Summary
Bernardo Benussi (Rovinj, January 10, 1846 - Trieste, March 18, 1929), medieval historian.
He attended the archbishop's seminary in Udine. He continued his education in Koper. He studied law at the University of Padua. He studied history and social sciences in Vienna and Graz. He obtained his history and geography teacher's diploma in Graz in 1869 and two years later in philosophy. He worked in Koper and Trieste high schools, then he was the director of the Women's High School and until 1920 he taught philosophy, pedagogy, economic geography and the history of trade at the Higher Commercial School.
Honorary president of the Trieste Università Popolare di Trieste, 1909–13. and honorary president and co-founder of the Società Istriana di Archeologia e Storia Patria.
He was a historian with all the hallmarks of the then Austrian historiographical school. He openly debated politically with ideological rivals, such as Msgr. F. Volarić regarding the use of the Croatian language in the church liturgy.
Benussi remained faithful to the Risorgimento and to the ideas of Italian civil liberalism with national and nationalist components. After 1918, he rejected fascist ideas.
Despite this attitude and rich scientific oeuvre, the scientific value of his works is diminished by Italian irredentist interpretations of Istria's past. Today, the Italian primary school in Rovinj is named after Bernard Benussi.
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