Initially, I have analysed collective memories in this region from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present by investigating the memory landscapes of three northern Adriatic port-cities: Trieste/Trst in Italy, Koper/Capodistria in Slovenia, and Rijeka/Fiume in Croatia. The first phase was aimed at familiarize with the relevant secondary literature, while the second phase was mostly dedicated to archival research. The first results have revealed the inadequacy of a strict urban perspective. Therefore, I have enlarged my analytical approach, to include a larger portion of the region which includes urban and non-urban or semi-urban areas. Especially in an area where historiography has often adopted strict ethnic and territorial divisions, this vision demonstrates the fruitfulness of an entangled approach. Thus, I have approached local cultures of remembrance and national politics of memory from a comparative and transnational perspective. In terms of content I have concentrated mainly on three subgroups of memory sites linked to three different historical moments: Imperial Sites of Memory, Sites of Memory of World War I and Sites of Memory of World War II.
Methodologically I have linked memory and border studies which proved to be especially useful. The continuous territorial rearrangements and national affiliations of the northern Adriatic throughout the twentieth century and the constant change of its population revealed the necessity to revisit traditional methodological frameworks. This precarious institutional setting throughout the twentieth century produced an overlapping of collective identifications, individual memories, invented traditions and contrasting symbols that shaped the local memoryscapes. I have collected these data especially through archival material and primary literature related to personal memories. Giving voice to these memories has shown continuities and ruptures of remembering as well as forgetting by different groups and individuals.
These results have been included in my book (Borderlands of Memory, Peter Lang, Oxford, 2019), articles and book chapters. Special emphasis was dedicated to the dissemination of my work at international workshops and conferences (Memory studies association, Madrid 2019, Association for Borderlands Studies World Conference, Vienna/Budapest 2018, etc.), seminars (South-East European Studies Seminar at UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies, London 2018, etc.) and talks (EUI Florence 2017, TUFS Tokyo 2018) in the region (Koper, Trieste, Rijeka, Pula, Zadar) and outside it (Rome, Padua, Genoa, Washington, Göttingen, Belgrade, Skopje, Sarajevo). However, following the trend of public history, particular attention was given to non-academic public; therefore, I have participated in the education of schoolteachers and in several roundtables organized by NGO’s and cultural associations. Moreover, I’ve presented my work on radio, TV and local newspapers in both, Italy and Slovenia. Thus, I've disseminated the results of my work in the academic sphere and among the general public.
