Where was the Free State of Fiume located?

The Free State of Fiume was an independent free state that existed between 1920 and 1924. Its territory of 11 sq mi (28 km2) comprised the city of Fiume (today Rijeka, Croatia) and rural areas to its north, with a corridor to its west connecting it to the Kingdom of Italy.

After WW I, a dispute arose between Italy and Yugoslavia over control of the Adriatic port of Fiume. Although the secret Treaty of London (April 26, 1915) had assigned Fiume to Yugoslavia, the Italians claimed it at the Paris Peace Conference on the principle of self-determination.

On September 12, 1919, the Italian nationalist poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, who had assembled a body of men near Trieste, occupied Fiume and proclaimed himself "commander" of the "Reggenza Italiana del Carnaro". The Italian government, however, upon concluding the Treaty of Rapallo (November 12, 1920) with Yugoslavia, resolved to expel D'Annunzio from Fiume.

Riccardo Zanella, the next premier, namely a Fiume Free State with an Italo-Fiuman-Yugoslav consortium for the port; and such a solution was approved by the Fiuman electorate on April 24, 1921.

When Mussolini came to power in Italy, he lobbied the Yugoslav government and a new treaty was signed in Rome on January 27, 1924, recognizing Fiume as Italian.

On May 3, 1945, Yugoslav Partisans occupied it, driving out the Nazi occupation. Finally, the city was ceded to Yugoslavia in 1947 after the Treaty of Paris, it became the Yugoslav city of Rijeka.