Rome’s Giuliano-Dalmata Quarter
A brief historical outline

Rome’s Giuliano-Dalmata Quarter has quite an unusual history compared to other parts of the city.
The earliest buildings were constructed in this part of the Agro Laurentino to house building workers for the E42, the great world exhibition promulgated by Mussolini.
The buildings were abandoned during World War II and, after some ups and downs, in 1947 came to be used as accommodation for refugees from the Italian territories of Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia when they were ceded to Yugoslavia. Initially there were only twelve families, but this number had grown to a hundred and fifty after a year. These people gave birth to the Villaggio Giuliano (1948), building the school and church, and being provided with medical services; they also started up skilled trades and industrial enterprises, favouring the development of the zone and its integration with the farming communities of the surrounding area.
We owe the origin and development of the Giuliano-Dalmata Quarter, as it was named in 1955, to the Julian and Dalmatian Refugees Aid Organisation led by Oscar Sinigaglia and Aldo Clemente.
The Quarter now proudly hosts many monuments commemorating the exodus. In addition, nearly every street is named after a prominent Istrian or Dalmatian.

Mini-guide to the Quarter

What to see: the memorial to the Fallen of Julia-Dalmatia, erected in 1961, commemorates those who died for their country in two World Wars and during the ‘foibe’; the mosaic on the “Exile” monument by Amedeo Colella, erected in 1962, depicts characters and Saints from the history

of the lands left behind, while the stele lists the names of the lost towns, along with some stanzas from Dante; the Roman She-wolf monument, was brought from the town of Pola in 1947 and erected in 1972 in memory of the uprooting of the people from the area.

Where to visit: the church of San Marco Evangelist, erected in 1972, is an architectural portrayal of the exodus, symbolized in the arch gathering up and rescuing the exiles from the oppressive communist regime; the Archives and Museum of the history of Fiume; the San Marco Library.

Geographical position: Roma Sud (South Rome), Italy

Guided tours:
SISAEM information, telephone: +39.06.916501181 email: posta at sisaem.it web site: www.sisaem.it