''Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin'' (also ''Kraljski Dalmatin'') was a bilingual weekly newspaper, written in Italian and Croatian, which was published in

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...

by the French government between 1806 and 1810. It was the first newspaper published in Croatian.

History

After the centuries-long rule of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

which ended in 1797, followed by a short period of Austrian government, Dalmatia was ruled by

Napoleonic France The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

between 1806 and 1813. In order to promote their government and gain favor with the local population, the French started an official newspaper in Italian and Croatian. The decision to establish ''Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin'' was made by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. The newspaper was edited by Bartolomeo Benincasa, Ivan Kreljanović and Nikola Dominik Budrović. Paško Jukić, a Franciscan, translated the articles from Italian to Croatian. After Jukić's death in 1806, Budrović took over the translation duties. The newspaper was printed in Antonio Luigi Battara's printing shop in Zadar. ''Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin'' was distributed throughout Dalmatia, from the

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in the north to the

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in the south, including the Adriatic islands. The readers were mostly intellectuals – such as teachers, priests, government officials and military officers – and also some merchants and craftsmen. The newspaper was popular and sought after; the initial circulation of 500 rose to 600 after nine issues, and the publisher soon contemplated printing 1000 copies. After the

Treaty of Schönbrunn The Treaty of Schönbrunn (french: Traité de Schönbrunn; german: Friede von Schönbrunn), sometimes known as the Peace of Schönbrunn or Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at Schönbrunn Palace near Vienna on 14 October ...

and the establishment of the Illyrian Provinces in 1809, the French government decided to discontinue the Zadar-based newspaper in favor of a

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-based ''Telegraphe officiel des Provinces Illyriennes''. The last issue was published on 1 April 1810. In all, 176 issues were published, comprising a total of 1,420 pages.

Format and content

''Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin'' had eight two-column pages. The left column was in Italian and the right was in Croatian. Some articles were written only in one of the two languages. The basic purpose of the newspaper was to represent and promote the French government by publishing its laws, regulations and decrees. The articles covered a wide range of topics: economy, politics, law and legislation, religion, cultural history, education, military, commerce and others. Much attention was paid to health care issues.

Legacy

Although the first monograph dedicated to ''Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin'' was published in 1912, more thorough, multidisciplinary research and scholarship on the topic emerged only since 1989. In 2006, a project aimed at publishing a full, five-volume reprint of ''Kraglski Dalmatin'' was started. The fifth and final volume was released in 2011. In 2010, as a part of the Historical Croatian Newspapers project, ''Kraglski Dalmatin'' was digitized and made available online by the

National and University Library in Zagreb National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) (, NSK; formerly , NSB) is the national library of Croatia and central library of the University of Zagreb. The Library was established in 1607. Its primary mission is the development and preserv ...

References

Sources

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External links

Il Regio Dalmata = Kraglski Dalmatin
online archive
Uspomena na prvu novinsku vijest na hrvatskom jeziku

Hrvatski narodni preporod najavljen je u Zadru!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regio Dalmata - Kraglski Dalmatin Bilingual newspapers Defunct newspapers published in Croatia Croatian-language newspapers Italian-language newspapers Mass media in Zadar Publications established in 1806 Publications disestablished in 1810 History of Zadar Weekly newspapers published in Croatia Defunct weekly newspapers