Trieste

Trieste is a seaport city in north-eastern Italy at the 'top' end of the Adriatic Sea.  Prior to the First World War, Trieste belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, however with the Armistice, Trieste was occupied by the Italian Army and was officially annexed in 1920.

In the 1920s, the Slovene ethnic group (about 25% of the population) suffered persecution under rising Italian Fascism.  An official policy of Italianization was instituted, with public use of the Slovene language prohibited.  by 1920 all Slovene associations were dissolved, while names and surnames of Slavic and German origin were Italianized.

Italian Fascist "Blackshirts"