The Italian Islands of the Aegean ( it, Isole italiane dell'Egeo; el, Ἰταλικαὶ Νῆσοι Αἰγαίου Πελάγους) were an archipelago of fourteen islands (the
Dodecanese
The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...
, except
Kastellorizo
Kastellorizo or Castellorizo (; el, Καστελλόριζο, Kastellórizo), officially Megisti ( ''Megísti''), is a Greek island and municipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean.Bertarelli, 131 It lies roughly off the south c ...
) in the southeastern
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
, that—together with the surrounding islets—were ruled by the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and ...
from 1912 to 1943 and the
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...
(under
German occupation) from 1943 to 1945. When the Kingdom of Italy was restored, they remained under formal Italian possession (under
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
occupation) until they were ceded in the
Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947
The Treaty of Paris between Italy and the Allied Powers was signed on 10 February 1947, formally ending hostilities between both parties. It came into general effect on 15 September 1947.
Territorial changes
* Transfer of the Adriatic islands ...
to
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
in 1947.
Background
The
Dodecanese
The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...
, except
Kastellorizo
Kastellorizo or Castellorizo (; el, Καστελλόριζο, Kastellórizo), officially Megisti ( ''Megísti''), is a Greek island and municipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean.Bertarelli, 131 It lies roughly off the south c ...
, were occupied by Italy during the
Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result ...
of 1912. Italy had agreed to return the islands to the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
according to the
Treaty of Ouchy in 1912; however the vagueness of the text allowed a provisional Italian administration of the islands, and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
eventually renounced all claims on the Dodecanese with Article 15 of the
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the con ...
in 1923.
The provisional Italian regime on the islands, titled "Rhodes and the Dodecanese" (''Rodi e Dodecaneso''), was originally in the hands of military governors, until the appointment on 7 August 1920 of Count Carlo Senni as the Viceroy of the Dodecanese (''Reggente del Dodecaneso'').
Following the end of World War I, Italy agreed twice, in the
Venizelos–Tittoni agreement of 1919 and the
Treaty of Sèvres
The Treaty of Sèvres (french: Traité de Sèvres) was a 1920 treaty signed between the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty ceded large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, Greece and Italy, as well ...
in 1920, to cede the islands to Greece except for Rhodes, which would enjoy extensive autonomy.
Due to the Greek embroilment and defeat in the
Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22, these agreements were never implemented.
Kastellorizo was temporarily occupied by France in 1915 and came under Italian control in 1921.
The Dodecanese islands were formally annexed by
Fascist Italy, as the ''Possedimenti Italiani dell'Egeo'' in 1923.
Italian interest in the Dodecanese was rooted in strategic purposes, and the islands were intended to further the Empire's long range imperial policy.
The islands of
Leros
Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flight fr ...
and
Patmos
Patmos ( el, Πάτμος, ) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where John of Patmos received the visions found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written.
One of the northernmos ...
were used as bases for the
Royal Italian Navy
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...
.
In 1932 the
Convention between Italy and Turkey was signed for some smaller islets around Kastellorizo.
Administrative policies
Starting in 1923, civil governors replaced the military commanders. The Italian politics towards the native population had two phases: while governor
Mario Lago
Mario Lago (1878, in Savona – 1950, in Capri) was an Italian statesman and diplomat.
Biography
Originally from the town of Peveragno, Lago was Governor of the Italian Aegean Islands from 1922 to 1936. His term of office is characterized by ...
, a liberal diplomat, favoured peaceful coexistence among the different ethnic groups and the Italians, choosing a soft strategy of integration, his successor,
Cesare Maria De Vecchi
Cesare Maria De Vecchi, 1st Conte di Val Cismon (14 November 1884 – 23 June 1959) was an Italian soldier, colonial administrator and Fascist politician.
Biography
De Vecchi was born in Casale Monferrato on 14 November 1884. After graduati ...
, embarked on a forced
Italianization
Italianization ( it, italianizzazione; hr, talijanizacija; french: italianisation; sl, poitaljančevanje; german: Italianisierung; el, Ιταλοποίηση) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or ...
campaign of the islands. Lago delegated land for Italian settlers and encouraged intermarriage with local Greeks.
In 1929, scholarships at the
University of Pisa
The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe.
History
The Origins
The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...
for Dodecanesian students were promoted to disseminate Italian culture and language among the local
professional class.
[Aegeannet, The Dodecanese under Italian Rule](_blank)
The only sector where Lago was unaccommodating was religion: The Italian authorities also tried to limit the power of the
Greek Orthodox Church
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
without success by trying to set up an autonomous Dodecanesian church.
Fascist youth organizations such as
Opera Nazionale Balilla
Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) was an Italian Fascist youth organization functioning between 1926 and 1937, when it was absorbed into the Gioventù Italiana del Littorio (GIL), a youth section of the National Fascist Party.
It takes its name ...
were introduced on the islands, and the Italianization of names was encouraged by the Italian authorities.
The juridic state of the islands was an intermediate one (''possedimento'') between a colony and a part of the motherland: due to that, local islanders did not receive full citizenship and were not required to serve in the Italian armed forces.
Under the governorship of De Vecchi (1936–40), a staunch and hard liner
Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...
, the Italianization efforts became very strong.
The
Italian language
Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...
became compulsory in education and the public life, with Greek being only an optional subject in schools.
While under Lago the inhabitants were allowed to elect their own
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
s, in 1937 the fascist system was set up to the islands, with newly appointed ''
podestà
Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...
''s for each municipality (''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions (''Regions of Italy, regioni'') and provinces (''Provinces ...
'')
in 1938,
Italian Racial Laws were introduced to the islands along with a series of decrees equalizing local legislation with Italian law.
De Vecchi also linked Rodi to Italy with a regular air service since the late 1930s. The "Aero Espresso Italiana" (AEI) had flight from Brindisi to Athens and Rodi with flying boats (AEI used mainly the "Savoia 55", but also the "Macchi 24bis")
Italian settlement efforts
Efforts to bring Italian settlers to the islands were not notably successful. By 1936, Italians in the Dodecanese numbered 16,711, most of them living on Rhodes and Leros.
Italians of Rhodes and
Kos
Kos or Cos (; el, Κως ) is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese by area, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 36,986 (2021 census) ...
were farmers involved in setting up new agricultural settlements, while Italians of Leros were generally employed by the army and lived at its facilities in the new Italian-built model town of Portolago (modern
Lakki).
Public works
Mussolini wanted to transform the islands into showcases of the Italian colonial empire, and undertook a series of massive public works in the archipelago.
[Dubin (2002), p. 437] New roads, monumental buildings in accordance with
fascist architecture
Fascist architecture encompasses various stylistic trends in architecture developed by architects of fascist states, primarily in the early 20th century. Fascist architectural styles gained popularity in the late 1920s with the rise of modernism ...
and waterworks were constructed, sometimes using forced Greek labor.
Many examples of Italian architecture can still be found on the islands: A few among them are:
* The ''Grande Albergo delle Rose'' (now "Casino Rodos") built by
Florestano Di Fausto and Michele Platania in 1927, with a mix of Arab, Byzantine and Venetian styles.
* The ''Casa del Fascio'' of Rhodes, built in 1939 in typical fascist style. It serves now as the City Hall.
* The ''Catholic church of San Giovanni'', built in 1925 by Di Fausto, as a reconstruction of the medieval cathedral church of the Knights of St. John.
* The ''Teatro Puccini'' of the city of Rhodes, now called "National Theater", built in 1937 with 1,200 seats.
* The ''Palazzo del Governatore'' in downtown Rhodes, built in 1927 in Venetian style by Di Fausto. It now houses the offices of the Prefecture of the Dodecanese.
* The ''Villaggio rurale San Benedetto'', now Kolympia village, built in 1938 as a planned model village with all modern services.
* The ''
Town of Portolago'' (now Lakki) on the island of Leros, with a ''Casa del Fascio'', ''Casa del Balilla'', school, cinema, Catholic church, and city hall all built in 1938 in characteristic Italian Rationalist style.
The Italians also
surveyed the islands for the first time in history, and began to introduce mass-scale
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
to
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
and Kos.
The smaller islands were mostly neglected by the improvement efforts and were left underdeveloped.
Archeology
Mussolini stated that Rhodes had merely returned to its ancestral home after being annexed by Italy, as the Dodecanese had been an important part of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medit ...
.
Major Italian archaeological efforts from the 1930s onward were intended to discover Roman antiquities and thus strengthen the Italian claim on the islands.
Administrative division
:Source: Census of 1936
:Source: ''Annuario Generale, Consociazione Turistica Italiana, Roma, 1938''
Planned expansion
After the
Battle of Greece
The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...
, Fascist authorities pushed for the incorporation of the
Cyclades
The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The na ...
and
Sporades
The (Northern) Sporades (; el, Βόρειες Σποράδες, ) are an archipelago along the east coast of Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea,"Skyros - Britannica Concise" (description), Britannica Concise, 2006, webpageEB-Skyrosnotes ...
into Italy's Aegean possession, but the Germans were opposed to any territorial reduction of the puppet
Hellenic State.
As the Cyclades were already under Italian occupation, the preparation for outright annexation was continued despite German opposition.
End of Italian influence
After the
Italian capitulation of September 1943, the islands briefly became a battleground between the Germans, British and the Italians (the
Dodecanese Campaign).
[Dubin (2002), p. 438] The Germans prevailed, and although they were driven out of mainland Greece in 1944, the Dodecanese remained occupied until the end of the war in 1945.
During the German occupation, the Dodecanese remained under the nominal sovereignty of the
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...
, but were ''de facto'' subject to the German military command.
After the end of World War II, the islands came under provisional British administration.
In the
Treaty of Peace in 1947, the islands were ceded to Greece.
List of governors
See also
*
Italian colonists in the Dodecanese
Italian colonists were settled in the Dodecanese Islands of the Aegean Sea in the 1930s by the Fascist Italian government of Benito Mussolini, Italy having been in occupation of the Islands since the Italian-Turkish War of 1911.
By 1940, the nu ...
References
Sources
;Italian
* Calace, Francesca (a cura di), ''«Restituiamo la Storia» – dagli archivi ai territori. Architetture e modelli urbani nel Mediterraneo orientale.'' Gangemi, Roma, 2012 (collana PRIN 2006 «Restituiamo la Storia»)
* Tuccimei, Ercole. ''La Banca d'Italia in Africa'', Foreword by Arnaldo Mauri, Laterza, Bari, 1999.
* Pignataro, Luca. Le Isole Italiane dell'Egeo dall'8 settembre 1943 al termine della seconda guerra mondiale in "Clio. Rivista internazionale di studi storici", 3(2001).
* Pignataro, Luca. Il tramonto del Dodecaneso italiano 1945–1950 in "Clio. Rivista internazionale di studi storici", 4(2001)
* Pignataro, Luca. Ombre sul Dodecaneso italiano, in "Nuova Storia Contemporanea", XII, 3(2008), pp. 61–94
* Pignataro, Luca. Il Dodecaneso italiano, con appendice fotografica, in "Nuova Storia Contemporanea" 2(2010)
* Pignataro, Luca. La presenza cattolica in Dodecaneso tra 1924 e 1937, in "Nova Historica" 32(2010)
* Pignataro, Luca. Il collegio rabbinico di Rodi, in "Nuova Storia Contemporanea", 6(2011)
* Pignataro, Luca. I naufraghi del Pentcho, in "Nuova Storia Contemporanea", 1(2012)
* Pignataro, Luca. Il Dodecaneso italiano 1912–1947, vol. I: L'occupazione iniziale 1912–1922, Chieti, Solfanelli, 2011
{{Authority control
Islands
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
Greece–Italy relations
1912 establishments in the Italian Empire
1923 establishments in the Italian Empire
States and territories established in 1912
States and territories disestablished in 1945
Former countries of the interwar period