The Constitution
of the
Free State of Fiume
otherwise called
The Italian Regency of Quarnero
August 27, 1920
Ay
Gabriele d'Annunzio
< . Translation a " ha-ºries? - 2- . . . " * ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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WHITNEY wºes
16 East 47th Street
NEw York
Reprinted from .
The Nation, October 27, 1920


The Constitution of Fiume
HE Constitution of the free State of Fiume, dated
August 27, 1920, was written by Gabriele d'Annunzio,
Regent and Director of Foreign Affairs. The following
translation was made by the courtesy of Mr. Whitney War-
ren, official representative in the United States of Com-
mander d'Annunzio and the National Council of Fiume.
THE PERPETUAL WILL OF THE PEOPLE
Fiume, for centuries a free Italian commune, by the unani-
mous vote of her citizens and through the lawful voice of the
National Council, openly dedicated herself wholly and entirely
to her mother country, on October 30, 1918. Her right is three-
fold like the impenetrable armor of Roman myth.
… ----- Fiume is the guardian out-post of the Giulian Alps; it is the
remote fortress of Italian culture; it is the last bearer of the
standard of Dante. It was by her efforts that, throughout the
centuries, through vicissitude after vicissitude, struggle after
struggle, and suffering after suffering, the Quarnero of Dante
was preserved Italian. Through her were kindled and are still
kindled the spirit of Italian national character from shore to
shore, from island to island, from Volosca to Laurana, from
Moschiena to Albona, from Veglia to Lussino, from Cherso to
Arbe. This is her historical right.
Fiume, originally the old Tarsatico situated at the southern
extremity of the Liburnian Valley, rises and stretches over the
Giulian Alps. It is wholly inclosed within that circle which
tradition, history, and science attest to be the sacred confine of
Italy. This is her terrestrial right.
Fiume, firm of will, heroic in her endurance of pain, insidious
plotting, and violence of all sorts, has for the past two years
been vindicating her right to choose her own destiny and her
own task by virtue of that principle expressed to her people by
one of her own unjust adversaries. This is her human right.
Iniquity, greed, and foreign arrogance dispute her three-
fold right; sorrowful Italy does not oppose these, but leaves her
very victory to go unrecognized and to be of no avail. For this
reason the people of the free city of Fiume, ever mindful of
their Latin destiny and intent upon the fulfilment of their lawful
desire, resolve to arrange their affairs according to the spirit of
their new life, and will limit the privileges to that territory
which under the title of “Corpus Separatum” was assigned to
the Hungarian Crown, but will extend these privileges in a
fraternal spirit to those Adriatic communities which may decide
to cease delaying, to shake off their oppressive sadness, and to
revolt and rise again in the name of the new Italy.
And so, in the name of the new Italy, the people of Fiume,
bound together by justice and liberty, solemnly swear to fight
with all their might to the bitter end to preserve against any
contestant the contiguity of their land to the mother country,
perpetual champion and defender of the Alpine boundaries
established by God and Rome.
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
1. The sovereign people of Fiume, availing themselves of
their unassailable and inviolable sovereignty, take as the center
of their free state the “Corpus Separatum” with all its railways
and its entire port. But, just as they are determined to preserve
the contiguity of their land to the mother country on the west,
they do not renounce their right to a more just and more secure
confine on the east, which may be eventually determined by
future political changes and by agreements made with rural and
maritime communities attracted by the free port rights and by
the liberality of the new statutes.
2. The Italian Regency of Quarnero consists of the territory
of Fiume, the islands of ancient Venetian tradition which have
-- " . . . ...---- ~ **-
voted to share her fortunes, and all those kindred communities
which because of their sincere act of adherence can be admitted
according to the spirit of an appropriate prudential law.
3. The Italian Regency of Quarnero is a government purely
of the people—res populi—which has as its basis the power of
productive labor, and for its plan the most liberal and most
varied forms of autonomy such as were understood and prac-
ticed during the four glorious centuries of our communal period.
4. The Regency recognizes and confirms the sovereignty of
all its citizens, without any discrimination as to sex, race,
language, class, or religion. But it amplifies and elevates and
sustains above every other the right of the producers; it abol-
ishes or reduces the excessive monopoly of power; it divides the
powers and duties so that through harmonious cooperation com-
munity life may become more vigorous and rich.
5. The Regency protects, defends, and preserves the liberties
and rights of the people; it insures internal order through dis-
cipline and justice; it seeks to instil into the daily life a sense
of that virtuous joy which ought to revive the spirits of a
people liberated at last from the yoke of restraint and falsehood;
it constantly strives to elevate the dignity and increase the pros-
perity of all its citizens; so that citizenship will come to be
considered by the foreigner as a noble title and the highest
honor, as was the case under the Roman law.
6. Under the new law all citizens of the state, regardless of
sex, are and consider themselves equal. The exercise of the
rights recognized by the Constitution cannot be lessened or sup-
pressed in any case except by public judgment and solemn con-
demnation.
7. The fundamental liberties—freedom of thought and of the
press, of meeting and association—are guaranteed by the statutes
to all citizens. Any religious cult is permitted and respected,
and can build its own temple; but no citizen can invoke his
beliefs and his religious rites to escape performance of the duties
prescribed by the existing laws. The abuse of constitutional
liberties, when it tends toward an illicit end and disturbs the
equilibrium of the community, can be punished by laws drawn
up for this purpose; but these laws must in no way impair the
principle of these same liberties. -
8. The statutes guarantee to all citizens of both sexes:
imatºr- instruction in light, and healthful schools: , physical—
J -> ~~~ *
training in open and well-equipped gymnasiums; labor rewarded
by the minimum required to enable one to live comfortably;
assistance in time of sickness, infirmity, and involuntary idle-
ness; a pension for old age; the right to enjoy wealth lawfully
acquired; the inviolability of the home; the right of habeas
corpus; compensation for damages in case of judicial error or
abuse of power.
9. The state does not recognize ownership as the absolute
dominion of the person over the thing, but it considers it the
most useful of social functions. No property can be reserved
exclusively by a person as if it were a very part of him; nor is
it lawful for a slothful proprietor to allow it to remain idle or
to dispose of it unwisely, to the exclusion of others.
The sole lawful claim to dominion over any means of produc-
tion and exchange is labor. Labor alone is master of the thing
made most advantageous and most profitable to general economy.
10. The port, station, and railroads included in the territory
of Fiume are the perpetual, incontestable, and inalienable prop-
erty of the state. By a statute of the free port, ample and free
carrying of commerce, industry, and navigation is granted to all
strangers as well as inhabitants, with equality of treatment to
all, and the same immunity from exorbitant duties, and safety
of persons and things is guaranteed. t
11. A national Bank of Quarnero, under the supervision of
the Regency, is intrusted with the task of issuing paper money
and of carrying out all other credit transactions. A special law
will determine the methods and rules, setting forth at the same
time the rights, obligations, and burdens of the banks already
* -; 3 -º-,
operating in the territory, and those about to be established
there.
12. All citizens of both sexes have the full privilege of choos-
ing and carrying on any industry, profession, art, or trade.
Industries undertaken or fostered by foreign money and every
enterprise permitted to strangers will be guided by a liberal law.
13. Three types of spirits and forces contribute to the found-
ing, progress, and growth of the community: citizens, corpora-
tions, communes.
14. Three religious beliefs are exalted above all others in the
united communes:
Life is beautiful and worthy to be lived earnestly and mag-
nificently by the man re-created by liberty;
The re-created man is he who every day discovers some virtue
for his own needs, and who every day has a new gift to offer to
his brothers;
Labor, even the most humble and the most obscure, if it is
well done, tends to beautify and embellish the world.
CITIZENS
15. The following have the rank and title of citizens in the
Regency: all citizens actually enrolled in the free city of Fiume;
all citizens belonging to other communities who request admit-
tance to the new state and whose request is granted; all those
who by public decree of the people are invested with the rights
of citizenship; all those who, requesting legal citizenship, have
obtained it by decree. e
16. The citizens of the Regency are invested with all civil
and political rights upon reaching the age of twenty-one.
Regardless of sex, they become lawful voters and are eligible to
hold any office.
17. The following citizens will be deprived of political rights:
those accused of infamy; those who rebel against military ser-
vice in defense of the territory; those whose taxes are in arrears;
incorrigible parasites who are a burden to the community,
unless physically unable to work Uwing to illness or old age.
CORPORATIONS
t –," 18. The state is the common will and the common aim of the
people for an ever higher material and spiritual vigor; only
constant producers of the common wealth and constant creators
of the common power are the real citizens of the republic, and
constitute wººh it a single operating substance, a single ascend-
ing fullness. Whatever the kind of work contributed, whether
manual or intellectual, in industry or art, in planning or doing,
all are obliged to be enrolled in one of the ten existing Corpora-
tions which reflect in their organization the spirit of the Com-
mune, but are free in the manifestations of their energy and
freely determine the mutual obligations and rewards.
19. In the first Corporation are enrolled the salaried work-
men in industry, agriculture, commerce, and transportation;
and the artisans and small landed proprietors who perform
their own rural tasks or who have a few casual helpers.
The second Corporation comprises the technical and executive
staff of every private industrial and rural establishment, exclud-
ing the proprietors themselves.
In the third are enrolled all those attached to commercial
astablishments, who are not strictly workmen; and in this too
joint proprietors are excluded.
The fourth Corporation unites the promoters of industry, agri-
culture, commerce, and transportation, provided they are not
merely proprietors or joint-proprietors, but according to the
spirit of the new laws, wise leaders seeking to further the inter-
ests of their company.
The fifth is composed of all public, communal, and civil em-
ployees of all ranks. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * * *
The sixth comprises the intellect of the land: the young stu-
dent body and its instructors; teachers in the public schools and
students in the higher institutions, sculptors, painters, decora-
tors, architects, musicians, and all those who carry on the fine
arts, scenic arts, and decorative arts.
In the seventh are enrolled all those who practice professions
of their own choice which have not been included in the preced-
ing classifications. -
The eighth is composed of cooperative societies in production,
labor, consumption, whether industrial or agricultural; and only
the executives of these same societies can be represented.
The ninth comprises all sea-faring people.
The tenth has neither art, nor number, nor title.
is expected like that of the Tenth Muse. It is reserved to the
mysterious forces of the people in toil and attainment. It is
almost a votive figure consecrated to the unknown genius, to the
apparition of the new man, to the ideal transfiguration of labor
and time, to the complete liberation of the spirit over pain and
agony, over blood and sweat.
It is represented, in the civic sanctuary, by a burning torch
upon which is inscribed an old Tuscan word of the time of the
Communes, a remarkable allusion to a spiritualized form of
human labor: Fatica Senza Fatica (Toil without Toil).
20. Every Corporation is invested with the rights of a com-
petent juridical person duly recognized by the state. It chooses
its own consuls, voices its desires in its meetings, makes its own
conditions, articles, and agreements, rules according to its wis-
dom and experience, provides for its own needs, and adds to its
patrimony by exacting from its members a sum commensurate
with their wages, salary, company profits, or professional gain.
It defends its own class at all times and seeks to increase its
dignity; it strives to perfect the technique of the arts and
trades; it seeks to discipline labor by modeling it after patterns
of modern beauty. It incorporates small workers to encourage
them and to spur them on to greater efforts; it makes mutual
aid a sacred obligation; it determines provisions to be made for
sick or infirm coworkers. It chooses its own standards, its em-
blems, its music, its songs, and its prayers; it introduces its own
ceremonies and rites; it contributes generously to the common
festivities and anniversaries, and to sports on land and sea. It
reveres its dead, respects its elders, and honors its heroes.
21. The relations between the Regency and the Corporations,
and between the various Corporations, are regulated according
to the same plan outlined by the statutes in regulating the
dependency between the central powers of the Regency and
the Communes, and between the various Communes. The mem-
bers of each Corporation constitute a free electoral body eligible
to elect representatives to the Council of Provisors. First place
in public ceremonies is reserved for the Consuls of the Corpora-
tions and their staff.
Its coming
COMMUNES
22. There is restored to the Communes the ancient “norma-
tive power” which is the right to full autonomy; the special
right to make their own laws within the limits prescribed by
universal right. They exercise in themselves and for them-
selves all the powers which the Constitution does not grant to
the legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the Re-
gency. -
23. Every Commune has the privilege of creating for its own
use a body of municipal laws, evolved in various ways from its
own customs and peculiar character, from its energy, and from
the new conscience. -
But every Commune must request the approval of the Regenc
for the statutes proposed. This will be granted when the statutes
do not contain anything openly or covertly violating the spirit
of the Constitution; or when these statutes are approved,
accepted, and voted upon by the people, and can be revised or
amended at will by a free majority of citizens.
24. The right of the Communes is recognized, in matters of
legislation and administration, to draw up agreements among
themselves, arrange terms, and make treaties. But they are
obliged to submit them to the central executive power for con-
sideration. If the power decides that such agreements, terms,
and treaties violate the spirit of the Constitution, they are
referred to the Court of Reasons for its decision, from which no
appeal can be made. If this court declares them unconstitutional
and invalid, the executive power of the Regency provides for
their nullification.
25. When the internal order of a Commune is disturbed by
factions, counter-factions, plots, or any other form of violence
or intrigue, or when the integrity and dignity of a Commune
are threatened or injured by another prevaricating Commune,
the executive power of the Regency intervenes as mediator or
pacificator, provided either that the communal authorities
mutually agree to the intervention, or the intervention is re-
quested by one-third of the citizens exercising political rights in
that place.
26. To the Communes belong the special duties of establish-
ing a primary System of instruction based on the standards set
forth by the scholastic council of the state; of nominating com-
munal judges; of instituting and maintaining a communal police
system; of levying taxes, and of negotiating loans within the
Regency and even outside the Regency—the latter being sanc-
tioned by the Government only in cases of manifest need.
LEGISLATIVE POWER
27. The legislative power is exercised by two bodies chosen
by election: the Council of the Best, and the Council of the
Provisors.
28. The Council of the Best is elected according to the meth-
ods of universal suffrage, directly and secretly, by all citizens
of the Regency who have attained their twenty-first year, and
who are fully invested with political rights.
Every voting citizen of the Regency is eligible to the Council
of the Best. Members of the Council of the Best hold office for
three years. They are elected on the basis of one for every
thousand electors; but in any case, their number cannot be less
than thirty. All the electors form a single electoral body. The
election is carried out according to the methods of universal suf-
frage and proportional representation.
30. The Council of the Best has executive and legislative
power in dealing with the penal and civil code, the police,
national defense, secondary public instruction, the arts, and
the relationship between the state and the Communes. The
Council of the Best normally assembles once a year, in the
month of October, for a very brief session.
31. The Council of Provisors is composed of sixty electors,
elected by a secret, universal suffrage and governed by the law.
of proportional representation.
Ten Provisors are elected by the industrial and inland work-
men, ten by the sea-faring people, ten by the promoters of in-
dustry, five by agricultural and industrial technicians, five by
executive officers of private concerns, five by teachers in the
public schools, students in the higher institutions, and others
belonging to the sixth Corporation, five by the followers of lib-
eral professions, five by public employees, and five by coopera-
tive societies of production, labor, and consumption.
32. The members of the Council of Provisors hold office for
two years. They are not eligible unless they belong to the Cor-
poration which they represent.
33. Normally the Council of Provisors meets twice a year, in
May and November, and employs the Laconian method of debate.
It has executive and legislative power in dealing with the com-
mercial and maritime code, labor laws, transportation, public
improvements, commercial treaties, customs, tariffs, and the
like, technical and professional instruction, industries and banks,
arts and trades.
34. The Council of the Best and the Council of Provisors
meet as one body once a year, at the beginning of December,
forming a great national Council under the title of “Arengo del
Carnaro.” The Arengo deals with and passes upon relations
with other states, finance and treasury matters, higher educa-
tion, revision of the Constitution, the extension of freedom.
EXECUTIVE POWER
35. The executive power of the Republic is exercised by seven
directors elected by the National Assembly, the Council of the
Best, and the Council of Provisors. The Director of Foreign
Affairs, the Director of Finance and the Treasury, and the
Director of Public Instruction are elected by the National As-
sembly. The Director of the Interior and Justice and the Direc-
tor of National Defense are elected by the Council of the Best.
The Council of Provisors elects the Director of Public Economy
and the Director of Labor. The Director of Foreign Affairs
assumes the title of Prime Director, and represents the Republic
in dealing with other states primus inter pares.
36. The office of the seven Directors is permanent and con-
tinuous. Its function is to deal with matters which do not come
within the jurisdiction of the present Administration. The
Prime Director is chairman of the debate and has a decisive
vote in case of a tie. The Directors are elected for one year, and
can be reelected only once, but after an interval of one year
they can be renominated.
JUDICIAL POWER
37. The following have a voice in the judicial power: the *
Good Men, labor judges, civil judges, criminal judges, the Court
of Reasons.
38. The Good Men, elected through popular trust, by all elec-
tors of the various Communes in proportion to their number,
pass judgment in civil and commercial controversies involving
an amount of not more than 5,000 lire, and dispose of those
cases concerning offenses whose maximum penalty is one year.
39. The labor judges pass judgment upon controversies in-
volving salaried employees and employers, and between wage-
workers and employers. They constitute colleges of judges
nominated by the Corporations which elect the Council of Pro-
visors, in the following proportion: two by the industrial and
inland workers, two by the sea-faring people, two by the pro-
motors of industry, one by the industrial and agricultural tech-
nicians, one by the members of the liberal professions, one by
the executive attaches of private organizations, one by public
employees, one by the teachers, students in higher institutions,
and other members of the sixth Corporation, and one by the
societies cooperating in production, labor, and consumption.
The labor judges have the privilege of dividing their colleges
into sections in order to facilitate judgments, and thus expedite
justice. The right of appeals is under the jurisdiction of the ------
joint sessions. .
40. The civil judges try all those civil, commercial, and penal
cases over which the Good Men and the judges of labor have no
jurisdiction; criminal cases are excepted. They constitute the
Tribunal of Appeals for sentences imposed by the Good Men.
They are chosen by the Court of Reasons through contest among
citizens holding the degree of doctor of laws. - 4.
41. Seven sworn citizens, assisted by two deputies and pre-
sided over by a civil magistrate, compose the Criminal Tribunal
which tries all cases of political offense and all crimes punish-
able by a term of imprisonment exceeding three years.
42. The Court of Reasons, elected by the National Council, is
composed of five active members and two deputies. At least
three of the active members, and one of the deputies must be
chosen among the doctors of law. The Court of Reasons passes
judgment upon the acts and decrees issued by the legislative
power and by the executive power, and decides upon their con-
stitutionality; all statutory conflicts between the legislative
power and the executive power, between the Regency and the
Communes, between the various Communes, between the Regency
and the Corporations, between the Regency and private indi-
viduals, between the Communes and private individuals; all
cases of high treason against the Regency on the part of those
citizens having legislative and executive power; all attempts
against the rights of the people; civil disputes between the
Regency and the Communes, and between the various Com-
munes; transgressions committed by those in power; questions
involving citizenship and exile; questions pertaining to the
ability of the various judicial magistrates.
The Court of Reasons is the final judge of all sentences pro-
nounced and nominates the assisting magistrates. Those serv-
ing in the Court of Reasons are not allowed to hold any other
office, whether in the locality where the court is located or in
any other Commune; nor are they allowed to pursue any pro-
fession, industry, or trade during their term of office.
THE CHIEF
43. When the Regency, in time of extreme danger, realizes
that its salvation lies in the devoted will of a single person
capable of uniting, arousing, and rallying the forces of the peo-
ple to struggle and victory, the National Council solemnly assem-
bled in “Arengo” can nominate such a one Chief by verbal vote
and intrust to him supreme unlimited power. The Council
determines the duration of his command, remembering that in
the Roman Republic dictatorship lasted six months.
44. The Chief, during the period of his command, assumes all
political, military, legislative, and executive powers. Those
who share the executive power assume the responsibilities of
secretaries and commissioners under his supervision.
45. When the time of his command has expired, the National
Council meets to consider reinstating the Chief, or substituting
another citizen in his place, or deposing him, or banishing him.
Any citizen invested with political rights, regardless whether
or not he has any power in the Regency, may be elected to this
high office. -
NATIONAL DEFENSE
47. In the Italian Regency of Quarnero all citizens of both
sexes between the ages of seventeen and fifty-five are liable to
military service in defense of their land. After classification
the men who are physically fit are to serve in the land or naval
forces, those who are less fit and women whose health is normal
are to serve in the ambulance corps, in hospitals, in the various
departments, in munition plants, and in any other auxiliary
work according to individual aptitude and skill.
48. The state pledges itself to aid all citizens who may con-
tract an incurable disease while in military service, and promises
help to their needy families. The state pledges itself to adopt
the children of those who have met a glorious death in defense
of their country; it aids their relatives in case of need, and
recommends their names to the memory of future generations.
49. In time of peace and safety the Regency does not main-
tain a standing army; but the whole nation is armed according
to methods prescribed by a law concerning this question, and
with wise efficiency keeps in training its forces on land and sea.
Strict military service is limited to the period of instruction and
to the periods of actual warfare or immediate danger.
the period of instruction and in time of war, a citizen does not
lose his civil and political rights, and he can exercise these when
they are compatible with the requirements of active discipline.
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
50. For all people of noble origin culture is the mightiest and
the most far-reaching of weapons. For the Adriatic people who
for centuries have been engaged in a relentless struggle against
the barbarous usurper, it is more than a weapon; it is as indom-
itable a power as right or faith. For the people of Fiume in
their very moment of rebirth to freedom, it becomes the most
effective instrument of salvation and success in dealing with the
foreign intrigues which have for centuries pressed heavily upon
it. Culture is the aroma which destroys corruption. Culture is
steadfastness opposed to weakness. In the Quarnero of Dante
the knowledge of the language of Dante results in respect for
and preservation of that which, throughout the ages, has been
considered the most priceless treasure of the people, the highest
testimony to their noble origin, the supreme mark of their sense
of moral domination. Moral domination is a war-like necessity
in the new state. The exaltation of beautiful human ideals
arises from its will to conquer.
In accomplishing its unity, gaining its freedom, and restoring
During
its justice, the new state must above and beyond all its princi-
ples resolve to defend, preserve, and champion its unity, its free-
dom, and its justice in the kingdom of the spirit. The spirit of
Rome must have a place in its culture. The spirit of Italy must
dominate its culture.
The Roman rhythm, that fatal rhythm of achievement, must
lead anew along healing paths the other troubled race which
deludes itself into thinking that it can efface our glorious foot-
steps and falsify our noble history. In this land of Latin ex-
traction, in this land tilled by the Latin plowshare, the other
race will be fashioned sooner or later according to the creative
spirit of Latinity, which is nothing more than a well-balanced
harmony of those forces which contribute to the formation of the
free man.
Here is fashioned the free man. And here is prepared the
kingdom of the spirit, purified by hard toil and persistent effort.
For this reason the Italian Regency of Quarnero considers as
the apex to its laws the culture of the people; it builds its patri-
mony upon the patrimony of the great Latin culture.
51. There shall be instituted in the city of Fiume a free
university, its site to be chosen with a view to allow ample
increase in the curriculum and in the number of its student
body; it is to be governed by statutes as are the Corporations.
There shall be constituted in the city of Fiume a school of fine
arts, a school of decorative arts, and a school of music, based
upon the abolition of every academic vice and prejudice, guided
by the most sincere and ardent spirit of research after new
truths, inspired by a motive strong enough to purge them of
the encumbrance of the poorly-gifted, to separate good from
better, and to aid the better to a true discovery of themselves
and the new relations between stubborn matter and human sen-
timent.
52. The Council of the Best supervises the work of the ele-
mentary schools; the Council of Provisors that of the technical
and professional schools; and the National Council supervises
the higher branches of learning. *
In all schools of all Communes the teaching of the Italian
language has marked preference. In the elementary schools the
teaching of the various dialects spoken in the Italian Regency
of Quarnero is compulsory. Prime importance is attached to the
language spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of each Com- -
mune, and parallel courses are given in the language—spoken by
the minority. If any Commune attempts to withdraw from the
obligation of instituting such courses, the Regency exercises its
right to provide such instruction, charging the Commune with
the expense involved.
53. A scholastic council determines the plan and method of
primary instruction which is compulsory in all schools of the
Communes. .
First place is given to the teaching of choral singing, founded
on themes of the most ingenuous peasant poetry, and to the
teaching of decorative art modeled after the most authentic
rustic art.
The Council is composed of a representative from each Com-
mune, two representatives from the elementary schools, two
from the technical and professional schools, two from the insti-
tutions of higher learning, chosen by the instructors and stu-
dents, two from the school of music, two from the school of deco-
rative arts. g -
54. No religious emblems or political posters should be hung
on the light, airy walls of the school-room. The public schools
welcome the followers of all religious creeds, the believers of all
religious faiths, as well as those who can live without an altar
and without a God. Liberty of conscience is strictly respected.
And each one can offer his own silent prayer. But let there be
written on the walls those inscriptions which stir the soul, and
which, like the themes of a heroic symphony, though repeated
over and over again, never lose their power to thrill us. Let
there be hung on the walls the imposing images of those master-
pieces which with their lyrical power interpret the perpetual
aspirations and dreams of men.
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
55. Every seven years the great National Council meets in
special assembly to consider revision of the Constitution. The
Constitution can be revised at any time when requested by a
third of the citizens who have the right to vote.
The following have the privilege of proposing amendments to
the Constitution: members of the National Council, representa-
tives of the Communes, the Court of Reasons, the Corporations.
THE RIGHT OF INITIATIVE
56. All citizens belonging to the electoral bodies have the
right to propose laws which pertain to matters coming within
the jurisdiction of the respective Councils. But the motion is
not valid, unless seconded and supported by at least one-fourth
of the electors of either Council. -
POPULAR REFERENDUM
57. All laws sanctioned by the two legislative bodies may be
subjected to popular vote, for public approval or disapproval,
when requested by a number of electors equal to at least one-
fourth of the citizens possessing the right to vote.
RIGHT OF PETITION
58. All citizens have the right to submit petitions to the legis-
lative bodies duly elected by them.
INCOMPATIBILITY
59. No citizen can exercise more than one function nor take
part in two legislative bodies at the same time.
RECALL
60. Any citizen can be removed from office when he loses his
political rights by sentence, confirmed by the Court of Reasons,
when the removal is indorsed by simple vote of one-half plus
one of those enrolled in the electoral body.
RESPONSIBILITY
61. All who enjoy its privileges and all public officials of the
Regency are legally and civilly responsible for the damage done
to the state, the Commune, and the plain citizen through their
transgressions, abuse, carelessness, cowardice, and incapacity.
T--_
-—
*~.
COMPENSATION
62. To all public officials designated in the statutes and con-
stituting part of the new plan, a fair compensation is granted,
the amount of which shall be determined from year to year by
the National Council. -
EDILESHIP
63. There is instituted in the Regency a College of Ediles,
chosen carefully among men of pure taste, perfect skill, and
modern education. More than the Roman edileship the College
recalls those “officials in charge of the decoration of the city”
who in our “Quattrocento” designed a street or a public square
with that same musical sense which guided them in the prepa-
rations for a state celebration or a carnival. It supervises the
daily living of the citizen; it looks after the welfare, upkeep, and
sanitation of public buildings and individual houses; it prevents
the defilement of city streets with poorly constructed buildings.
It arranges civic festivals on land and sea with sober ele-
gance, having in mind those ancestors of ours for whom, in
order to create miracles of joy, there sufficed a soft light, a few
delicate garlands, and the knowledge of the art of instilling
grace and elegance in human movements and gatherings. It
makes the workman feel that to decorate the most humble dwell-
ing with some sign of popular art is a pious act, and that there
is a religious sentiment of human mystery and profound nature
in the most simple sign that is handed down from generation to
generation, be it carved or painted on the kneading trough, the
cradle, the loom, the distaff, the coffer, or the yoke. It seeks to
revive in the people a love for beautiful lines and colors in the
things used in every-day life, pointing out to them what our
ancestors were able to create with a simple geometric motif, a
star, a flower, a heart, a serpent, or a dove represented on a
pitcher, a jug, a jar, a bench, a basket, or a platter. It seeks to
show the people why and how the spirit of ancient communal
liberty was expressed not only in the lines, reliefs, and connec-
tions of the stones, but even in the human imprint placed upon
the utensil which has been made to live and to have power.
Finally, convinced that architecture expresses the character
and energy of a race, it aims to make architects and construc-
tors understand that the new materials—steel, glass, and cement
—are only waiting to be lifted up to their proper place, and to be
fused in harmonious creations of modern architecture.
MUSIC
64. In the Italian Regency of Quarnero music is a religious
and social institution. Every thousand years or every two thou-
sand years there springs from the depths of humanity a hymn
that lives through the ages. A great race is not only that race
which creates its god in its own image, but that race which
also knows how to create its own hymn for its god. If every
rebirth of a noble race is a lyric effort, if every unanimous and
creative sentiment is a lyric power, if every organization is a
lyric organization in the dynamic and impetuous sense of the
word, music considered as a ritual language is the exalting
motive of any action and of any creation in life.
The advent of every great spiritual awakening always seems
to be announced to the expectant and anxious multitude through
the medium of some overpowering musical masterpiece. The
reign of the human spirit has not yet begun.
working upon matter shall be able to free men from the clutches
of toil, then the spirit will begin to see the dawn of its liberty,”
so said a man from the Adriatic shores, a man from Dalmatia;
the blind prophet of Sebenico. As the crowing of the cock
invokes daybreak, so does music invoke dawn, eaccitat auroram.
Meanwhile music finds its movement and its utterance in the
instruments of labor, in gain and in play, and in the roaring
machinery which also follows as exact a rhythm as does poetry.
From its pauses is formed the silence of the tenth Corporation.
65. In all Communes of the Regency there will be formed
choral and orchestral groups aided by state contribution. In
the city of Fiume there has been intrusted to the Ediles the
building of a rotunda capable of accommodating an audience
of at least ten thousand, furnished with comfortable seats and
a large pit for the orchestra and for the chorus. The big choral
and orchestral celebrations are “entirely free”—as the Fathers
of the Church say about the grace of God.
“When matter -