ABSTRACT
The Fiumans were well-equipped for difficult and confusing circumstances, as the previous half-century of struggle for control of the city had demonstrated. It is probably impossible to attempt to reconstruct the level of sexual activity in any time or place, and in the case of Gabriele D'Annunzio Fiume the problems are multiplied a hundredfold. The effectiveness of the mobilization of the Fiuman masses can be better appreciated against the background of the severe economic and social difficulties through which Fiume passed in the autumn and winter of 1919. In addition to creating a Credit Institute under the aegis of the National Council, they tried to negotiate with the Italian government for a conversion of the foreign currency in Fiume into lire. In the face of the highly complex economic crisis, the citizens of Fiume reacted with traditional simplicity; they blamed the whole situation on "foreigners" and other anti-D'Annunzian elements.
