ABSTRACT
In the1950s and 1960s, the eastern Italian border was the object of opposing and contrasting pressures. On the one hand, several initiatives, especially at the regional level, pointed toward normalization between Italy and its Yugoslav neighbor; on the other hand, the drastic shrinking of Trieste’s shipbuilding and machinery industries generated a wave of street protests and riots, which led in turn to barricades and violent clashes with the police. A few years later, the Osimo Agreements of 1975 caused an even more profound split between civil society and political institutions, giving birth to the civic movement Lista per Trieste [from now on, List for Trieste]. In a short time, the List for Trieste would become the strongest political force in the city, threatening the long-standing supremacy of the Christian Democratic Party.
