Social media is arguably the most widespread tool for digital communication in Europe and worldwide, which makes it particularly important to investigate how this type of communication tool affects ...and reflects the processes that shape the urban physical and socio-cultural environment. Its influence on urban realities may be twofold: On one side we can use it as a reflection (or extension) of the processes that occur on the ground; on the other side, the specific ways in which social media operate might influence processes that shape the urban environment. This interaction between the urban and digital spaces is increasingly influencing how collective memory and related heritage discourses are shaped, transformed, and contested. In this article, we present the case of Koper (Italian: Capodistria), the main seaside harbour town of Slovenia, which faced a deep demographic and socio-cultural transformation in the aftermath of the Second World War. Its historic urban core became a deeply contested urban environment, where a hegemonic historical narrative clashed with several subaltern ones. The dissonance between contested narratives has re-emerged in the digital space through a handful of history-oriented Facebook groups in recent years. We analyse how digital tools have influenced the dynamics between the contested narratives and how these refer to specific locations within the town or to its historic urban core as a whole.
The article presents observations from recent architectural historical research on the post-war construction of Slovene coastal towns. The urban planning concepts that formed the "Slovenian Coast" ...and followed the migration processes are explored. The solutions for the Slovenian Coast are compared with contemporary urban plans for Trieste, set in a larger historical framework. Certain interventions in "ethnically pure" locations (new settlements called 'borghi' on the Karst boundary surrounding Trieste; new construction in the Venetian core of Capodistria) are highlighted, and approaches in the design of new urban areas and two symbolic spaces of representations on both sides of the border are compared.
The concept of collective memory raises fundamental questions regarding the assessment of heritage, especially of built heritage in contested spaces. The simultaneous presence of different groups in ...conflict introduces into the space parallel memory discourses that can be recognised both in the built environment as well as in public sculpture, and both can be read as a symbolic marking of space (Veschambre, 2008). The urban space of northern Istria, where the Italian and Slovene communities have become intertwined throughout history, were drastically marked by the political and historic events of the mid-20th century. Post-war conflict-solving processes lead and an ongoing process of “ethnic metamorphosis” (Purini, 2010) in the region came to a peak when the majoritarian Italian-speaking population of the urban area emigrated, while the space was settled by newcomers from inner Slovenian regions and other Yugoslav republics. Tensions between Slovenes and Italians arose in the early 20th century, especially from the period of Fascist oppression and violence against the Slovene population. Nevertheless, the antifascist struggle united the two ethnic groups, specifically within the Communist ideology, so after WWII the area of the so-called Zona B of the Free Territory of Trieste was marked by the ideal of fratellanza, the brotherhood between Italians and Slovenes in Istria. A monument to this ideal was created by a sculptor from Capodistria, Oreste Dequel, who is unknown in the Slovene context. The sculpture represented the Protestant Bishop of Capodistria, Pier Paolo Vergerio il Giovane, a friend of the key Slovene Protestant Primož Trubar. Despite the then leading Socialist Realist aesthetics, the artist managed to intertwine in the artwork, using a subversive approach, several collective memories.
Monuments to the WW II liberation struggle in the border region between Slovenia and Italy, namely Istria, are the mirrors of conflicting memories at the international and regional level between the ...two countries and ethnicities, living in the region. As material sites of official memory at the same time, monuments reflect tensions with the individual memories and persistent collective silence decades after the fall of the official memory of the previous Yugoslavian system.
The article reflects on a participatory research initiative involving place attachment and heritage discourses, carried out in 2012–2014 in the multicultural and ethnically contested city of ...Koper/Capodistria (Slovenia). The initiative engaged local inhabitants in a set of ‘memory evenings’ dedicated to exploring personal and collective memories and place attachment to sites in the city’s old town. Although it was meant to promote participatory approaches in the conservation of built heritage and stimulate inclusive heritage discourses, it also had a strong psychological effect for local inhabitants. Initially conceived as a combination of the group interview and focus group methods, it evolved into an approach comparable to the discourse of ‘memory talk’ (Degnen 2005). The article analyses the past experience, focusing particularly on its criticalities, and points to how it is currently being developed.
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