by InTrieste
Interview: FVG councilor for local autonomy and security, Pierpaolo Roberti
Italy marked the 80th anniversary of the deportation and killing of 97 finance police officers on Monday with a solemn ceremony at the National Monument of the Foiba of Basovizza, near Trieste. The event commemorated the members of the Guardia di Finanza stationed at Campo Marzio who were captured and killed by Yugoslav partisans, known as “Titini,” in May 1945, shortly after the Nazi occupation ended.
The ceremony brought together local and national authorities, including Deputy Environment Minister Vannia Gava, Undersecretary of Economy and Finance Sandra Savino, and the commander general of the Guardia di Finanza, Gen. Andrea De Gennaro, who laid wreaths in honor of the fallen. Bishop Enrico Trevisi of Trieste also addressed the crowd, offering a reflection before the official speeches.
“This commemoration is a crucial moment to remember a part of our history that was forgotten for too long and still today, though rarely, misrepresented,” said Pierpaolo Roberti, regional councillor for local autonomy and security.
Roberti recalled how the finance officers took part in the May 1945 uprising that helped liberate Trieste from Nazi control. Their efforts reportedly prevented German forces from destroying key infrastructure, including the city’s port. However, shortly thereafter, the soldiers were arrested by Yugoslav troops, and according to historical accounts, many were killed and thrown into mass graves—known as foibe—in the region.
“The attachment of these men to the Italian people and homeland was seen as a threat to the project of a Yugoslav state that aimed to include Trieste,” Roberti said. “This was not simply a settling of scores, but a politically driven operation aimed at annexing Venezia Giulia.”
The ceremony concluded with the unveiling of a new exhibit within the Basovizza Documentation Center. The display, dedicated to the Guardia di Finanza, includes a short documentary and a preserved uniform in a glass case. Several relatives of the 1945 victims attended the opening.
The Basovizza memorial has long been a site of reflection and contention, symbolizing the complex and often painful history of the border region between Italy and the former Yugoslavia.
