La ricerca di un confine “notabile” fra Venezia e l’Austria. Il caso friulano (1750-1756)

Abstract

In 1750, a commissariat was established to resolve border issues between the Austrian Empire and the Venetian Republic with the task of identifying shared territorial lines. For the borders of Friuli with Carinthia and the counties of Gradisca and Gorizia, Giovanni Donà was appointed on the Venetian side and Count Saurau and Baron De Fin on the Austrian side, who were replaced in 1752 by General d’Harrsch. In order to avoid confining the numerous enclaves, a legacy of the 16th century treaties, the Austrian commissioners proposed identifying an immediately visible line dividing the two states. They called it a ‘notable boundary’. The Venetian Senate seemed to accept the proposal, but not wanting to give up the littoral, in fact, scuppered it. Thus all the borders between the two states were delimited, including those of the enclaves, the final result of which is to be found in the thirteen treaties of Gorizia drawn up from 1752 to 1756.