The Holy Entrance: When Gabriele d’Annunzio Occupied Fiume with 2,600 Rebel Soldiers
September 12, 1919
Gabriele d’Annunzio, leading 2,600 rebel soldiers who disobeyed the orders of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, militarily occupied the city of Fiume, declaring it Italian territory.
The people of Fiume welcomed the patriots with great celebration, and the city was filled with tricolor flags.
This day would later be celebrated as the day of the “Holy Entrance,” following the name that had been used for centuries to remember the entry of Venetian representatives into Zadar in 1409.