Saverio Werther Pechar - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Saverio Werther Pechar
This paper aims at analyzing the socio-demographic structure of Venezia Giulia and Macedonia, foc... more This paper aims at analyzing the socio-demographic structure of Venezia Giulia and Macedonia, focusing on the cities of Trieste and Thessaloniki and their surroundings in the period between the end of the 19th century and the middle of the twentieth century. The two cited examples present in fact a series of similarities, such as the strongly hierarchical connotation of the triple ethnic stratification common to both realities, characterized by the presence at the upper level of an administrative and military «caste» (in first case the Germans, in the second the Turks); the intermediate level was instead reserved for the dominant «historical» nationality (Italian in the north, Greek in the south), dedicated above all to commercial activities, while the lower level was occupied by predominantly peasant Slavic masses (Slovenian in Venezia Giulia, Bulgarian/Macedonian in Macedonia). Finally, the importance of local Jewish communities should not be underestimated
La formazione di volontari italiani antifascisti conosciuta come 'Battaglione della Morte'... more La formazione di volontari italiani antifascisti conosciuta come 'Battaglione della Morte' prese parte alle fasi iniziali della Guerra di Spagna dal lato del governo repubblicano. Il suo rendimento militare risenti tuttavia in maniera drammatica delle deficienze strategiche e organizzative dei suoi ufficiali, che spesso e volentieri si mostrarono piu interessati alla promozione e all’arricchimento personale che non all’efficienza operativa dell’unita da essi ideata e comandata in battaglia. The formation of Italian antifascist volunteers known as 'Death Battalion' took part in the early stages of the Spanish Civil War on the republican government’s side. However, its military performances were dramatically affected by the strategic and organizational deficiencies of its officers, who often showed more interest in self-promotion and enrichment than in the operational efficiency of the unit they created and commanded in battle.
All’interno del progetto di ricerca “Indagine sociale sui nasoni di Roma” la Cooperativa Cartogra... more All’interno del progetto di ricerca “Indagine sociale sui nasoni di Roma” la Cooperativa Cartografica AGAT sta sviluppando una serie di attività cartografiche sulle fontane pubbliche di Roma, la cui forma ricorda quella di un grande naso, che distribuiscono acqua potabile gratuita in tutta la Capitale. La metodologia operativa ha previsto un’indagine sul campo per riscontrare direttamente sul territorio i nasoni, le cui coordinate sono state rilevate con l’ausilio di strumentazione GPS; successivamente si è proceduto alla creazione di un database contenente informazioni supplementari e qualitative; infine è stata generata una mappatura dei nasoni rilevati. Obiettivo di questo contributo è la creazione di mappe condivise attraverso l’utilizzo di tre distinte piattaforme (ArcGIS Online, QGIS Cloud e OpenStreetMap) per un’analisi comparata dei vantaggi e dei limiti dei singoli strumenti riguardo la realizzazione della mappatura stessa e la peculiarità di condivisione dei dati caricati ...
Peloro - Rivista del dottorato in scienze storiche, archeologiche e filologiche dell'Università di Messina, 2016
Il 14 marzo 1937, in piena guerra di Spagna, sfilò per le vie di Barcellona un reparto che, per l... more Il 14 marzo 1937, in piena guerra di Spagna, sfilò per le vie di Barcellona un reparto che, per le sue caratteristiche anche esteriori, suscitò da subito la curiosità, e in una certa misura la perplessità, di chi assisteva alla parata. Tale formazione era infatti composta da circa 600 volontari antifascisti, per lo più italiani, militarmente inquadrati ed equipaggiati di tutto punto, con un'uniforme di panno nero alla cintola della quale spiccava un vistoso pugnale. La divisa era quindi molto simile a quella delle "camicie nere" italiane, fatto che non mancò si suscitare come detto un certo disappunto in un ambiente come quello del capoluogo catalano, in quel periodo ancora in mano agli anarchici, che alla tradizionale ostilità nei confronti del militarismo univano l'odio per il regime mussoliniano, reo di fornire un massiccio appoggio alla ribellione guidata da Franco. Anche gli stendardi innalzati si prestavano a dare adito ad equivoci: al drappo tricolore repubblicano, impreziosito dalla sigla U.H.P. (Uníos Hermanos Proletarios, ovvero, "Unitevi fratelli proletari", fortunato slogan della sfortunata rivoluzione delle Asturie del 1934) si affiancava infatti l'insegna propria del reparto, una bandiera nera su cui capeggiavano il classico teschio con le tibie incrociate e la scritta "Batallón de la Muerte".
nuova Storia Contemporanea - bimestrale di studi storici e politici sull'età contemporanea, 2018
From this research, a clear link emerges between the tragic events of the spring of 1937, in whic... more From this research, a clear link emerges between the tragic events of the spring of 1937, in which the Italian anti-fascists Camillo Berneri and Carlo Rosselli were killed, and the assassination of Partito Socialista Unitario’s Secretary Giacomo Matteotti, in 1924. The Italian anarchist Ernesto Bonomini, who, in Paris in February 1924 shot Nicola Bonservizi, head of the local “Fascio”, acted as an involuntary connection between the three murders. He was in fact persuaded to commit such a crime by Amerigo Dumini, the fascist secret police chief and main person responsible for the killing of Matteotti, who in turn acted in accordance with orders coming directly from Rome. Thirteen years later, in February 1937, in the middle of the Spanish Civil War, the Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano gave the Military Information Service (SIM) officer Santo Emanuele the order to organize the killing of two individuals, both of whom were implacable enemies of the Regime: Carlo Rosselli and Ernesto Bonomini. The latter had moved to Spain and joined, together with the Calabrian libertarian Francesco Barbieri, the CNT (Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, a Spanish trade union) Investigation Department, led by anarchist activist Vicente Gil, better known as "Portela". The department’s main task was to hunt down the so-called "Fifth Column", that is, the secret organizations operating within Republican territory that carried out clandestine activities in favor of the Francoist cause, ranging from espionage and sabotage to reach as far as murder. In Catalonia, and in particular in Barcelona, this "Fifth Column" could benefit from Fascist diplomatic protection until 18 November 1936 (date of the official recognition of the Francoist regime by the “duce”), therefore resulting strongly linked to Rome's interests. Some of its prominent elements, policemen Federic Llopis, Evarist Aguado and Josep Llaneras, all involved in the Catalan nationalist movement, were at the service of Santorre Vezzari, head of the Italian espionage in Spain since 1931. The ties between Catalan nationalism and Mussolini’s Regime had in fact become apparent in 1934, when the separatist leader Josep Dencàs, then Councilor for Internal Affairs in the Generalitat de Catalunya government, issued an open statement of pro-fascist sympathies in front of the Italian Vice-Consul in Barcelona Alessandro Majeroni, before being evacuated to Genoa aboard the Italian ship Tevere following the events of July the 19th, 1936. Later, after a mysterious interview with Ciano, Dencàs moved to Southern France, where he joined the SIFNE (Servicio de Información de la Frontera Nordeste de España, a branch of the Francoist secret services) as many members of the Catalan ultranationalist party Estat Català (EC) did, such as its Secretary Joan Torres Picart, Josep Maria Xammar, Miquel Xicota and above all the extremely ambiguous Sebastián Castañer, another Generalitat police officer who also worked for both the Francoist espionage and the French Sûreté while maintaining very close relationships with Dencàs, the communist-led Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya’s Secretary Joan Comorera, the controversial Italian anarchist Gino Bibbi and the fascist spy Alfredo Cimadori. This group of double agents, protected by various members of the Catalan government, had a laboratory installed in the port of Barcelona to manufacture false passports and export money and precious items (an activity entrusted to the trio Llopis-Aguado-Llaneras). At the same time, they were preparing, in collaboration with the General Commissioner for Public Order Andreu Rebertés, a coup aimed at eliminating the CNT from the political scene and proclaiming the independence of Catalonia, to then be able to stipulate a separate peace treaty with Franco. In the end however, this conspiracy was discovered through investigations carried out by the Investigation Department run by “Portela”, Barbieri and Bonomini, who had also managed to dismantle the clandestine organization based in the port. This caused the Italian diplomat’s Carlo Bossi (heavily involved in the plot) sudden flight abroad, which in turn resulted in the abandonment of the important documents of the Consulate which immediately fell into Berneri and Barbieri’s hands. The pair used them to unveil Mussolini’s colonial ambitions in the Iberian peninsula and to hunt down Fascist spies in Catalonia. One of these spies, the self-styled anarchist Angelo Tamborini, also acting under Vezzari's orders, was approached in the following spring by Santo Emanuele, who, according to a report issued by DEDIDE (Departamento Especial De Investigación Del Estado, a branch of loyalist Spain's secret services) offered him the sum of 100,000 francs to eliminate Carlo Rosselli. On the same occasion a similar offer was probably made by the SIM officer to Tamborini concerning the murder of Bonomini. Regarding Rosselli, the deal did not amount to anything, which pushed Emanuele to entrust its execution to the French right-wing terrorist group OSARN (Organisation Secrète d’Action Révolutionnaire Nationale, better known as la Cagoule) with which he had been in contact for a long time, and which was in turn co-operating with SIFNE through Francoist liaison officer, Commander Julián Troncoso. A few days later, at the end of April, 1937, Troncoso received a telegram from caudillo’s brother Nicolás Franco, urging him to communicate to the members of Estat Català the order to start acting immediately, stirring up troubles on the French border and in the Catalan capital. The exact correspondence between the telegram’s instructions and the provocations put into effect in the following days by the EC militias against the CNT leads to believe that the famous "Barcelona May Days" of 1937 might have been at least in part provoked by members of that separatist organization, who would have acted in accordance with orders received directly from Franco. Keeping in mind that the Francoist sabotage organization head in France, José Maria Marcet y Vidal, worked in close collaboration with Tamborini and his superior, the Italian Vice-Consul in Port-Vendres Roberto Giardini, and that in the days immediately following the riot Tamborini dashed to Rome for "reasons of higher order", being immediately received by OVRA (the Fascist secret police) senior officer Saverio Caccavale, it is highly likely that the Italian authorities, through their close relationships with both Francoist services and the Catalan nationalist movement, could have played a role, besides the Rosselli brothers’ elimination, even in one of the most famous crimes committed during the "May Days", namely Berneri and Barbieri’s homicide. The two Italian anarchists had long been a target for Mussolini’s agents: apart from being in possession of compromising documents collected at the Italian consulate, they were in fact engaged in multiple activities against the Regime, ranging from persecution of the ever-active, Italian-led "Fifth Column", to the planning of naval warfare actions against the fascist fleet operating in Iberian waters. Also noteworthy is the fact that Berneri and Barbieri shared their flat with Bonomini, who miraculously managed to save his skin and later flee abroad, despite being the target of several shooting attempts during the clashes that characterized the Barcelona Events.
Qualestoria- RIvista di Storia Contemporanea, 2018
This paper aims at analyzing the socio-demographic structure of Venezia Giulia and Macedonia, foc... more This paper aims at analyzing the socio-demographic structure of Venezia Giulia and Macedonia, focusing on the cities of Trieste and Thessaloniki and their surroundings in the period between the end of the 19th century and the middle of the twentieth century. The two cited examples present in fact a series of similarities, such as the strongly hierarchical connotation of the triple ethnic stratification common to both realities, characterized by the presence at the upper level of an administrative and military «caste» (in first case the Germans, in the second the Turks); the intermediate level was instead reserved for the dominant «historical» nationality (Italian in the north, Greek in the south), dedicated above all to commercial activities, while the lower level was occupied by predominantly peasant Slavic masses (Slovenian in Venezia Giulia, Bulgarian/Macedonian in Macedonia). Finally, the importance of local Jewish communities should not be underestimated.
Drafts by Saverio Werther Pechar
The project purpose consists in the identification and mapping of a transversal pedestrian and cy... more The project purpose consists in the identification and mapping of a transversal pedestrian and cycle itinerary linking the two most important tourist and cultural routes selected by the Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage and Tourism within the south-eastern sector of the city of Rome (Via Appia and southern Via Francigena), winding through Appia Antica Regional Park, Torre Spaccata Meadow and Centocelle Archaeological Park.
This paper aims at analyzing the socio-demographic structure of Venezia Giulia and Macedonia, foc... more This paper aims at analyzing the socio-demographic structure of Venezia Giulia and Macedonia, focusing on the cities of Trieste and Thessaloniki and their surroundings in the period between the end of the 19th century and the middle of the twentieth century. The two cited examples present in fact a series of similarities, such as the strongly hierarchical connotation of the triple ethnic stratification common to both realities, characterized by the presence at the upper level of an administrative and military «caste» (in first case the Germans, in the second the Turks); the intermediate level was instead reserved for the dominant «historical» nationality (Italian in the north, Greek in the south), dedicated above all to commercial activities, while the lower level was occupied by predominantly peasant Slavic masses (Slovenian in Venezia Giulia, Bulgarian/Macedonian in Macedonia). Finally, the importance of local Jewish communities should not be underestimated
La formazione di volontari italiani antifascisti conosciuta come 'Battaglione della Morte'... more La formazione di volontari italiani antifascisti conosciuta come 'Battaglione della Morte' prese parte alle fasi iniziali della Guerra di Spagna dal lato del governo repubblicano. Il suo rendimento militare risenti tuttavia in maniera drammatica delle deficienze strategiche e organizzative dei suoi ufficiali, che spesso e volentieri si mostrarono piu interessati alla promozione e all’arricchimento personale che non all’efficienza operativa dell’unita da essi ideata e comandata in battaglia. The formation of Italian antifascist volunteers known as 'Death Battalion' took part in the early stages of the Spanish Civil War on the republican government’s side. However, its military performances were dramatically affected by the strategic and organizational deficiencies of its officers, who often showed more interest in self-promotion and enrichment than in the operational efficiency of the unit they created and commanded in battle.
All’interno del progetto di ricerca “Indagine sociale sui nasoni di Roma” la Cooperativa Cartogra... more All’interno del progetto di ricerca “Indagine sociale sui nasoni di Roma” la Cooperativa Cartografica AGAT sta sviluppando una serie di attività cartografiche sulle fontane pubbliche di Roma, la cui forma ricorda quella di un grande naso, che distribuiscono acqua potabile gratuita in tutta la Capitale. La metodologia operativa ha previsto un’indagine sul campo per riscontrare direttamente sul territorio i nasoni, le cui coordinate sono state rilevate con l’ausilio di strumentazione GPS; successivamente si è proceduto alla creazione di un database contenente informazioni supplementari e qualitative; infine è stata generata una mappatura dei nasoni rilevati. Obiettivo di questo contributo è la creazione di mappe condivise attraverso l’utilizzo di tre distinte piattaforme (ArcGIS Online, QGIS Cloud e OpenStreetMap) per un’analisi comparata dei vantaggi e dei limiti dei singoli strumenti riguardo la realizzazione della mappatura stessa e la peculiarità di condivisione dei dati caricati ...
Peloro - Rivista del dottorato in scienze storiche, archeologiche e filologiche dell'Università di Messina, 2016
Il 14 marzo 1937, in piena guerra di Spagna, sfilò per le vie di Barcellona un reparto che, per l... more Il 14 marzo 1937, in piena guerra di Spagna, sfilò per le vie di Barcellona un reparto che, per le sue caratteristiche anche esteriori, suscitò da subito la curiosità, e in una certa misura la perplessità, di chi assisteva alla parata. Tale formazione era infatti composta da circa 600 volontari antifascisti, per lo più italiani, militarmente inquadrati ed equipaggiati di tutto punto, con un'uniforme di panno nero alla cintola della quale spiccava un vistoso pugnale. La divisa era quindi molto simile a quella delle "camicie nere" italiane, fatto che non mancò si suscitare come detto un certo disappunto in un ambiente come quello del capoluogo catalano, in quel periodo ancora in mano agli anarchici, che alla tradizionale ostilità nei confronti del militarismo univano l'odio per il regime mussoliniano, reo di fornire un massiccio appoggio alla ribellione guidata da Franco. Anche gli stendardi innalzati si prestavano a dare adito ad equivoci: al drappo tricolore repubblicano, impreziosito dalla sigla U.H.P. (Uníos Hermanos Proletarios, ovvero, "Unitevi fratelli proletari", fortunato slogan della sfortunata rivoluzione delle Asturie del 1934) si affiancava infatti l'insegna propria del reparto, una bandiera nera su cui capeggiavano il classico teschio con le tibie incrociate e la scritta "Batallón de la Muerte".
nuova Storia Contemporanea - bimestrale di studi storici e politici sull'età contemporanea, 2018
From this research, a clear link emerges between the tragic events of the spring of 1937, in whic... more From this research, a clear link emerges between the tragic events of the spring of 1937, in which the Italian anti-fascists Camillo Berneri and Carlo Rosselli were killed, and the assassination of Partito Socialista Unitario’s Secretary Giacomo Matteotti, in 1924. The Italian anarchist Ernesto Bonomini, who, in Paris in February 1924 shot Nicola Bonservizi, head of the local “Fascio”, acted as an involuntary connection between the three murders. He was in fact persuaded to commit such a crime by Amerigo Dumini, the fascist secret police chief and main person responsible for the killing of Matteotti, who in turn acted in accordance with orders coming directly from Rome. Thirteen years later, in February 1937, in the middle of the Spanish Civil War, the Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano gave the Military Information Service (SIM) officer Santo Emanuele the order to organize the killing of two individuals, both of whom were implacable enemies of the Regime: Carlo Rosselli and Ernesto Bonomini. The latter had moved to Spain and joined, together with the Calabrian libertarian Francesco Barbieri, the CNT (Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, a Spanish trade union) Investigation Department, led by anarchist activist Vicente Gil, better known as "Portela". The department’s main task was to hunt down the so-called "Fifth Column", that is, the secret organizations operating within Republican territory that carried out clandestine activities in favor of the Francoist cause, ranging from espionage and sabotage to reach as far as murder. In Catalonia, and in particular in Barcelona, this "Fifth Column" could benefit from Fascist diplomatic protection until 18 November 1936 (date of the official recognition of the Francoist regime by the “duce”), therefore resulting strongly linked to Rome's interests. Some of its prominent elements, policemen Federic Llopis, Evarist Aguado and Josep Llaneras, all involved in the Catalan nationalist movement, were at the service of Santorre Vezzari, head of the Italian espionage in Spain since 1931. The ties between Catalan nationalism and Mussolini’s Regime had in fact become apparent in 1934, when the separatist leader Josep Dencàs, then Councilor for Internal Affairs in the Generalitat de Catalunya government, issued an open statement of pro-fascist sympathies in front of the Italian Vice-Consul in Barcelona Alessandro Majeroni, before being evacuated to Genoa aboard the Italian ship Tevere following the events of July the 19th, 1936. Later, after a mysterious interview with Ciano, Dencàs moved to Southern France, where he joined the SIFNE (Servicio de Información de la Frontera Nordeste de España, a branch of the Francoist secret services) as many members of the Catalan ultranationalist party Estat Català (EC) did, such as its Secretary Joan Torres Picart, Josep Maria Xammar, Miquel Xicota and above all the extremely ambiguous Sebastián Castañer, another Generalitat police officer who also worked for both the Francoist espionage and the French Sûreté while maintaining very close relationships with Dencàs, the communist-led Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya’s Secretary Joan Comorera, the controversial Italian anarchist Gino Bibbi and the fascist spy Alfredo Cimadori. This group of double agents, protected by various members of the Catalan government, had a laboratory installed in the port of Barcelona to manufacture false passports and export money and precious items (an activity entrusted to the trio Llopis-Aguado-Llaneras). At the same time, they were preparing, in collaboration with the General Commissioner for Public Order Andreu Rebertés, a coup aimed at eliminating the CNT from the political scene and proclaiming the independence of Catalonia, to then be able to stipulate a separate peace treaty with Franco. In the end however, this conspiracy was discovered through investigations carried out by the Investigation Department run by “Portela”, Barbieri and Bonomini, who had also managed to dismantle the clandestine organization based in the port. This caused the Italian diplomat’s Carlo Bossi (heavily involved in the plot) sudden flight abroad, which in turn resulted in the abandonment of the important documents of the Consulate which immediately fell into Berneri and Barbieri’s hands. The pair used them to unveil Mussolini’s colonial ambitions in the Iberian peninsula and to hunt down Fascist spies in Catalonia. One of these spies, the self-styled anarchist Angelo Tamborini, also acting under Vezzari's orders, was approached in the following spring by Santo Emanuele, who, according to a report issued by DEDIDE (Departamento Especial De Investigación Del Estado, a branch of loyalist Spain's secret services) offered him the sum of 100,000 francs to eliminate Carlo Rosselli. On the same occasion a similar offer was probably made by the SIM officer to Tamborini concerning the murder of Bonomini. Regarding Rosselli, the deal did not amount to anything, which pushed Emanuele to entrust its execution to the French right-wing terrorist group OSARN (Organisation Secrète d’Action Révolutionnaire Nationale, better known as la Cagoule) with which he had been in contact for a long time, and which was in turn co-operating with SIFNE through Francoist liaison officer, Commander Julián Troncoso. A few days later, at the end of April, 1937, Troncoso received a telegram from caudillo’s brother Nicolás Franco, urging him to communicate to the members of Estat Català the order to start acting immediately, stirring up troubles on the French border and in the Catalan capital. The exact correspondence between the telegram’s instructions and the provocations put into effect in the following days by the EC militias against the CNT leads to believe that the famous "Barcelona May Days" of 1937 might have been at least in part provoked by members of that separatist organization, who would have acted in accordance with orders received directly from Franco. Keeping in mind that the Francoist sabotage organization head in France, José Maria Marcet y Vidal, worked in close collaboration with Tamborini and his superior, the Italian Vice-Consul in Port-Vendres Roberto Giardini, and that in the days immediately following the riot Tamborini dashed to Rome for "reasons of higher order", being immediately received by OVRA (the Fascist secret police) senior officer Saverio Caccavale, it is highly likely that the Italian authorities, through their close relationships with both Francoist services and the Catalan nationalist movement, could have played a role, besides the Rosselli brothers’ elimination, even in one of the most famous crimes committed during the "May Days", namely Berneri and Barbieri’s homicide. The two Italian anarchists had long been a target for Mussolini’s agents: apart from being in possession of compromising documents collected at the Italian consulate, they were in fact engaged in multiple activities against the Regime, ranging from persecution of the ever-active, Italian-led "Fifth Column", to the planning of naval warfare actions against the fascist fleet operating in Iberian waters. Also noteworthy is the fact that Berneri and Barbieri shared their flat with Bonomini, who miraculously managed to save his skin and later flee abroad, despite being the target of several shooting attempts during the clashes that characterized the Barcelona Events.
Qualestoria- RIvista di Storia Contemporanea, 2018
This paper aims at analyzing the socio-demographic structure of Venezia Giulia and Macedonia, foc... more This paper aims at analyzing the socio-demographic structure of Venezia Giulia and Macedonia, focusing on the cities of Trieste and Thessaloniki and their surroundings in the period between the end of the 19th century and the middle of the twentieth century. The two cited examples present in fact a series of similarities, such as the strongly hierarchical connotation of the triple ethnic stratification common to both realities, characterized by the presence at the upper level of an administrative and military «caste» (in first case the Germans, in the second the Turks); the intermediate level was instead reserved for the dominant «historical» nationality (Italian in the north, Greek in the south), dedicated above all to commercial activities, while the lower level was occupied by predominantly peasant Slavic masses (Slovenian in Venezia Giulia, Bulgarian/Macedonian in Macedonia). Finally, the importance of local Jewish communities should not be underestimated.
The project purpose consists in the identification and mapping of a transversal pedestrian and cy... more The project purpose consists in the identification and mapping of a transversal pedestrian and cycle itinerary linking the two most important tourist and cultural routes selected by the Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage and Tourism within the south-eastern sector of the city of Rome (Via Appia and southern Via Francigena), winding through Appia Antica Regional Park, Torre Spaccata Meadow and Centocelle Archaeological Park.