Italian nationalists rejected the idea of giving up Istria, since Istria had belonged to Italy for the 25 years between World War I and the end of World War II, and Istrian western coast had long had a largely Italian population.
Italian nationalists rejected the idea of giving up Istria, since Istria has been an ancient italian region together with the Venetian region ("Venetia et Histria"). Furthermore Istria belonged to Italy since the for the 25 years between World War I and the end of World War II, and Istrian western coast had long had a largely Italian population.