Nikola "Nikša" Gradi (; 1825–1894) was a writer, politician, and lawyer from

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

, a descendant of the Ragusan patrician family Gradi.

Biography

Gradi was born in Zadar in 1825, where he attended the Gymnasium. After studying law in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, his judicial career led him to Dubrovnik,

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

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

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

and

Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...

, then part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. Following retirement, he settled in Dubrovnik, devoting himself mainly to literature and politics. Apart from law, the scope of his erudition included classical, Italian and old Serbian literature. Gradi was a miscellaneous writer, and his articles, sketches, polemics, poems and dramatic texts in both Italian and Serbian were published in supplements, calendars, pamphlets and books. He focused on the philological problem of the composition of Gundulić's ''Osman''. His passion for old Ragusan writers and folk tradition urged him to write exclusively in Serbian in his mature years. His verse deals with patriotic and current political themes, advocating for the idea of the unity of South Slavs (

Yugoslavism Yugoslavism, Yugoslavdom, or Yugoslav nationalism is an ideology supporting the notion that the South Slavs, namely the Bosniaks, Bulgarians, Croats, Macedonians (ethnic group), Macedonians, Montenegrins, Serbs and Slovenes belong to a single ...

), whom he considered one nation composed of several tribes. Gradi was initially a proponent of ''slovinstvo'' and the People's Party, and advocated for the use of a Yugoslav name instead of Croatian or Serbian in his 1884 article in the ''Slovinac'' journal, but later became disappointed by the opportunism of the People's Party and instead joined the

Serb Party The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

and declared himself a member of the Serb-Catholic movement in Dubrovnik. His position on the Serb origin of the

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

ns,

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

ns and Ragusans gave rise to considerable controversy with the adherents of the pro-Croatian People's Party and pro-Italian

Autonomist Party The Autonomist Party (; ) was an Italian-Dalmatianist political party in the Dalmatian political scene, that existed for around 70 years of the 19th century and until World War I. Its goal was to maintain the autonomy of the Kingdom of Dalmati ...

. During his service in Rijeka, his collection of poems ''Il poeta et il genio della terra'' appeared in print (1864). Despite an impressive level of erudition, he was not an original writer and failed to produce a major literary work, his importance today being primarily cultural and historical. The reason for this most certainly lies in the predominantly occasional character of his texts, often imbued with political ideas which have become anachronistic. Nikša Gradi died in Dubrovnik in 1894 and was buried in Boninovo Cemetery in Dubrovnik.

Works

*''Il poeta et il genio della terra'' appeared in print (1864)

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gradi, Niksa 1825 births 1894 deaths 19th-century politicians 19th-century Croatian writers Politicians from Austria-Hungary Writers from Austria-Hungary Serb-Catholic movement in Dubrovnik Kingdom of Dalmatia People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia Burials at Boninovo Cemetery Croatian people from the Austrian Empire

Biography

Works

See also

References

Sources

External links