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4: CASE STUDY 1: THE ITALIAN/SLOVENIAN BORDER
Figure 39: Car being checked before crossing the border at Casa Rossa/Rožna Dolina. Both
registration number and chassis number is being checked. Property of Goriški Muzej, Nova Gorica,
Slovenia.
When the border was established in 1947 two types of crossings were
opened, one for farmers who owned land on both sides of the border and
one for international crossings. In 1955 agreements were reached between
the Italian and Yugoslavian governments which allowed people living in a
10 km radius of the border to cross on a more regular basis using a
particular pass, Lasciapassare/Prepustnica (Bufon 1996:249). This meant a
third type of crossing was created for local traffic. The earliest crossing
points consisted of barriers across existing roads with often just a small
wooden hut or structure for the guards. At the international crossing points
these stations usually had many buildings to house offices, customs and
border guards and often several lanes to route traffic through as demands
on these crossings were higher. At smaller, local crossings, there was often
just one structure with a roofed area extending over the road so that inspections
could easily be carried out in any type of weather. Gates and roadblocks
were placed in the road.
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