TWO YEARS LATER: from 2011 to 2013.
THIS ONGOING STORY OF LEGALITY HITS +152,000 READERS
On 12 August 2011, with my first post, I opened a blog about the Free Territory of Trieste – FTT.
I wanted to talk about a story as forgotten by official history as it is present, set in the international treaties that make Trieste an independent State.
Most of all, I wanted to tell about the longing for freedom that was awakening in a city once again aware of its status as a Free State. People who saw the struggle ahead of them, but did also see the dignity they could take back after decades of denial by the local Italian administrators.
Ambiente e Legalità came naturally as this online window’s name. It means “Environment and Legality” and it encompasses my environmental activism and that for the civil rights of this Central European State. All in the name of legality. Because it is a peaceful activism, and because re-establishing the rule of law means gaining our freedom back.
The URL is my nickname Robertainer: the choice doesn’t aim at concealing my identity, rather, it honors a dear family member. It is a memento of my origins. My maternal grandmother’s brother “bestowed” the name upon me. He was one of the “forgotten” Triestines (99% of them) who in WWI fought for Austria-Hungary in the Imperial and Royal Army. As I child I really liked being called with that “warrior” name by uncle Franz, who was like a father to me.
That very first post, “A Citizen of the Free Territory of Trieste”, was about a complaint I presented to the European Commission denouncing Italy for violations against the Free Territory and its people. That is also the first time I proclaimed my status of citizen of the Free State before the EU. What a beautiful sensation of freedom, it is difficult putting it into words. Going back to how it was before is simply impossible.
Many things happened ever since. That citizen is now with thousand more. All of them call for freedom. This blog has come a long way too, it is more than a personal diary. It is an open book telling the peaceful struggle of a folk as it rewrites its story. And more.
Stats of blog “Environment and Legality” in August 2013.