Excitement pulsated through the city of Trieste as men, women and children streamed into the Piazza, dell' Unità. By 2 in the afternoon, more than 15,000 had packed into the square, beneath two giant, freshly painted red pylons built to fly huge flags of Italy and the city. Sidewalk vendors did a brisk business in tiny flags and miniature hats of the Bersaglieri, the Italian elite troops who were the first to occupy Trieste after Austria's defeat in 1918. At three minutes after 2, a voice boomed from the city hall balcony the news the crowd had gathered to...
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