Trieste

Trieste The only major port of Austria-Hungary, it had been part of Austrian territory almost continuously since 1382. It was claimed by Italy and became a central focus for irredentism. After World War I it became Italian following the Treaty of St Germain. After World War II it was claimed by both Italy and Yugoslavia. Although the Allies had promised to return the city to Italy, they did not want to upset Yugoslavia, whose independent stance against the USSR they sought to encourage. Its future was resolved in London on 5 October 1954, when Italy obtained the city and the area to the north, while the area to the south became Yugoslav territory. In the Treaty of Osimo (1975), Yugoslavia compensated Italians for their properties which lay in the Yugoslav-administered parts. In 1994, the validity of this treaty was denied by the Italian right-wing populist Prime Minister, Berlusconi, since he argued that one of its signatories, Yugoslavia, had ceased to exist. He demanded the return of Italian property from Yugoslavia's successor state in the area, Slovenia, and for over a year blocked Slovenia's association treaty with the European Union.