At the beginning of the 19^th century, the Austrian Empire was the most remarkable pluralistic organization on the European continent. With the Revolution of 18489, Vienna found itself challenged by the winning nation-state model in the rest of Europe. In the second half of the century, military defeats intensified conflicts between nationalities. The First World War was the most tragic outcome of these conflicts.

Marco Bellabarba, Fondazione Bruno Kessler - ISIG, Trento, Italia.