Eighty years of the Lega Nazionale in defence of Trieste’s Italian identity

In 1946, Trieste was a city suspended between trauma and rebirth. Having just emerged from the dramatic forty-two days of Yugoslav occupation, and marked by the return of Tito’s forces on 12 June 1945 followed by the arrival of the Anglo-American Allies, the city could breathe again, yet remained immersed in deep uncertainty about its future.

It was in this context that, in 1946, the Lega Nazionale was reconstituted, with the aim of reaffirming—through cultural means—the Italian identity of Trieste.

Eighty years on from that crucial moment, the conference “1946: the Lega Nazionale rises again” was held yesterday afternoon in the Sala Maggiore of the Camera di Commercio Venezia Giulia in Piazza della Borsa, organised to commemorate that historical chapter.

Proceedings were opened by Vice-President Diego Guerin, who chaired the event and read a message from President Paolo Sardos Albertini, who was unable to attend for health reasons.

In his address, Albertini recalled how “the Lega Nazionale was reborn in 1946 with a clear mission: to defend the Italian identity of the city of San Giusto”, highlighting the association’s cultural role—already central during the Habsburg period—and its non-partisan nature, while maintaining close ties with local institutions. A commitment, he noted, that continues to this day.

During the conference, Professor Luca G. Manenti, Scientific Director of the “Manlio Cecovini Study Society”, offered a historical interpretation of the Lega as a cultural stronghold of Italian identity. In his remarks, he described the association as “the bulwark of the Italian soul”, active through schools and research initiatives until its incorporation into the Opera Nazionale Balilla in 1929, before re-emerging seventeen years later in a radically changed context. Particularly significant, he noted, was the February 1946 manifesto addressed to Italians of all political persuasions, with the exception of fascists.

Professor Stefano Pilotto (University of Udine) broadened the perspective by highlighting the remarkable level of public participation in the Lega’s revival: around 180,000 members, with peaks of up to 3,000 new registrations per day, transforming the association into a national and cultural forum for those who sought Trieste’s return to Italy.

The conference concluded with the screening of three archival films from the Paolo Venier collection, which vividly conveyed the atmosphere of those decisive years in the history of Trieste.

The initiative provided an important opportunity for historical reflection on the role played by the Lega Nazionale in the post-war period, underscoring its commitment to defending and promoting the Italian identity of the city.