibe mass killings they did.
In the early 1930s were improved the Ferrovia istriana and the railways station of Pola, while in 1935 was closed the Ferrovia Parenzana (an old narrow gauge railway). New navigation lines from Istria were added, mainly toward Trieste, Venice and Ancona; a weekly ship service that connected all the minor ports of Istria from Trieste to Pola and to Fiume was created. From 1935 the Adriatica di Navigazione connected with huge modern ships Pola with Zara and Ancona.
In the 1930s the Province of Pola enjoyed an economic revival based on minerary exploitation (coal in Valdarsa) and infrastructure investments.[5] The Via Flavia -from Trieste to Pola- was enlarged and reduced in distance; the railways were improved and the water facilities increased with the new "Acquedotto istriano".[6] The port and shipyard of Pola were increased with modern military facilities, while an airport was built in the same area.[7]
Even tourism stated to be increased, mainly to the Roman ruins of Pola: in 1938, the Italian region of Istria had 129,838 foreign visitors.[8]
List of "Comuni" (municipalities)
| N. | Name in Italian | Official # | Actual nation | Actual municipality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albona | A170 |  Croatia | Albona Santa Domenica | |
| 2 | Antignana | A311 | Croatia | Antignana San Pietro in Selve | |
| 3 | Arsa | A442 | Croatia | Arsa | Municipality created in 1937 |
| 4 | Barbana d'Istria | A624 | Croatia | Barbana | |
| 5 | Bogliuno | A924 | Croatia | Lupogliano | |
| 6 | Brioni Maggiore | B186 | Croatia | Pola | Municipality created in 1934 |
| 7 | Buie d'Istria | B260 | Croatia | Buie | |
| 8 | Canfanaro | B601 | Croatia | Canfanaro | |
| 9 | Capodistria | B665 |  Slovenia | Capodistria | [9] |
| 10 | Cherso | C601 | Croatia | Cherso | |
| 11 | Cittanova d'Istria | C748 | Croatia | Cittanova | |
| 12 | Dignano d'Istria | D301 | Croatia | Dignano | |
| - | Draguccio | D362 | Croatia | Cerreto | Eliminated in 1928 |
| 13 | Erpelle-Cosina | D465 | Slovenia | Erpelle-Cosina | Named Occisla-Clanzo before 1922 |
| 14 | Fianona | D563 | Croatia | Chersano | |
| 15 | Gimino | E032 | Croatia | Gimino | |
| 16 | Grisignana | E183 | Croatia | Grisignana | |
| 17 | Isola d'Istria | E355 | Slovenia | Isola | |
| 18 | Lussingrande | E765 | Croatia | Lussinpiccolo | |
| 19 | Lussinpiccolo | E766 | Croatia | Lussinpiccolo | [10] |
| 20 | Maresego | E942 | Slovenia | Capodistria | |
| 21 | Montona | F683 | Croatia | Montona Caroiba | |
| 22 | Neresine | F869 | Croatia | Lussinpiccolo | Municipality created in 1924 |
| 23 | Orsera | G127 | Croatia | Orsera San Lorenzo Fontane | |
| 24 | Ossero | G177 | Croatia | Lussinpiccolo | |
| 25 | Parenzo | G322 | Croatia | Parenzo Torre-Abrega | [11] |
| 26 | Paugnano | G380/F495 | Slovenia | Capodistria | Renamed Monte di Capodistria in 1927 |
| 27 | Pinguente | G675 | Croatia | Pinguente | |
| 28 | Pirano | G700 | Slovenia | Pirano | |
| 29 | Pisino | G709 | Croatia | Pisino Gallignana Pedena | [12] |
| 30 | Pola | G778 | Croatia | Pola Fasana Lisignano Marzana Medolino | [13] |
| 31 | Portole | G915 | Croatia | Portole | |
| 32 | Rovigno | H619 | Croatia | Rovigno | Renamed Rovigno d'Istria in 1924 |
| 33 | Rozzo | H624 | Croatia | Pinguente | |
| 34 | Sanvincenti | I386 | Croatia | Sanvincenti | |
| 35 | Silun Mont'Aquila | I733/E440 | Croatia | Lanischie | Renamed Lanischie in 1929 |
| 36 | Umago | L491 | Croatia | Umago | |
| 37 | Valdarsa | L533 | Croatia | Chersano | New city created for Istroromanians in 1923. A section was named Susgnevizza before 1922 |
| 38 | Valle d'Istria | L602 | Croatia | Valle | |
| 39 | Verteneglio | L793 | Croatia | Verteneglio | |
| 40 | Villa Decani | L932 | Slovenia | Capodistria | Named Villa Decani before 1922 |
| 41 | Visignano | M074 | Croatia | Visignano | Renamed Visignano d'Istria in 1925 |
| 42 | Visinada | M075 | Croatia | Visinada Castellier-Santa Domenica |
See also
Notes
- ↑ Annuario Generale 1938-XVI, Consociazione Turistica Italiana. Milano,1938 p. 661
- ↑ R.D.L. 22 febbraio 1924, n. 213. s:R.D.L. 22 febbraio 1924, n. 213 - "Istituzione della provincia del Carnaro con capoluogo Fiume" (Creation of Province of Carnaro)
- ↑ Cresswell, Atkins & Dunn 2006, p. 117.
- ↑ The 1910 Austrian census recorded in the city of Pola a population of 58,562 -with 45.8% Italian speaking and 15.2% Slavs- while in 1921 Pola had only 49,000 inhabitants.(Kocsis, Károly; Az etnikai konfliktusok történeti-földrajzi háttere a volt Jugoszlávia területén; Teleki László Alapítvány, 1993 ISBN 963-04-2855-5)
- ↑ Acquedotto istriano (in Italian)
- ↑ Map of Acquedotto istriano
- ↑ Enciclopedia Treccani: Istria (http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/istria_res-18760e7c-87e6-11dc-8e9d-0016357eee51_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/)
- ↑ Anton Gosar (University of Primorska, Slovenia): The development or tourism in Istria
- ↑ In 1910 78,8% of inhabitants were Italians and 19.2% Slovenians.
- ↑ In 1921 68% of inhabitants were Italians and 15% Croats.
- ↑ In 1921 75% of inhabitants were Italians, 5% Slovenians and 20% Croats.
- ↑ In 1921 39% of inhabitants were Italians, 2.5% Slovenians and 57% Croats.
- ↑ In 1921 71% of inhabitants were Italians and 20% Croats.
