The Free State of Fiume (pronounced [ˈfjuːme]) was an independent free state that existed from 1920 to 1924. Its territory of 28 km 2 (6,900 acres) comprised the city of Fiume (today Rijeka, Croatia) and rural areas to its north, with a corridor to its west connecting it to the Kingdom of Italy. Fiume gained autonomy for the first time in 1719, when it was proclaimed a free port of the Holy ...
Fiume question, post-World War I controversy between Italy and Yugoslavia over the control of the Adriatic port of Fiume (known in Croatia as Rijeka; q.v.). Although the secret Treaty of London () had assigned Fiume to Yugoslavia, the Italians claimed it at the Paris Peace Conference
All eleven square miles of it. The Free State of Fiume existed from through the end of 1923. Instead of being an emblem of peace it was a tiny version of the Wild West. The first election was immediately contested. Governments came and went, sometimes in a matter of a few days.
Gabriele D’Annunzio's takeover of Fiume is seen as a precursor to Mussolini and the Fascist Revolution that later took place in Italy. Gabriele D’Annunzio was a proto-fascist, poet, artist, musician and very popular war hero. He emerged from World War I with a small army at his command.
The Fiume Crisis: Life in the Wake of the Habsburg Empire A book talk with author Dominique Kirchner Reill (University of Miami, History).
Gabriele D’Annunzio was an aviator, poet, playwright and populist who in his manner presciently anticipated the current crop of populist leaders. His ‘invasion’ of the Adriatic city of Fiume in 1919 precipitated an international crisis. One hundred years ago, in autumn 1920, the newly created League of Nations endeavoured to defuse tensions by creating the Free State of Fiume.