The Italian parliament last year adopted a decision to mark a remembrance day, choosing February 10 in memory of the 1947 Paris peace treaty which gave the Istrian peninsula in the northern Adriatic to ex-Yugoslavia.
The throwing of people into karst pits in the Trieste hinterland and in Istria is one of the dark pages of Italian history. All state institutions, starting from President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, underlined the need to remember. He advocated rejecting hatred and looking at the past in a reasonable way.
"The principle of a person's dignity and respect for human rights and minorities' rights are the foundations of the European Union," Ciampi said, adding that the tragic events that occurred at the end of the Second World War were an integral part of the national history which should stay in the collective memory.
"Italians, Slovenes and Croats may look with confidence towards a common future, which they can build together, primarily by strengthening coexistence in which diversity is a factor of mutual enrichment, in which everyone's roots and tradition are respected in an equally dignified way," said Ciampi, wishing for today's Remembrance Day to encourage reconciliation and dialogue.
A minute of silence was observed in parliament, all state administration offices and schools.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said the events being commemorated today "can't be forgotten and we must prevent going down the same road of hatred and creating the same monsters again".
Today's commemoration began at a karst pit in Basovizza near Trieste with a wreath-laying ceremony. The minister for Italians in the world, Mirko Tremaglia, said today's Remembrance Day was historic. He called for overcoming hatred in the way suggested by President Ciampi, adding that it was necessary to remember "all the executioners".
Both left and right wing parties paid respects to the victims of the karst pits.