Katolička crkva i D’Annunzijeva okupacija Rijeke
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND D’ANNUNZIO’S OCCUPATION OF RIJEKA

Summary/Abstract: From the Church’s point of view, during Gabriele D’Annunzio’s rule (1919–1921) the city of Rijeka belonged to the Senj-Modruš diocese, but its political authorities attempted to attach it to Italy, which brought them into conflict with the Croatian clergy. The military curate, Reginaldo Giuliani, a Dominican, put himself square in the center of the public eye at the beginning of 1920 by blessing and surrendering a ceremonial dagger to Gabriele D’Annunzio. This episode has been recounted in the historiography, but until now, the role played by the Holy See and its representatives in Rijeka has remained completely hidden, which opened the door wide open to manipulation during the era of fascism and communism. This article brings to light previously unknown information about the activity of two representatives of the Holy See in Rijeka, Valentino Liva and Celso Costantini. That their activities contributed to a peaceful solution of the conflict and against the interests of D’Annunzio’s government is clear from the fact that one of these men became de facto undesirable in Rijeka.

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