Original scientific paper
Niko Nardelli from Dubrovnik as an Austrian Governor in Dalmatia
Ivo Perić
; Institute for Historical Sciences of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Abstract
Niko Nardelli, from Dubrovnik (1857—1925), a lawer by profession, had a post in the administrative service and made a fast progress there. Since E. Handel, the first Austrian civil governor in Dalmatia (1902—1905) had to step down due to the political resistance in the the province as well as to the distrust of the Dalmatian Parliament, Nardelli who became regency vice-president (1905), was in the same time the administrator of the regency. Confronted with
the politics of a new course, that was represented by Croatian and Serbian statesmen (The Resolutions of Rijeka and Zadar), the régime considered it should maneuver and to calm down the dissatisfaction in Dalmatia, it nominated Nardelli a governor at the beginning of 1906. Thus Nardelli was the first and (the only one) local man, the Dalmatian on the highest rank in the province under the Austrian reign (The Austrian reign in Dalmatia: from 1797—
1805 and from 1814—1818 lasted all together for 114 years).
Devoted to the régime and the interests of his native land, Nardelli was torn between these two hardly connected aspirations, therefore reliable and unreliable to the Viennese governmental officials. When the situation in the Balkans, according to the point of view from the Austro-Hungarian politics, started to complicate in 1911, Nardelli, feeling insufficient confidence from his superiors, realized that his duty was expiring and that it was time to resign. Moreover he was in a rather delicate health condition and applied for pensioning to be thereupon retired. When leaving Zadar, where he spent 30 years in active service, Nardelli settled down at Trsteno near Dubrovnik. Previously he had a comfortable villa built there. His last years Nardelli spent in Dubrovnik occupying himself with painting and literary work (He published a story »Cavalleria Rusticana«).
As a governor, for which position he remained mostly and lastingly known, Nardelli pleaded, as much as possible and with real sincerity, for material and cultural needs of Dalmatia. Even more stubbornly and with particular enthusiasm he protected the various interests of his native Dubrovnik. It is all spoken about in this work.
Keywords
Niko Nardelli; Austrian Governor; Dalmatia
Hrčak ID:
243008
URI
Publication date:
20.6.1987.
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