Antonio Fonda Savio: a collector of memories

Antonio Fonda Savio (Trieste, 1895–1973) was an officer, partisan, and entrepreneur.
From a young age he embraced irredentist ideals and, at the outbreak of the First World War, volunteered to join the Italian army.
In 1919 he married Letizia, daughter of Italo Svevo, and became part of one of the most important cultural circles in early 20th-century Trieste. During the Second World War, he emerged as a central figure in the Resistance: together with Edoardo Marzari, he led the city’s uprising against Nazi occupation, while enduring the tragic loss of his three sons.
In the postwar years, alongside his wife Letizia, he devoted himself passionately to civic and cultural initiatives, holding prominent roles in Triestine institutions such as API (Italian Partisans’ Association), Banca d’Italia, Circolo della Cultura e delle Arti, Lloyd Triestino and Società Ginnastica Triestina.

The Antonio Fonda Savio Collection, housed at the Writers’ and Regional Culture Archive Library of the University of Trieste, includes a rich library of more than 3,000 volumes - among them works that once belonged to Italo Svevo - a documentary archive of personal papers, correspondence, and printed materials, as well as a significant group of artworks. Though seemingly diverse, this heritage reflects Antonio Fonda Savio’s love for the history and identity of his homeland (Pirano, Istria, Venice, and Trieste) while also preserving the memory of Italo Svevo, his father-in-law and spiritual mentor.

On behalf of the University of Trieste, Grana Fina has launched a project to organize and safeguard the collection through an assessment of its current state, rehousing using ISO-compliant archival materials, and cataloguing with the Samira collection management system. Entrusted with the goal of protecting and enhancing the collection in its complexity, the project seeks to ensure full accessibility, making it an essential resource for historical and cultural research into the periods and territories it documents. In this perspective, a substantial portion of the collection will be featured in the Regional Catalogue of Cultural Heritage of Friuli Venezia Giulia, to foster wider access and to support a deeper and more widespread understanding.