Introduction

The main interest of this paper is to explore the relationship between tourism and political ideology with a case study of the Venezia Giulia region, From the end of World War I to the end of World War II, Venezia Giulia was an Italian region. Between 1923 and 1947, the region was divided into five provinces; Trieste/Trst, Gorizia/Gorica, Pula/Pola (Istra/Istria) and Rijeka/Fiume. After the Treaty of Paris (1947) and the Memorandum of London (1954), parts of the former region were annexed to Yugoslavia. the easternmost Italian region in the period between the two world wars. The purpose is to conduct a historical analysis of tourism development in the multi-ethnic eastern region of the Kingdom of Italy.

This study focuses on a period when significant political, economic, social, and cultural changes occurred in Europe – when the population faced the decline of old regimes, creation of new national states, and the radicalisation of national aspirations. This process influenced the tourism sector as well. The proposed research is based on the position that political ideology and tourism are interrelated since a specific ideology also justified and implemented its authority with the help of tourism. Italian fascism in Venezia Giulia has received considerable attention from Slovenian historians, See e. g. Jože Pirjevec, 'Trst je naš!'. Boj Slovencev za morje (1848–1954) (Ljubljana: Nova revija, 2008). Marta Verginella, Meja drugih. Primorsko vprašanje in slovenski spomin (Ljubljana: Modrijan, 2009). Milica Kacin-Wohinz and Marta Verginella, Primorski upor fašizmu: 1920–1941 (Ljubljana: Društvo Slovenska matica, 2008). Marta Verginella, Sandi Volk and Katja Colja, Ljudje v vojni: druga svetovna vojna v Trstu in na Primorskem (Koper: Zgodovinsko društvo za južno Primorsko, 1995). Egon Pelikan, Tajno delovanje primorske duhovščine pod fašizmom- Primorski krščanski socialci med Vatikanom, fašistično Italijo in slovensko katoliško desnico – zgodovinsko ozadje romana Kaplan Martin Čedermac (Ljubljana: Nova revija, 2002). but mostly from the perspective of the fascist repression and the resistance movement of the Slovenian population (which was, after World War II, also used to construct the Slovenian national remembrance). Some studies about tourism development in the region in the interwar period do exist, See e.g. Olga Janša-Zorn, “Turizem v Sloveniji v času med obema vojnama,” in Razvoj turizma v Sloveniji, ed. Franc Rozman and Žarko Lazarević (Ljubljana: Zveza zgodovinskih društev Slovenije, 1996), 78–95. Metod Šuligoj, ed., Retrospektiva turizma Istre (Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem, 2015). but only a few deal with the interrelation between the totalitarian political ideology and tourism as a tool for national affirmation. For Istria and Dalmatia, see e.g. Maura Hametz, “Replacing Venice in the Adriatic: Tourism and Italian Irredentism 1880–1936,” Journal of Tourism History 6, No. 2–3 (2014): 107–21. In the Italian perception, especially political, this region represented its now “redeemed” provinces that were associated to the long Venetian presence and heritage, which was used as a justification for their territorial appetites since the 19th century. Hametz’s article focuses on the role of tourism in the identification of the Venetian heritage of Istria and Dalmatia as Italian. For Libya and Albania, see e.g. Stephanie Malia Hom, “Empires of Tourism Travel and Rhetoric in Italian Colonial Libya and Albania 1911–1943,” Journal of Tourism History 4, No. 3 (2012): 281–300. For Libya, see e.g. Ester Capuzzo, “”Visitate la Libia”. Il turismo nella Quarta Sponda tra le due guerre mondiali,” Nova Historica, No. 56 (2016): 3–35. If we focus on the case of Italy, we can identify such examples also in other Italian regions For South Tyrol, see e.g. Stefano Morosini, “I rifugi Alpini dell'Alto Adige/Südtirol dalla fruizione turistica al presidio nazionale (1918–1943),” in Krieg und Tourismus im Spannungsfeld des Ersten Weltkrieges, ed. Patrick Gasser, Andrea Leonardi and Gunda Barth-Scalmani (Innsbruck: Studien Verlag, 2014), 181–207. Annunziata Berrino and Ewa Kawamura, “Grande guerra nell'area Sudtirolese: i mutamenti di una regione turistica e il dibattinto che li accompagna,” in Krieg und Tourismus im Spannungsfeld des Ersten Weltkrieges, ed. Patrick Gasser, Andrea Leonardi and Gunda Barth-Scalmani (Innsbruck: Studien Verlag, 2014), 271–92. Patrizia Battilani, “L'impatto della guerra sull'immagine turistica dei luoghi: il caso del Trentino e dell'alto Adige,” in Krieg und Tourismus im Spannungsfeld des Ersten Weltkrieges, ed. Patrick Gasser, Andrea Leonardi and Gunda Barth-Scalmani (Innsbruck: Studien Verlag, 2014), 33–54. and colonies. See e.g. Hametz, “Replacing Venice in the Adriatic,” 107–21. In the Italian perception, especially political, this region represented its now “redeemed” provinces that were associated to the long Venetian presence and heritage, which was used as a justification for their territorial appetites since the 19th century. Hametz’s article focuses on the role of tourism in the identification of the Venetian heritage of Istria and Dalmatia as Italian. For Libya and Albania, see e.g. Stephanie Malia Hom, “Empires of Tourism,” 281–300. For Libya, see e.g. Capuzzo, “Visitate la Libia,” 3–35. The Italian political discourse of this period attributed an important role to tourism, especially when in 1926, the Aziende autonome di cura, soggiorno e turismo (Bureau for Health, Holidays and Tourism) – i.e. the tourist management institutions/enterprises – were established by the state in the communities that offered tourist services or already had the status of tourist destinations and were considered as “una delle più grandi benemerenze del Regime fascista nei confronti del turismo”: one of the greatest merits of the fascist regime regarding tourism. Annunziata Berrino, “La nascita delle Aziende Autonome e le politiche di sviluppo territoriale in Italia tra le due guerre,” Storia del turismo, Annale, No. 5 (2005): 38. The Aziende Azienda autonoma di cura, soggiorno e turismo were established by the Law, with the RDL (Regio decreto legge) of 15 April 1926, No. 765. “Provvedimenti per la tutela e lo sviluppo dei luoghi di cura di soggiorno o di turismo,” accessed on 15 July 2020, http://www.edizionieuropee.it/LAW/HTML/89/zn96_02_001.html. The Aziende were the administrative organisation of tourism and health localities. In ENIT (Ente nazionale industrie turistiche), L' assetto delle stazioni di cura, di soggiorno e di turismo: R. decreto-legge 15 aprile 1926, n. 765 (Rome: Tipografia del Senato, 1926), 9. In fact, tourism was considered the second most important industry in the country (after agriculture). This was stated by Fulvio Suvich, an important Italian politician and diplomat during the fascist period. He was also the Government Commissioner for the ENIT. – Richard J. B. Bosworth, “Tourist Planning in Fascist Italy and the Limits of a Totalitarian Culture,” Contemporary European History 6, No. 1 (1997): 15. Petra Kavrečič, “'Sacro pellegrinaggio'. Visits of World War I Memorials on the Soča/Isonzo Front in the Interwar Period,” Etnološka tribina 40, No. 47 (2017): 153, 154.

Italian fascism as a political system and especially its leader were aware of the significant potential for economic progress and social well-being (expansion of the social accessibility of tourism supply) that could be accomplished through tourism. At the same time, tourism served as a regime propaganda tool at home and abroad. Bosworth, “Tourist Planning,” 15. In the contested areas of the territories newly acquired after World War I (such as Venezia Giulia and South Tyrol), another agenda was related to tourist sites – the construction of the Italian national identity. The presented arguments will be studied in this paper. In fact, the territory under discussion represents an exceptional case study, since it was, during this period, subject to significant changes as it passed from one state and political entity (the Habsburg Monarchy, later Austria-Hungary) to another (the Kingdom of Italy). This drastically changed not only the national “affiliation” but also the attitude towards nationality and consequently towards the national economy and its correlations, ideas, and goals. The theoretical background places the core analysis of tourism development in Venezia Giulia in the framework of the Italian fascist system, which strongly popularised this activity as well. The study is thus faced with a so far mostly neglected topic and the assumption that tourism did not develop in this region. Therefore, in this regard, the present study will attempt to determine how the totalitarian regime in the researched region “used” tourism for the affirmation of its ideology. It will also explore how tourism managed to adjust itself to the new political circumstances; whether it succeeded in improving the supply in light of the new tourist market demand; and how did the various typologies of tourism supply manage to come together. It will also address a new tourism segment in the region; the way in which it managed to position itself in the territory under consideration; and whether it attained any tourist significance. These aspects represent a completely new perspective of the understanding of the economic history in the studied territory as well as of the influence of the economy on the social identity of this territory.

Tourism as a Regime Propaganda Tool

In the decades between the two World Wars, certain processes that characterised and encouraged tourism development were present on both the European and global scale. As already stated, tourism trends were gradually moving towards the less privileged social strata of the population. The research of the selected case studies the role of the state – in this instance the fascist regime – in the development of tourism in Venezia Giulia. The goal is to understand the crucial processes and relationships established between tourism and the political ideology in the interwar period when in Italy, even tourism was considered to be subject to the totalitarian state. Tourism was also seen as a part of the totalitarian system: “everything was for the state, nothing was outside the state, no one was against the state”. – Bosworth, “Tourist Planning,” 9. In fact, the studied area offers an excellent background for researching the aforementioned phenomena. In a broader thematic framework, it will help to provide the context regarding the interest of the political authorities in controlling and using tourism to enable a better consolidation and promotion of their regime. Fascism as well as Nazism and communism attempted to create and maintain a loyal population affiliated to the cult of the state or emperor, also through sports and recreation activities. The emphasis was on the youth population (e.g. children colonies; Opera Nazionale Balilla, ONB/Italian Fascist Youth Organisation established in 1926) and workers, which is evident from the targeted use of leisure time (Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro, OND/National Recreational Club established in 1925) where people would gather at sports activities and excursions. Italy employed the same approach to “instrumentalising” tourism in its other provinces (South Tyrol) and colonies (Albania, Libya). In 1933, Nazi Germany established a similar programme or section called Strength through Joy ( Kraft durch Freude, KdF), KdF was the subsidiary of the Deutsche Arbeitsfront. See: Kristin Semmens, Seeing Hitler's Germany: Tourism in the Third Reich (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005). Shelley Baranowski, Strength Through Joy: Consumerism and Mass Tourism in the Third Reich (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004). which organised holidays and sports activities Hasso Spode, “Fordism, Mass Tourism and the Third Reich: The ʻStrength through Joyʼ Seaside Resort as an Index Fossil,” Journal of Social History 38, No. 1 (2004): 149. and where a considerable potential for spreading innovations in tourism could be seen. The movement’s aim was also to contribute to the growing popularity of group travel. Semmens, Seeing Hitler’s Germany, 121. In fact, the Nazi rhetoric contributed to a greater social “equality”, as on (during) vacation, the workers enjoyed the rights that had once been reserved solely for the upper class. The aim was to democratise the access to cultural property and practices of Germany’s upper and middle classes. Even though the aim was to popularise this practice among workers, most of the beneficiaries of the KdF offer indeed came from higher social classes. The poorest manual labourers did not really represent the majority of KdF costumers as the Nazi propaganda claimed. In Semmens, Seeing Hitler’s Germany, 108–9. Baranowski, Strength Through Joy, 66 and 197. Holidays were intended to promote the expansion of knowledge and love for the homeland. The organisation’s aim was also to integrate the working class into German society and consequently gain control over consumption in accordance with the political regime. The purpose was also to encourage tourism development and ensure its accessibility among all social strata of the population as well as promote sports activities and the regime abroad. Spode, “Fordism, Mass Tourism,” 136. See also Semmens, Seeing Hitler’s Germany, 12. In her book, the author claims that “within the field of foreign policy, international tourism had a special role: to convey the ‘truth’ about Germany to guests from abroad. Through tourism, Nazi Germany would persuade the international community of its peaceful intention”. Fascist Italy employed a similar approach. The Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro (OND) Its aim was “to promote a new national identity”, and it also sponsored tours. In Victoria De Grazia, The Culture of Consent: Mass Organisation of Leisure in Fascist Italy (Cambridge University Press, 2009), 179. was established with the purpose of increasing the quality of life of workers and their families. Among other goals, it also took care of the mental and spiritual health of the Italian population through sports activities, excursions, and tourism. Aldo Agosteo and Antonio Sereno, Fascismo e turismo (politica e storia del turismo sociale) (Viterbo: Editrice Agnesotti, Collana della SIST, 2007), 59. The regime propaganda and creation of the exemplary citizen contributed to the promotion of vacationing. The introduction of sabato fascista (fascist Saturday) – free Saturday afternoons for workers – enabled these people to take advantage of their free time, which, of course, played in favour of tourism. The concern was not focused only on workers but also on the youth – the future generations of fascists. The Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) took care of children’s education (along with the schools) and emphasised physical activity. It was also active in the field of youth integration in tourism: sports competitions throughout the country helped expand travel; staying outdoors – camping – was encouraged; and in every community, a Balilla house (Casa Balilla) was built. The organisation also promoted winter sports (in 1928, the ONB established the Federazione Italiana degli Sport Invernali/Italian Association of Winter Sports). The ONB (and later, as of 1937, the Gioventù Italiana del Littorio, GIL) organised colonies for children at the seaside and mountain destinations. In 1927, 420 colonies with 80.000 participating children were organised throughout Italy; while in 1938, already as many as 4.357 colonies with 772.000 children all over the country participated. The colonies were also organised in other localities such as lakes, valleys, rivers, and thermal destinations. Agosteo and Sereno, Fascismo e turismo, 69. In the interwar period, Italy did not only encourage domestic (social) tourism, but also the influx of foreign tourists. Tourism was given important recognition in various fields: in the economic sector as well as the political and national discourse. In a secret report sent to Mussolini in 1931, Suvich, the Government Commissioner for the ENIT, emphasised the important political role played by tourism, as “it constitutes the very best propaganda [of fascism] and the most effective denial of absurd foreign calumnies against our country”. Bosworth, “Tourist Planning,” 15. In the present paper, this context will be studied in the case of Venezia Giulia.

The “Old” and “New” Tourist Destinations in Venezia Giulia

A decrease in tourist activities was recorded in the first years of the post-war period, especially due to the significant changes regarding the state borders that also affected the territory of the new Italian region Venezia Giulia. In the first years after the war, a decline in tourism was characterised by the lack of “old” tourists from Central Europe, who had not yet been sufficiently replaced by Italian tourists.

The end of World War I exposed the tourism sector to several changes that determined the end of élite tourism and the rise of its massivisation. The period represents a key phase in tourism development, as it gradually acquired a more socially accessible character. Political regimes played an important role in this process as well, especially because they encouraged the development of tourism as a political propaganda tool. On the one hand, tourism development in the interwar period faced changes, upgrades, and the intensification of its accessibility and supply; while, on the other hand, 20 th-century tourism was also employed by different political systems (fascism, Nazism, and communism) as a tool for the affirmation and promotion of their ideologies. After World War I, the new ideologies steered tourism development in a new direction, distancing it from its previous elite character. Tourism was becoming increasingly socially accessible, which was also the idea of the post-war regimes that had originated from socialist ideas. These systems attempted to expand the social rights of their populations, also by ensuring the possibility of leisure time playing sports or enjoying vacations. This was also an efficient tool to bolster the popular support for the regime and “control” the population.

Nevertheless, “control” over tourism did not only occur in the 20th century: European countries had interfered with its regulation as of the 19th century – since the very first signs of a positive economic impact. In the former Austria-Hungary, the state (through the responsible Ministries) founded regional associations and societies for the promotion of tourism, which subsequently played their defining roles. In the multi-ethnic territory of Austria-Hungary, we can also identify the role of tourism as a means of national affirmation. This is also implied by Judson, who states that German nationalists “used” tourism to achieve a higher level of the national identity awareness of German-speaking Austrians, which was also facilitated through the establishment of German societies. Similar arguments – in favour of the affirmation of their own national presence – were also used by the Czechs, Slovenians, and Italians who lived in these territories. Pieter Judson, “'Every German Visitor Has a Völkisch Obligation He Must Fulfill': Nationalist Tourism in the Austrian Empire, 1880–1918,” in: Histories of Leisure, ed. Rudy J. Koshar (Oxford, New York: Berg, 2002), 150. Pieter M. Judson, Guardians of the Nation. Activists on the Language Frontiers of Imperial Austria (Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2007). As pointed out by Wolff regarding the Austro-Hungarian Dalmatia, “…important international exchanges concerning the national aspirations of the South Slavs in Dalmatia took place in the context of the development of modern tourism in ‘delightful’ Dalmatia”, Larry Wolff, Venice and the Slavs: The Discovery of Dalmatia in the Age of Enlightenment (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001), 349. which represents another case of tourism used for national affirmation.

After World War I, the consolidation of the national affiliation “aided” by tourism increased. The present paper tries to determine how strongly the fascist ideology influenced tourism development (or “used” tourism for its political agenda) in the region of Venezia Giulia. Various types of tourism in this region – from the “traditional” seaside, cave, and alpine tourism (which had been, even before World War I, strongly related to the construction and establishment of the national identity, also through alpine societies) Borut Batagelj, “Odkritje gora: strukturne spremembe v dojemanju gora na Slovenskem do začetka 20. stoletja,” Ekonomska i Ekohistorija VI, No. 6 (2010): 124–42. See also Peter Mikša and Kornelija Ajlec, Slovensko planinstvo = Slovene mountaineering (Ljubljana: Planinska zveza Slovenije, 2015). Peter Mikša, “Gradnja slovenske nacionalne identitete na podlagi t. i. nacionalnega boja v gorah” in Simpozij v spomin dr. Milanu Ževartu: zbornik povzetkov 2. simpozija v spomin dr. Milanu Ževartu (Velenje, 15 November 2018), 19. – can be traced to the “new” destinations featuring war monuments and cemeteries related to the construction of the Italian national discourse in this territory.

In 1919, the Ente nazionale industrie turistiche (ENIT)/Italian National Tourist Board, financed by the state, was established in Italy. After the end of World War I, an increased “sense of urgency about the need to formalize a tourist industry” and the idea that “governments should and could interfere, to the national benefit, in commercial enterprise” appeared in Italy. In: Bosworth, “Tourist Planning,” 3 and 8. During the interwar period, the ENIT played an important role in the tourism sector, which also included the territories annexed to Italy after World War I. The aim was to promote visits to Italy among both local and international tourists and to establish Italy as a modern tourist destination. The idea was to “bring tourism to the people”. Ibid., 6. Soon after the first years of decline in tourism, visits to Italy by foreign tourists, including those from the former Austria-Hungary (e.g. Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Austria, and Hungary) began to increase. The main concern was to re-establish tourism in the regions of Trentino, South Tyrol, and Venezia Giulia, because while they had become part of Italy, these regions had originally generated significant income from Austrian and German tourists, which was particularly common at the prominent spa and seaside destinations. Kavrečič, “Sacro pellegrinaggio,” 151, 52. Bosworth, “Tourist Planning,” 3, 4. The ENIT’s offices were thus opened across the country (and abroad) Ibid., 7. – also in Venezia Giulia (Reka/Fiume, Opatija/Abbazia, Trst/Trieste), where the promotion of seaside destinations, caves, and World War I memorials were prioritised.

As already mentioned, part of the territory of Venezia Giulia joined the new state as an established tourist destination. In fact, in terms of tourism, it was one of the most developed parts of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire with a well-organised and structured offer and services. However, during the interwar period, the area had not yet been adequately addressed in the context of tourism development. A significant transformation of seaside resorts in Italy can also be noted in the case of Rimini, where the extensive evolution of tourist facilities (accommodation, entertainment) and increase of tourist visits was present throughout the interwar years. The state leader, who spent his holidays in Rimini, also played an important role in this development. In Patrizia Battilani and Francesca Fauri, “The Rise of a Service-Based Economy and Its Transformation: Seaside Tourism and the Case of Rimini,” Journal of Tourism History 1, No. 1 (2009): 27–48. Opatija/Abbazia, Portorož/Portorose, Lošinj/Lussin, Lovran/Laurana, and Brijuni/Brioni were considered the pearls of the Austrian Riviera (the so-called seaside of the Austrian Littoral) and enjoyed considerable popularity amongst tourists. Petra Kavrečič, Turizem v Avstrijskem primorju: zdravilišča, kopališča in kraške jame (1819–1914), 2. dopolnjena izdaja (Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem, 2017). After World War I, the territory faced the loss or change of the tourist market: the once domestic (Austro-Hungarian) tourists had now become foreign tourists. On the other hand, the coastal part of the “redeemed” region ( terre redenti) had become just one of the many Italian seaside destinations. However, since this territory represented the Italian eastern multi-ethnic contested province, it is my opinion that this territory was of strategic importance for the “construction” of the Italian national identity. In the previous historical and tourism studies, it is commonly interpreted that Italy was not particularly interested in promoting tourism development in the region. In this study, however, I rely on the assumption that Italy wanted to increase the sense that this territory belonged to the Italians and that tourism was an appropriate tool to achieve this goal. See also Kavrečič, “Sacro pellegrinaggio,” 151, 152.

After World War I, the fashion of leisure in seaside locations increased notably and eventually became one of the most popular leisure activities in the interwar period. During this time, the attitude towards swimming and sunbathing changed in a positive way and now played the central role in the perception of holidays (also by the middle and lower social class). This enabled the Mediterranean destinations (where the aforementioned locations are situated) to become the most popular sites for leisure activities. See also Kavrečič, Turizem v Avstrijskem primorju. Orvar Löfgren, On Holiday. A History of Vacationing (Berkley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 2002). In the first post-war years, the seaside tourist locations faced a decrease in tourist visits, yet we can see (from Table 1) that by the mid-1920s, the situation had recovered. The considerable influx of tourists in 1925 was attributed to the Anno Santo (Holy Year) of 1925. See also Petra Kavrečič and Milan Radošević, “Na morje! Izzivi turističnega razvoja v Istri v času Avstro-Ogrske in italijanske uprave s posebnim ozirom na leto 1925,” Zgodovina za vse 24, No. 2 (2017): 21–40.

In order to increase the impact of tourism on the economy, larger investments were needed for the promotion of attractive destinations and localities. The ENIT encouraged various types of marketing activities in this region. In 1925, the Ufficio Viaggi e Turismo/Office for Travel and Tourism was established in Lovran/Laurana (Croatia). This was the third tourist office in the region (the two existing ones were in Reka/Fiume and Opatija/Abbazia). ENIT (Ente nazionale industrie turistiche), Relazione sull’attività svolta nell’anno 1925: propaganda, organizzazione, statistica, consorzio degli uffici di viaggio e turismo, bilancio (Rome: Tipografia del Senato, 1926), 73. Another ENIT office, located in Trst/Trieste, covered the whole Venezia Giulia region. Based on the ENIT’s annual reports of tourist income in the region, the Trst/Trieste office reported a lower number of tourist visits in its area with the exception of the “classic” summer season at the seaside resorts of Portorož/Portorose and Brijuni/Brioni islands. Indeed, most of this office’s promotion efforts targeted the summer seaside destinations Ibid., 85, 86. through its representative/information offices in Portorož/Portorose, Pula/Pola, Grado/Gradež, and Brijuni/Brioni. These offices also cooperated with the Ente provinciale per il turismo per la Provincia d'Istria/Provincial Tourist Board in Istria, established in 1936. Metod Šuligoj and Zorana Medarić, “Turistični prevozi, potovanja in izleti na obali severne Istre od 19. stoletja dalje = Turistički prijevozi, putovanja i izleti na obali sjeverne Istre od 19. stoljeća dalje,” in Retrospektiva turizma Istre, ed. Metod Šuligoj (Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem, 2015), 61. It is important to emphasise that in 1925, only another 14 such boards existed in the whole Kingdom of Italy, which shows how important and strategic the eastern Italian territory was in the opinion of the state. In ENIT, 74. Kavrečič and Radošević, “Na morje!,” 21–40. On the local level, other societies were established, for example the Società per il promovimento dei forestieri nella Venezia Giulia/Society for the Promotion of Tourist Visits in Venezia Giulia (since 1921). It was important to promote the development of tourism at the seaside resorts for domestic and foreign visitors.

An important step was taken in 1925 when the decree regarding the standards for hotels was issued. The decree established the mandatory requirements for the implementation of hygiene and health improvements. The ENIT oversaw the promotion and awarding of subsidies or other aid initiatives, aimed at the hotel locations that were insufficiently or inadequately provisioned for the needs of tourism. It also recommended the issuing of opportune agreements with provincial doctors, giving preference to those hotels that had higher standards of sanitation according to the regulations. RD (Regio decreto) 24 May 1925, No. 1102. “Approvazione del regolamento per le migliorie igieniche negli alberghi,” accessed on 15 July 2020, http://www.comune.jesi.an.it/MV/leggi/rd1102-25.htm: L'Ente provinciale per il turismo, nel promuovere o incoraggiare con premi, sovvenzioni od altro ausilio iniziative intese a dotare di alberghi luoghi che ne siano privi o che ne siano provvisti solo in modo inadeguato ai bisogni del turismo, avrà cura, presi gli opportuni accordi col medico provinciale, che sia data la preferenza a quelle atte a conseguire meglio le finalità igieniche a cui intendono le disposizioni del presente regolamento. The new hotels had to be located in “healthy” environments where the high hygiene and sanitary standards were met. In the case of Istria, the poor supply of clean water and the persistent presence of infectious diseases represented a serious obstacle to tourism development outside the established destinations. Even existing destinations faced challenges stemming from the defamatory news about the alleged spread of malaria in foreign newspapers. Kavrečič and Radošević, “Na morje!,” 21–40.

The extent to which tourism development was prioritised is also attested to by the initiatives taken by politically influential personalities. The Italian senator (since 1923) and engineer Ugo Ancona emphasised not only the hygiene standards of the accommodation facilities but also the importance of good road infrastructure and transfers. He also pointed out the necessity to provide enough comfort and leisure activities for tourists, since – in his opinion – it was important to attract wealthier visitors. Ibid., 26. Although tourism development was oriented towards the less privileged social classes, Ancona’s aim was still to target wealthier visitors, who could bring greater financial benefits to the state. On the other hand, the number of seaside colonies for children increased in this period (e.g. also through associations such as the Commissione del Turismo Scolastico nella provincia di Capodistria/Commision for School Tourism in the Province of Koper), Šuligoj and Medarić, “Turistični prevozi,” 60, 61. which was a sign of tourist supply diversification. Nevertheless, the seaside tourist destinations managed to overcome the first post-war years. The number of visitors gradually increased – especially in 1925, when the number of guests almost reached (and in some cases exceeded) the pre-World War I numbers. However, these destinations did not completely succeed in attracting more domestic visitors, and most of the tourists that visited them still came from the Austrian, Hungarian, Yugoslavian and Anglo-Saxon lands, ENIT, 94. which means that the “old” guests were returning here regardless of the changed political situation.

Table 1: Number of guests at the seaside resorts in Venezia Giulia in 1913 and 1925 Kavrečič, “Sacro pellegrinaggio,” 302 and 310. Kavrečič and Radošević, “Na morje!,” 33. Livio Livi, L'economia della Regione Giulia nel 1926. Capitolo V. Il movimento dei forestieri (Trieste: Istituto statistico-economico annesso alla R. Università degli studi economici e commerciali di Trieste, 1926), 88.

Tourist resort Number of guests in 1913 Number of guests in 1925 Opatija/Abbazia 49,187 42,723 Portorož/Portorose 7,222 9,093 Lošinj (Mali in Veliki)/Lussin 8,469 5,845 Lovran/Laurana 11,950 8,481 Brioni 2,500 3,908

Underground caves, which also saw a constant increase in popularity during this period, represented yet another attraction of this region. From the viewpoint of tourism, Postojna Cave was still the most popular and recognised. This period was characterised by the investments in infrastructure (the railway system, enlargement of the cave entrance and paths, bridges) and greater tourist promotion (for the number of guests, see Table 2). In fact, the first Italian national speleological congress after the war took place in Postojna (and Trieste) in 1933. “Provvedimenti per la tutela”. After the acquisition of the former Austrian territories (including the cave in Postojna), the cave commission (Commissariato civile distrettuale di Postumia-Commissiorie amministrazione delle Grotte di Postumia) released the first post-war guidebook (in 1924). It is important to emphasise that the guidebook was not solely meant for tourism promotion, but was also a “tool” for the propaganda spread by the Italian regime: a significant part of the guidebook was dedicated to a historical overview from the Roman period until the repossession and restitution of these lands to its “Roman governance” ( Roma ritorna). This was a clear attempt to prove how this territory represented an integral part of the Italian national territory. Franc Habe, “Vodniška literatura Postojnske jame,” Naše jame, Glasilo društva za raziskovanje jam Slovenije 10/1968, No. 1–2 (1969): 26.

During this period, tourism was present in Škocjan Caves as well. After the end of World War I, the administration passed from the German and Austrian Alpine Society ( Deutsches und Österreichisches Alpenverein, DuÖAV) to the Italian Alpine Society ( Società Alpina delle Giulie, Sezione di Trieste, SAG, under the national Club Alpino Italiano, CAI). At this point, new regulations regarding the alpine and cave guides were implemented, specifying that guides could only register through the Italian Alpine Society. Matjaž Puc, Škocjanske jame pri Divači: kronika raziskovanj in turističnega obiska (Škocjan: PŠJ, 2015), 94. The cave was not reopened until 1923 (while tourist visits were not made possible until as late as 1925). The Society invested significant efforts into facilitating tourist visits (see Table 2) and furthering the underground research activities. To date, the tourism development of Škocjan Caves in the interwar period has been poorly studied. In 2018, Trevor Shaw released a new study, which provides insight into the development of cave tourism and management in the period between 1920 and 1940 See also Trevor Shaw, Škocjanske jame 1920–1940 (Ljubljana: Zalozba ZRC, 2018). and points out the unknown aspects of tourism development of the caves in this period. In this study, Shaw presents the changes and challenges faced by the new cave administration (SAG CAI) during the interwar period. Besides the promotion of tourism, the Alpine Society also drew up plans for the modernisation of the cave infrastructure (organisation of paths in the caves, placement of new signs and names of cave sections now named by Italian speleologists, placement of signposts from Divača towards the attraction, car parks, etc.). The new manager also envisioned new infrastructure such as the construction of a new bridge, footpaths, better lightning, and an elevator. Due to insufficient finances, the financial crisis in the 1930s, and the onset of World War II, not all of these plans were realised during this period Ibid. (Shaw 2018).

Table 2: The number of guests at the Venezia Giulia caves in 1913 and 1925. Kavrečič, Turizem v Avstrijskem primorju, 314. Livi, L'economia della Regione Giulia, 95. Puc, Škocjanske jame pri Divači, 88 and 96.

Cave Number of guests in 1913 Number of guests in 1925 Postojna cave/Grotte di Postumia 40,971 155,711 Škocjan caves/Grotte di San Canziano 3,312 4,580

The relatively “new” tourist offers in the region were related to the attractions associated with “disaster, suffering, violence, or death”. Metod Šuligoj, “Memories of War and Warfare Tourism in Croatia,” Annales, Ser. Hist. sociol. 26, No. 2 (2016): 260. This type of tourism is most commonly associated with dark tourism (as described by Lennon and Foley) or considered a form of thanatourism (as described by Seaton) Jennifer Iles, “Exploring Landscapes after Battle. Tourists at Home on the Old Front Lines,” in Writing the Dark Side of Travel, ed. Jonathan Skinner (New York – Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2012), 183. in “which issues such as remembrance, nationhood, family, honour and respect are regarded as integral aspects of tourist motivation and activity”. Caroline Winter, “Battlefield Visitor Motivations. Explorations in the Great War Town of Ieper, Belgium,” International Journal of Tourism Research 13 (2011): 173. In the territory of Venezia Giulia, tourism also turned towards World War I battlefields of the former Soča/Isonzo front (1915–1917).

The first known large-scale visits to battlefields were recorded after the battle of Waterloo, which is considered to have changed the British trips to Europe, See also A. V. Seaton, “War and Thanatourism: Waterloo 1815–1914,” Annals of Tourism Research 26, No. 1 (1999): 130–58. “although intensive development of battlefield tourism was initiated no earlier than the end of World War I”. Šuligoj, “Memories of War and Warfare Tourism in Croatia,” 260. Patrizia Battilani, “L’impatto della guerra sull’immagine turistica dei luoghi: il caso del Trentino e dell’alto Adige,” in Krieg und Tourismus im Spannungsfeld des Ersten Weltkrieges: Guerra e Tourismo nell’area di tensione della Prima Guerra Mondiale, ed. Patrick Gasser, Andrea Leonardi and Gunda Barth-Scalmani (Innsbruck: Studien Verlag, 2014), 249, 250. During this period, the tourist industry was in search of new potential markets, and considerable efforts were made in the area of battlefield tourism, although the promotion of these visits was strongly related to (secular) pilgrimages to war sites. See also Kavrečič, “Sacro pellegrinaggio,” 141–60. The intention was to stir up emotions among the potential Italian tourists and encourage them to visit these war sites. Andrea Leonardi, “La prima guerra mondiale e la vulnerabilità del fenomeno turistico,” in Krieg und Tourismus im Spannungsfeld des Ersten Weltkrieges: Guerra e Tourismo nell’area di tensione della Prima Guerra Mondiale, ed. Patrick Gasser, Andrea Leonardi and Gunda Barth-Scalmani (Innsbruck: Studien Verlag, 2014), 82, 83. Leonardi analyses the case of tourism in the Alpine area of the new Italian (former Austrian/Austro-Hungarian) territories and the effort made by the Italian state to influence visits to this area where World War I battles also took place. In the new political atmosphere, Italy was interested in affirming and justifying its presence in the region, which it accomplished through various institutions such as the national tourist organisation. The emphasis was on selected memories of Italian victories and on promoting the commemoration and glorification of sacrifice for the nation. Kavrečič, “Sacro pellegrinaggio,” 148. Questions such as “Who were these memorials for? Who were the visitors to war cemeteries and memorials (at Sredipolje/Redipuglia, Oslavje/Oslavia, Kobarid/Caporetto, and others)?” should be raised and addressed.

“Italianisation” of the Redeemed Lands

As already explained, we need to consider that the area under consideration was subject to significant changes in this period. First, World War I devastated the region where the battles between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies took place at the Soča/Isonzo Front. After the war, this region was annexed to Italy (in line with the 1920 Treaty of Rapallo), which symbolised not only the transition from one state to another but was also strongly marked by the Italian national ambitions to “Italianise” the region. In order to make this region ethnically Italian, the immigration of Italian teachers and officials into this territory was encouraged. The purpose was the so-called “ethnic bonification” – the settlement of Italians in the regions populated by Slovenians (and Croatians) as well as assisting these settlers in the confiscation of Slovenian land (economic structure) for Italian colonisation (through associations such as Ente per la Rinascita Agraria delle Tre Venezie). Jože Prinčič, “Primorsko in postojnsko gospodarstvo v času med obema vojnama,” Prispevki za novejšo zgodovino 49, No. 1 (2009): 173. The process of Italianising this territory took place in different areas, focusing on the political, economic, social, and cultural life. Efforts were also made in the tourism sector. In order to “make” this land Italian, much attention was paid to the particular segment of tourism related to World War I battlefields. A new market niche – the so-called ‘dark tourism’ – was introduced, related to the visits of battlefields (the Soča/Isonzo Front, the myth of the fallen soldier, sacred sites). The primary reason for these visits had nothing to do with tourism, but rather exhibited a memorial and commemorative character (secular pilgrimage of veterans and bereaved families) with a strong national note as well as patriotic and educational aspects. Gradually, these types of visits were integrated into the offers of tourist organisations, The ENIT supervised the tours to World War I battlefield sites since 1923. In: Bosworth, “Tourist Planning,” 7. which had a significant role in the creation of national identity in the contested border region of the easternmost Italian province. Issues that were addressed in Kavrečič, “Sacro pellegrinaggio,” 141–60. The war memorial visits garnered much attention from historiographers, Foreign and Slovenian: Gaetano Dato, “Lineamenti storiografici, memorie pubbliche e miti all’origine del sacrario di Redipuglia. La fondazione di un tempio della nazione,” Acta Histriae 18, No. 3 (2014): 399–424. Borut Klabjan, “Nation and Commemoration in the Adriatic: the Commemoration of the Italian Unknown Soldier in a Multinational Area: the Case of the Former Austrian Littoral,” Acta Histriae 22, No. 3 (2010): 695–714. Leonardi, “La prima guerra mondiale,” 57–98. George L. Mosse, Le guerre mondiali. Dalla tragedia al mito dei caduti (Rome; Bari: Edizioni Laterza, 2007). Kaja Širok, “Spomin in pozaba na obmejnem območju: predstave o Goriški preteklosti,” Acta Histriae 18, No. 1–2 (2010): 337–57. Kaja Širok, “Identitete, zgodovina in dediščina prostora – prakse spominjanja in komemoracije na Goriškem v XX. stoletju,” Acta Histriae 20, No. 4 (2012): 631–46. Fabio Todero, “Il culto del soldato caduto nella Venezia Giulia dalla Grande guerra al fascism,” in Regime fascista, nazione e periferie, ed. Anna Maria Vinci (Udine: Studi e documenti, 2010, 30), 51–68. Angelo Visintin, “Dalla Grande guerra al fascismo. L’ ipotesi della Vittoria sui campi di battaglia dell’Isonzo,” in Regime fascista, nazione e periferie, ed. Anna Maria Vinci (Udine: Studi e documenti, 2010, 30), 69–87. but with no references or studies of the impact of tourism and these visits or the transition from “pilgrimage” to “tourist” sites (more studies have been carried out by ethnologists and anthropologists, e.g. Eade and Katić). See e.g. John Eade and Mario Katić, ed., Military Pilgrimage and Battlefield Tourism. Commemorating the Dead (London, New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2017). So far, greater attention has been paid to the battlefield tourism related to the World War I Western Front memorial sites, See e.g. Jennifer Iles, “Encounters in the Fields – Tourism to the Battlefields of the Western Front,” Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change 6/2 (2008), 138–54. David William Lloyd, Battlefield Tourism. Pilgrimage and the Commemoration of the Great War in Britain, Australia and Canada, 1919–1939 (Oxford, New York: Berg, 1998). Tony Walter, “War Grave Pilgrimage,” in Pilgrimage in Popular Culture, ed. Ian Reader and Tony Walter (London: Palgrave, Macmillan, 1993), 63–91. Winter, “Battlefield Visitor Motivations.” but the territory of the today’s western Slovenia still needs to be taken into consideration. The Italian War Front (Tyrol and Soča/Isonzo) and the memorial sites in this territory seem to “represent a more nationally-oriented case of ‘tourism’ development, since the sacred sites were mostly visited by Italians for memorial purposes – as part of a (secular) pilgrimage for the bereaved families and sometimes ex-servicemen – as well as for patriotic and educational purposes”. Kavrečič, “Sacro pellegrinaggio,” 158. “These sites seem to have kept a more ‘local’ influence” Ibid. and it seems that the state was not able to supervise the battlefield tours effectively. Bosworth, “Tourist Planning,” 15.

The different aspects of tourism development should be considered (both chronologically and by type of tourism) and appointed adequately. During this period, the “old” tourist destinations (the seaside, the caves) with a tourist infrastructure put in place before World War I needed an incentive in terms of a promotional strategy. On the other hand, a plan of tourist development and promotion of the “new” segment of tourism (battlefields) still needed to be implemented (related to infrastructure, facilities, connections, etc.). Naturally, that required more extensive financial input. Nevertheless, we need to take into account that these destinations attracted a different type of visitor. All these aspects should be approached with an appropriate methodology, considering various typologies of sources (e.g. statistical data and tourist records can be used for seaside resorts and partly for caves; while memorial sources, war diaries, and registers kept by the societies that managed war graves and monuments are more suitable for World War I battlefields sites).

The Easternmost Italian Region, Further Investigation

The area of Venezia Giulia, the easternmost Italian region, represents a distinctive case study of the adaptation of tourism to new trends and political systems – in particular the transition from one state to another. This caused several changes in the political structure as well as from the national perspective, leading to migrations of the Slovenian (and Croatian) population from the region as well as to the immigration of Italians from other regions. The role of tourism in the fascist regime; the way in which it was interpreted and used as a tool for regime propaganda; Although, as argued by Bosworth, the question is whether the fascistisation of the tourist industry was entirely accomplished and whether tourism managed to become an obedient “body” of the totalitarian state? In Bosworth, “Tourist Planning,” 20. and the affirmation of the Italian national character of the border region of Venezia Giulia has not been thoroughly studied yet. I intend to analyse how the aforementioned tourism organisations operated in this territory. I am interested in how social tourism expanded here and whether the tourism industry – which had, until World War I, mostly targeted the elite – adjusted to the new circumstances and demand. As mentioned above (for example regarding Ugo Ancona and his efforts to attract wealthier tourists), this period was characterised by the diversification of tourist supply.

The Adriatic seaside destinations from the Austrian period – such as Opatija/Abbazia, Portorož/Portorose, Lošinj/Lussin, Lovran/Laurana and Brijuni/Brioni – were well-known and acclaimed destinations of the upper class. My interest is to explore how these localities managed to offer different types of supply on the tourist market (foreign guests still in search of “fashionable” destinations vs workers and children). In this sense, different aspects of tourism development will be underlined.

An important tourist activity – cave tourism – shows continuity since the preindustrial period, while successful development has also been evident in the period of modern tourism development. The Karst underground had enjoyed a long tradition of visits from foreign travellers, but intensive development – both in terms of cave research as well as tourist visits – took place during the 19 th century. Postojna Cave, the most recognised cave boasting the largest number of visitors, kept improving its visibility in the Italian period (see Table 2). Other caves such as Vilenica, Škocjan, and Divača experienced significant changes from the administrative point of view. With the exception of Vilenica, which had been administrated by the Italian Alpine Society even before World War I, the caves came under the jurisdiction of the Alpine Society, which was an important factor of regime propaganda and national affirmation. One of the measures implemented by the Society after its acquisition of the Škocjan Caves was to change the denominations of the cave sections. Shaw, Škocjanske jame, 25. Similar to seaside tourism, the development of cave tourism during the two World Wars has not yet been the subject of extended scientific research from the perspective discussed in this study.

As mentioned above, apart from the seaside and underground tourist destinations, another tourist segment will also be taken into consideration: the study of the former World War I battlefield visits. The Italian authorities promoted this activity, as the battlefields possessed a strong symbolic value and role in the construction or consolidation of the Italian national consciousness in the territory under consideration (e. g. the involvement of the youth population in this process – in the construction of national identity through memorial and educational visits of war sites).

The question of the main target groups of tourists will be addressed in the selected case studies of seaside locations, caves, and the former battlefield sites of the Soča/Isonzo Front. The study of tourism development will shed entirely new light on the history of the first half of the 20 th century in the studied territory as well as provide a valuable new starting point for new research in the context of other disciplines, e.g. urbanism (influence of tourism on spatial planning, urban expansion, regulation of water and sea, etc.), architectural history (introduction of new modern building types and thus also the introduction of the first examples of modernist architecture in this area), heritage studies (the importance of cultural heritage and monuments in tourist offer), anthropology of tourism (ongoing research in the context of the World War I anniversary at the Soča/Isonzo Front), etc.

Final Remarks

The paper proposes an analysis of tourist development in Venezia Giulia during the Italian fascist regime. Throughout history, the studied region has been subject to border changes and migration processes, as it represented a strategic interest zone of different, usually opposing political powers. Even if we only consider the 20th century, drastic border changes occurred in this area, reflected in the territory itself as well as in its population. World War I (the Soča/Isonzo Front) has left its mark on this area as well. After the war, this territory was once again subject to many changes in light of the collapse of the old regime (Austria-Hungary) and the onset of a new political reality, brought about by the Italian state. Additionally, the change of the state structure was subject to a new national structure, which was, in this period, characterised by a greater radicalisation of national ideas.

The development of tourism after World War I can be placed in the context of the political events and processes that took place during that period. Similarly to the political arena, the tourism industry faced crucial transitions. The end of the war marked the conclusion of the contemporaneous elite tourism – which had developed as a significant economic industry after the industrial revolution. The interwar period brought about a slow but efficient transition of the tourist industry. Despite the difficult post-war circumstances, Italy soon began to organise the field of tourism. The 1920s are even considered as the most important period for tourism development: a period of transition that changed the history of Italian tourism. Berrino, “La nascita delle Aziende Autonome,” 38. In fact, tourism development during these years is considered to have had a positive impact on the expansion of social accessibility, which means that also the lower social strata started to benefit from tourism services (mainly through the OND and the ONB). The accessibility and popularity of tourism gradually “expanded”.

This paper refers to a case study that investigates the extensive relationship between political power and ideology as well as between the economy and society. Within the study of the significant economic activity in which social and cultural relations are strongly integrated, it raises new research questions about the development processes described in the case study of the border and the disputed territory of Venezia Giulia during the interwar period. Such a study will outline the wider context of the social and economic development of the region and simultaneously recognise the influence of the fascist regime on tourism development. This means that the fascist doctrine will be explored from a new perspective.

The research questions – for example, how the regime managed to “shape” the tourist sector during the post-war period in Venezia Giulia; which target groups of tourists did it focus on; and how or whether the tourism industry managed to adjust to the new circumstances; and in what way and how did it (if it actually did) upgrade the tourist offer with new content (e.g. visits of World War I battlefields) – also open up entirely new thematic horizons in Slovenian historiography.

The results involved in such a study will contribute to a better understanding of the historical development of one of the most important and constantly growing economic industries in the world. The emphasis will be on analysing the efforts for the “nationalisation” of tourism and promotion of Italian tourist destinations in the new provinces as a direct reflection of the fascist ideology. Due to the need for the integration of the newly acquired territories into the Italian reality, the state aimed to prove the level of the Italianisation of this area and the continuity of its presence. In the Italian perception, especially political, this region represented the final “redemption” of the provinces that had been associated with the long Venetian presence and heritage, which was used as a justification for the Italian territorial appetites since the 19th century (especially by the irredentist movement). Such an in-depth study will thus offer a different evaluation of the studied period, which is, in the Slovenian historiography, mostly considered from the perspective of the national assimilation politics carried out by the fascist regime and the resistance movement of the Slovenian (and Croatian) population. The study aims to show the multiplicity of the Italian fascist system and its impact on the social and economic fields. It addresses these phenomena in a comprehensive analysis of the different typologies of tourist destinations, present in this area during the interwar period. It thus poses questions about the involvement of the radical national political ideology propaganda in the economic sector (tourism) in the region of Venezia Giulia.