His professional and militant activity has enabled him to get to know first-hand the situation of minority cultures in Europe, and he has a point of view on these issues that must also be taken into account in our country. He has given us a calm and well-measured reflection on the minority cultures of his country, Italy and Europe.

First of all, I would like to propose that you help us locate the village of Friuli.
Well, you see, geographically, we're in the north of the Mediterranean and the south of the Alps, and we're the westernmost part of Eastern Europe, or in other words, the westernmost part... We’ve always felt like a border country. Politically, the western part of the country has belonged to Italy since 1866, while the eastern part dates back to World War I, 1918.

I would say that the general idea is that the formation of the Italian state was a rather voluntary process.
Well, in our case, in 1866, a referendum was held for annexation to Italy, yes... but I would say that the consultation was not very democratic: the vote was held in the square, in the polls guarded by the law enforcement. There were two urns, one for the yes and one for the no. In short, Italy’s unification process was a little different from what they say.

We have been conditioned by our local border situation. Until the 1970s, much of Friuli's territory was under military jurisdiction. There were barracks in every town. Right wing paramilitary groups were also formed here. The anti-communist network, but they also had the task of controlling the 'separatists' in the region. It was anti-Communist and anti-Slovenian in particular – the region is also home to a Slovenian minority.

You were born in that context, then. Tell us a little bit about your biography, even in terms of language.
I was born in Udine on July 12, 1973. I was born there because there is the nearest hospital, but in addition to those few days after childbirth, I always lived in Borc dai Pups. The Borc is a typical housing complex in Friuli; it is composed of a dense group of houses, located on hills and mountains; in a sense, something intermediate between a farm and a village. Well, I was born in the town of Sarsêt, in the municipality of Martignà, where we live in the same borc as my family, at least since the end of the 15th century. I grew up in an environment where Friulian was spoken, both in my family and in the country.

However, as happened to many who were born in Friuli in the 70s of the last century, it happened to me in a similar way: in addition to only speaking Italian at school, Friuli-speaking families began to speak Italian with their children so that they would not adopt "bad" language habits. That’s why for a few years, when I was a child, my family spoke Italian with me until they saw that I spoke Italian well. Then they started talking to me about Friuli again. When I grew up, when I started to reason about this situation, I decided to become a Friulian activist; and even today, despite everything, I often speak Italian with my mother and sisters.

I understand that in your case there has been awareness and learning about this issue. What has been your biography in this sense?
I started to think mostly from middle school (although my situation is like many others) that it wasn’t normal or fair. I started reading books about Friuli’s history and they helped me understand some things. But it wasn’t a linear process, it took me years to connect the dots. On this twisted path, for example, news from the press came from Northern Ireland and the Basque Country. I was only 8 years old when he died, but the story of Bobby Sands impressed me greatly, although at that time I did not fully understand it. It is no coincidence that the first book I published was a newspaper that wrote during the hunger strike, translated into Friulian.

Would you say that you have given your life and your work for your country?
Yeah, you could say I've dedicated my life to that, to the people. I joined a group of students who promoted Friulian language and identity in college. Then, in the mid-1990s, I approached the community Radio Onde Furlane, which broadcasts mainly in Friuli. Members of the cooperative in charge of the radio, among others, organize the Suns Europe festival.

The Suns Europe festival will surely be one of the most important cultural events for stateless nations in Europe.
It was originally held as a music competition, but since 2015 other cultural expressions have been introduced. Our goal is to make known what is being done in the minority cultures of Europe, but not only that, we also want this space to be a meeting point, we want to create a network of European minority populations. Share this cultural and political diversity. On the other hand, we try not to make it a festival of folklore performances without giving up, but we want to make it clear that our peoples are peoples like the others, and we do not want to be in a museum. Identity is plural and not monolithic.

I would like you to tell me your opinion about the location of the stateless nations of Europe. How do you see the situation of minority nations in the European Union?
Unfortunately, the European Union continues to be an expression (and subordinate) of state governments. It is very far from the idea of the federation of free peoples that they originally envisioned, and I think it is very difficult – perhaps impossible – to change it. I would say that in this first quarter of the century, there have been at least a couple of moments of great hope for minority nationalities: I am referring to the questionnaires on the independence of Scotland and Catalonia. The success of a single people is essential to others: it indicates a path, it gives confidence, it shows that it is possible.

What was the Catalan independence process for you?
I have tried to follow the Procés carefully since 2012, until today. For example, on October 1, 2017, I visited Barcelona, a school used as an electoral center. In those days, there were many militants displaced from other minority communities in Catalonia.

We were all there to make our contribution – no matter how small – and not only because of the spirit of solidarity, but because we believed that if Catalonia really managed to embark on the path of independence, there would be a precedent, an action to break the political and institutional immobility of the States and the European Union. The taboo would be broken. But, well, we know how things went.

Yeah, we know that. So, in part, we can say that Catalonia has been a reference for non-state communities. And the Basque Country?
Yeah, that's right. But at different times and for different reasons.

I believe that the Basque popular movement, especially in the second half of the last century, was a point of reference for all stateless nations in Europe. Especially in the 1970s, I think it was also an important reference for the international revolutionary left, even for the one that was not linked to the minorized peoples. Later, the Basques, for example, represented a model of success in the recovery of their language. All systems are flawed, but the number of speakers, especially among the younger ones, has increased. It is one of the few cases in Europe where the loss of speakers has been reversed. It is not little!

The situation in Catalonia is different and, in some respects, it is an anomaly. Even apart from the rest of the Catalan countries, we are talking about a territory with a larger economy and population – even in terms of language – than several states. Many have been referencing it for a long time, but the truth is that it is often difficult to make comparisons with communities that do not even reach one and a half million inhabitants.

On the other hand, in my opinion, the case of Catalonia shows all the limitations of the system. The arrogance with which the Spanish Government and the other central institutions have embarked on the process of reform of the Statute of Autonomy showed that if on the other side there are centralists, chauvinists, fascists, there is no point in common sense and reason. They're of no use. In this case, the negotiation does not guarantee progress, but it can lead to setbacks.

What about the languages? There seems to be attempts to revive the language in Ireland. Do you think this attitude is widespread?
No, I don't. I think there are quite different situations. In some communities many things are moving, and in others we would say that the situation is static, or even there is some regression. In Britain, for example. Many speakers and cultural productions are being lost. The main cooperative for books and cultural products in the Breton language has been forced to close, or at least severely restricted, its activities.

And in Italy? What is the situation of minority cultures? Does there exist, for example, the consciousness of being a different nation?
Apart from the small populations that have a majority in another State or that form the reference community of a State, within the Italian State there are three - in my opinion, but I am not the only one who thinks so - that have the characteristics of being considered a nation without a State: Sardinia, Ladinia and Friuli.

Although they have specific and different characteristics, today they are communities with a relatively strong linguistic awareness, but only the heritage of a few is national awareness. The ‘brainwashing’, cultivated by institutions, the media and the educational system for more than a century and a half, is natural... The idea of being 'another' is still there, but it's something hidden, and it's hard to identify it that way.

Friulians, for example, have this feeling internalized. We're the border, we've been fighting the barbarians. The barbarians were the Germans, and then the Slavic peoples. The Friuli have been conceived as a 'different' Italy, a frontier stronghold against the Italians, the Montagnes, the Germans or the savage Slavs. A fortress against barbarism. And in the end, we have believed, and we do not realize that we are the barbarians, that we are the 'others'.

How do you explain the arrival of the extreme right to power in Italy?
Well, in short, in Italy, the political camp on the left has very little on the left.

So, in your opinion, the left has not done the job well. What has been its mission, for example, with the minority cultures of Italy?
I think we can say that on the Italian left they are more sensitive to languages and to these issues, but they do not delve into these issues. After all, the Italian left is an Italian nationalist. The leftists will say “Italian Republic” and “Italian citizens”, while the rightists will say “Italian nation”. They are different expressions of nationalism, one more authoritarian and ideological, and the other more banal nationalism. But, right and left, when there is something that jeopardizes the idea of Italy, they are pure Italian nationalists.

Why is it important to work for minority cultures and nations?
Friuli is my reference, it's my family history. I don’t know if this will help the world, I think the world is better if my culture is there, but anyway, I’m Friulian, that’s what I am. My identity is also a history of resistance, of all the generations that have lived here before me. It is thanks to this resistance that I am here. To help them take care of them, this fight is also, in a way, to pay my debt to them.