Mario Lago
Encyclopedia
Mario Lago was an Italian
statesman and diplomat.
Originally from the town of Peveragno
, Lago was Governor of the Italian Aegean Islands
from 1922 to 1936. His term of office is characterized by a far-sighted policy and respect for ethnic and cultural identity of the inhabitants of the colony. He was able to integrate the Greek, Turkish
and Ladino Jewish communities of the island of Rhodes
with the Italian colonists
. He also encouraged intermarriage with local Greeks. This period constituted what might in retrospective be called the "Golden Age" of the Italian Dodecanese, with the economy booming and a relatively harmonious society.
Lago also developed a large plan of public works in Rhodes and other islands. As part of these plans, the new city of Portolago (present-day Lakki) was built as the base of the Italian Royal Navy
on the island of Leros
, as well as the agricultural village of Peveragno Rodio, a center of settlement of Italian colonists.
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
statesman and diplomat.
Originally from the town of Peveragno
Peveragno
Peveragno is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 km south of Turin and about 8 km southeast of Cuneo....
, Lago was Governor of the Italian Aegean Islands
Italian Aegean Islands
The Italian Dodecanese, formally known as Italian Aegean Islands , were a group of twelve major islands in the Aegean Sea, off the southwest coast of Turkey, which belonged to the Kingdom of Italy from 1912 to 1947.-Background:The Dodecanese was occupied by Italy during the Italo-Turkish War of 1912...
from 1922 to 1936. His term of office is characterized by a far-sighted policy and respect for ethnic and cultural identity of the inhabitants of the colony. He was able to integrate the Greek, Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and Ladino Jewish communities of the island of Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
with the Italian colonists
Italian colonists in the Dodecanese
Italian colonists were settled in the Dodecanese Islands of the Aegean Sea in the 1930s by the Fascist Italian government of Benito Mussolini, Italy having been in occupation of the Islands since the Italian-Turkish War of 1911....
. He also encouraged intermarriage with local Greeks. This period constituted what might in retrospective be called the "Golden Age" of the Italian Dodecanese, with the economy booming and a relatively harmonious society.
Lago also developed a large plan of public works in Rhodes and other islands. As part of these plans, the new city of Portolago (present-day Lakki) was built as the base of the Italian Royal Navy
Regia Marina
The Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
on the island of Leros
Leros
Leros is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies 317 km from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 11-hour ferry ride . Leros is part of the Kalymnos peripheral unit...
, as well as the agricultural village of Peveragno Rodio, a center of settlement of Italian colonists.