ASMARA: AFRICA’S MODERNIST CITY

Candidature for UNESCO World Heritage Listing1

CONTENTS

2

1. Preamble

3

2. Description of the Nominated Property

6

3. Justification for Inscription
				
4. Management System of Asmara

10

5. Conclusion

18

6. Signatures1915

1. Preamble

The State of Eritrea is signatory to three major
UNESCO administered Conventions: theWorld Heritage Convention of 1972: the 2003
Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage; and the 1954 Convention for theProtection of Cultural Property in the Event of
Armed Conflict. On 30th September 2015 Eritrea
also enacted its first national heritage protection
laws, titled: “Cultural and Natural Heritage
Proclamation”. As cited in the proclamation, thesustainable protection, safeguarding, preservation,conservation, promotion, and disseminationof knowledge and practices in relation to thecountry’s cultural and natural heritage is beneficial
for the social, economic, intellectual, artistic andcultural development of current and succeeding
generations. The recognition of cultural diversity
and fostering of cultural economies throughlegal instruments is vital for the sustainable
development and safeguarding of heritage.

city the unity of innovative urban planning andmodernist architecture combined with local
natural and cultural conditions. An urban planning
process based on functional and racial zoning
demonstrates the Italian colonial response fromthe late-19th century to the challenges of modern
urban requirements in a highland African setting.
The architectural character exemplifies a period of
intense development in the 1930s that coincidedwith the global proliferation and artistic apogeeof pre-war modernism and its various forms. The
research challenges conventional perceptions basedon universalistic norms, inviting a reassessment of
how colonial heritage and modernism are perceived
beyond the Eurocentric gaze.

Eritrea’s decision to conserve Asmara’s colonial
era architecture represents a profoundly different
attitude towards architectural heritage and its
interpretation and treatment compared with manyother post-colonial settings. Asmara’s nomination
On 1st February 2016, the State of Eritrea also presents an opportunity to encourage criticalsubmitted its first ever application to UNESCO reflections on cultural relations and heritagefor inscription on the World Heritage List globally, and to promote stability and prosperity(WHL). The nominated site was the country’s locally. In addition, Asmara has the potential tomodernist capital, Asmara. The 1,300-page contribute to a World Heritage global strategy to
Nomination Dossier represents the distillation of redress the comparative under-representation ofnearly two decades of collaborative research by African and modernist sites on the WHL.
professionals from a wide range of disciplines in
Eritrea and overseas, supported by many national The government of Eritrea has initiated several
and international government agencies. This programmes and projects to preserve, conserve andpaper summarizes the enormous quantity of safeguard the nation’s cultural and natural heritage
work contained in the Nomination Dossier and and transmit it to future generations. The State ofits most important propositions as to why Asmara Eritrea has established and implemented appropriate
is significant as a World Heritage Site.
measures to protect and manage Asmara’s historicurban landscape. The Central Region Administration,
Asmara is an outstanding example of a colonial the Ministry of Education and the Commission ofcapital that bears witness to the universal Culture and Sports have also jointly initiated andencounter with modernity in the 20th century worked in collaboration to achieve the Asmara
and consequent postcolonial experiences. The Heritage Project’s (AHP) objectives.
historic urban landscape embodies in a whole
3

The AHP was founded in 2014 under the
auspices of the Central Region Administration.
The AHP is responsible for the production of theNomination Dossier, the Integrated Management
Plan (2016-2021), Disaster Risk Management
Framework, the Urban Conservation Master Plan

(UCMP, 2017), the Asmara Planning Norms andTechnical Regulation (APNTR, 2017). AHP has
also completed a comprehensive building, open
public spaces and infrastructure survey (over4,300 sites surveyed), which will provide the basis
for future heritage listing and management.

The Cathedral on Harnet Avenue, designed by Oreste Scanavini and completed in 1923.
4

2. Description of the Nominated Property
Eritrea is located in the Horn of Africa andattained formal independence in May 1993. It isbordered by Sudan to the northwest; Ethiopia to
the south; Djibouti to the southeast; and the Red
Sea to the north and north east. The country is
subdivided into six administrative regions (Zobas),
Asmara is the capital city and governed under theCentral Region Administration.

(commonly referred to as Enda-Mariam) is located.
It was earlier on known as ‘Arbate-Asmera’, anancient highland village with four settlement areas
i.e. Geza-Asmea, Geza-Gurtom, Geza-Shilele andGeza-Serensir. The four settlements used to live
independently of each other and had separate
churches i.e. Gheza Asmea St-Kirkos; GezaGurtom St-Gabriel; Gheza-Shilele St-George(Biet-Giorgis); and Geza-Serensir St Mikael. They
Asmara – pronounced “Assmera” in Tigrinya – were however commonly linked to the church ofliterally means “The women brought unity to the Mariam-Tsion. Notwithstanding the harmonious
four villages”. Asmara was originally established life the four settlements enjoyed among eachduring the 7th Century around the area where other, they were frequently attacked and pillaged
the present St Mary’s (Mariam Tsion) church by outside raiders and intruders. As legend has it,

Fig 1: National map showing the location of Asmara in the context of Eritrea.

6Fig 2: Regional map showing the location of Asmara in the Central Region Administrative Zone.

during one year of severe drought, they gathered
together at the church of Mariam-Tsion to
pray to the Almighty for rain. On this occasion,
the women took the opportunity to persuade
their husbands to unite their four villages for astronger defense against their common enemies.
A new name was henceforth adopted: “ArbaeteAsmera” or “the Four United”. With the passageof time the name Arbaete-Asmera was abridged
to the present ‘Asmera’ or ‘Asmara’. For Eritreans,
Asmara is not just their capital city, but an objectof love; an icon of unity with a very strong social
bondage and attachment. This intangible aspectof Asmara’s cultural significance is critical to thenomination of the city for world heritage listingas part of wider and richer historiography thanmerely modernist architecture and planning.
Asmara, Africa’s Modernist City, is the capital of
Eritrea, in the Horn of Africa (see Fig 1). The city
is located in the centre of the country in the Zoba
Maekel Administration Region on a plateau 2,300
m above sea level at the edge of an escarpment that
forms part of the great East African rift system.
For the location of Asmara at national and regional
level see Fig 1 and Fig 2 respectively.
7

The proposed World Heritage Site of Asmaracomprises the city’s ‘historic’ centre foundedon the site of an ancient local settlement anddeveloped during the years of Italian occupationfrom 1889-1941. The evolution of the urban
plan over this period subject to local climate,topographical, political and cultural features
has produced one of the most complete earlymodernist built environments in the world. As an
outcome of a cumulative planning process overdecades, Asmara’s layout is an embodiment of theuniversal encounter with modernity in the 20th
century in an African context. The site extends
from the indigenous quarter of Abbashawel in thenorth to the industrial and residential districts ofGejeret and Tiravolo in the south, and from theedge of the escarpment in the east to ‘Forto’ andthe Italian cemetery in the west. Contained within
this total urban setting are the successive phasesof early-modern urban planning that defined
Asmara’s layout and the majority of buildings
and structures that give the city its modernist
architectural character. In the detailed description
in the Nomination Dossier, the site is separated
into three thematic categories: Urban Planning;
Modernist Architecture; and the African Context.

Fig 3: Boundary Map, showing the boundaries of the Nominated Property, Buffer Zone and Protected Zone

A Buffer Zone surrounds the nominated property
and follows urban and natural features (the city
limits up to the peaks of surrounding hills and theescarpment edge) and urban districts (industrial
and more recent residential zones on the city’s
southern outskirts and residential developments
to the north) (see Fig 3).
A Protected Zone encircles the eastern andnorthern perimeters of the Buffer Zone. Thisis designed to protect the ‘green belt’ of theescarpment edge which forms a prominent andpicturesque backdrop to the city (see Fig 3).

8

3. Justification for Inscription

The modernist city of Asmara is an outstanding
example of a colonial capital that bears witness tothe universal encounter with modernity in the 20th
century and consequent postcolonial experiences.
The historic urban landscape embodies in a whole
city the unity of innovative urban planning andmodernist architecture combined with local
natural and cultural conditions. An urban planning
process based on functional and racial zoning
demonstrates the Italian colonial response fromthe late 19th century to the challenges of modern
urban requirements in a highland African setting.
The architectural character exemplifies a period of
intense development in the 1930s that coincidedwith the global proliferation and artistic apogeeof pre-war modernism and its various forms. The
result is a total urban landscape characterised byits human-scale and mixed uses, built forms, andactivities, including well-defined open spaces,
cinemas, shops, banks, religious structures,
public and private offices, industrial facilities,
and residences. The integrity and authenticity of
Asmara’s functional, aesthetic and cultural values
have been retained through a protracted struggle
for independence and subsequently assimilated
into a national consciousness in which Asmara
features centrally.

brought about by the encounter with modernity in
an African context. The exchange is expressed in
the unity of an innovative urban planning process
and distinguished Modernist architecture combinedwith local natural and cultural conditions to create a
distinctive urbanism based on human scale.
Criterion (iii): As a well-preserved total urban
landscape and modern capital of Eritrea, Asmara
bears exceptional testimony to the universal
aspiration for and attainment of national selfdetermination founded on the protracted
development of indigenous cultural and politicalconsciousness through multiple encounters with
regional civilizations and colonial experiences.
Asmara was once a centre of established cultural
traditions and trading networks spanning theregion, before becoming the locus of uniquely
varied foreign agendas of global significancebefore and during the Second World War andthroughout the Cold War.

Criterion (iv): Asmara is an outstanding example ofthe transition in architecture and town planningat the turn of the 20th century in response to theuniversal encounter with modernity in an African
context. The synthesis of modern town planningand architecture in a total urban landscape is
3.1 Criteria under which the site is proposed: an exemplar of early modernism adapted to
local cultural and geographic conditions. As
The historic centre of Asmara is proposed an urban landscape, Asmara encapsulates key
for inscription as an outstanding example of a stages of modernity’s development and principal
capital city that embodies the unity of early town characteristics, including colonialism and global
planning principles and modernist architecture conflict, scientific responses to planning andcombined with local natural and cultural infrastructure, rapid technological and urban
conditions consistent with its highland African development, and pioneering transportation andsetting. The site is proposed for inscription under communication.
the following criteria:
Statement of Integrity
Criterion (ii): Asmara exhibits an outstanding All the significant architectural structures andexample of the interchange of cultural influences the original urban layout, including most of the10characteristic features and public spaces, havebeen retained in their entirety. The site has also
retained its historical, cultural, functional andarchitectural integrity with their elements largely
intact and generally in good condition. The
only negative impacts have been the occasional
inapt restoration of older structures and theconstruction of some buildings in the late 20th
century that are inappropriate in size, scale orcharacter. Despite continuing developmentalpressures, the establishment of the ‘Historic
Perimeter’ around the centre of the city since2001 and the imposition of a moratorium on
new construction within this perimeter by themunicipal authorities have safeguarded the site’s
integrity.
The integrity of the intangible attributes associatedwith the indigenous community that has inhabitedparts of the site for centuries has been maintained
through a process of cultural continuity that,
despite successive waves of foreign influence,has been successfully assimilated into a modern
national consciousness and a national capital.
Statement of Authenticity
Asmara’s combination of innovative town
planning and modernist architecture in an
African context represent important and early
developmental phases of town planning andarchitectural modernism and therefore possess ahigh level of authenticity.
The creation of Asmara’s urban plan coincidedwith the establishment of the modern professionof town planning; while the subsequent accretionof the city’s modernist architecture, characterized
by the specifically Italian interpretation known as
Rationalism, corresponded with the pre-war peakof modernism. Climatic, cultural, economic andpolitical conditions over subsequent decades havebeen favourable in retaining the artistic, material
and functional values of the city’s architecturalelements, which include cinemas, apartmentbuildings, villas, petrol stations, factories,
churches, and public buildings.The authenticity
of local intangible attributes manifest in language,
cultural practices, national identity, and senseof place have been retained through Asmara’s
evolution from an indigenous centre of economy
and administration, through a colonial capital, to amodern capital of an independent state.
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3.2 Innovative Urban Planning Process
Asmara’s innovative urban plan was laid out at
the start of the 20th century, coinciding withthe birth of the modern profession of town
planning. Central to this new way of envisioning
city planning in the early 20th century was theradial street pattern, which usurped the uniform
grid to become the staple language of Europeanand American planners for its efficiency andthe opportunities it afforded in the creation of
picturesque views, dramatic vistas, civic plazas,
scenic spaces, and monumental sites. The radial city
provided a rich and fertile ground for architecture
and it was functional too. Radial street patterns
afforded faster and more efficient circulation thana grid. Asmara’s planners recognised the benefitsof modern planning, adopting their principles andcombining them with elements of the gridironsystem and adapting them to local topographicalconditions. They also adopted the modern theoryof zoning, which was a salient feature of thecontemporaneous Garden Cities Movement.
Asmara’s undulating topography created byvolcanic basalt dike swarms which pass throughthe Plain of Asmara did not suit a rigid gridironsystem. Local physical and cultural conditions
as much as contemporaneous developments intown planning theory and practice internationallyinformed Asmara’s physical characteristics. In thisuniquely African context the amalgamation of
local natural and cultural conditions and modern
town planning created the continent’s firstmodernist city.
Asmara is not a one-off urban plan, but rather the
result of a process of innovative urban planning.
The first three decades of Italian occupation in
Eritrea provided the foundation on which thesubsequent intense development of Asmara
occurred and for its subsequent materialisation
as a truly modernist city. The years 1896 to 1922
saw the design and initial execution of various
urban plans addressing defining elements that
informed the subsequent urban planning of thefledging colonial town of Asmara. In the firstyears of the 20th century, the early developmentof Asmara was characterised by a comparatively
unimaginative grid system. The use of a grid wasa device often used to impose order on the urban
landscape and was a feature of modern planningin America and keenly adopted by European

colonialists in the 19th century, who extended its
programme to exploit racial agendas.
Asmara’s 1902 plan focused primarily on
improving public hygiene and concentrated only
on the Italian community that was growing up
around Campo Cintato, placing less emphasis onother public works and ignoring the indigenous
areas. The 1908 Asmara plan, however, addressed
the entire city and adopted the contemporary
theory of zoning. In 1908, four distinct urban
quarters were defined: European only, a ‘mixed’
quarter for Europeans, other foreigners,
indigenous population and industrial zone. The
following year further plans were ratified forthe detailed development of various zones. The
formalisation of the 1913 plans can be seen in thedrawings by Cavagnari dated 1916. The purposeof these urban plans was to provide a pleasantand functional urban environment for the Italians,
while also containing and controlling the native
population.
When the architect Vittorio Cafiero preparedanother Master Plan in 1938, he was aware of
the new racial laws imposed by Mussolini andboth provided a reason for and made it necessary
to implement certain changes to make the city
“tidy and functional”. In carrying out the plan,
Cafiero emphasized the zoning of the city to
distinguish its varied functions. Certain practicalconsiderations of balancing the requirementsof commercial, industrial, residential and leisureareas needed attention, but central to the plan was
the separation of the races. All the evolved urban
plans contributed to form the urban structure thatis the collective product of planning, temporaland cultural processes
3.3 Modernist Architecture
Asmara’s modernist architecture represents one of
the most complete collections of its genre in theworld. As a total urban ensemble, Asmara bears
exceptional testimony to the formative stage of
one distinct strand of modernism: Rationalism.
Hundreds of buildings designed and constructedfrom 1935–41 possess the characteristics ofRationalism, which emerged in Italy with
Giuseppe Terragni’s design for the Novocomum
Apartments in Como (1927–29) and reached
its apogee in 1936 with the completion of thecelebrated Casa del Fascio, also by Terragni and12also in Como. Rationalist architecture embraced
the new machine age and was uncompromising in
its promotion of aesthetic purity and geometricsimplicity in built forms, volumes and masses. The
defining characteristic of Asmara’s Rationalist
architecture is witnessed in the profusion ofpure geometric volumes, asymmetric and abstract
forms, and a lack of ornamentation in the designof cinemas, shops, banks, religious structures,
public and private offices, industrial facilities, andresidences.
In Europe architectural modernism was expressedin new materials of glass and concrete, but inEritrea, where such materials were comparatively
expensive, many of the modernist buildings werebuilt using local materials and made to appear
modern. Although reinforced concrete wasavailable and frequently used, many buildingsin Asmara used large quantities of local basalt
rendered in lime plaster to give the appearanceof concrete or to create modern geometricforms befitting the modern machine age, albeit
constructed using traditional materials.
Asmara’s unique architectural value is derived not
only from the prevalence of Rationalism. The cityalso possesses other expressions of modernism,
including Futurism, as well as earlier articulationsof architectural modernity such as Novecentoand neo-traditional styles recalling Classical,
Lombard, Romanesque, Renaissance, Gothic,
medieval and even vernacular forms. Collectively,
Asmara’s architectural character is therefore
broad and fairly represents the transformation inarchitecture during the early-20th century fromtradition to modernism.
The architectural eclecticism that defined the early20th century was swept away in Eritrea by Italy’s
invasion of Ethiopia in 1935, heralding an extreme
encounter with modernity that concluded with
Italy’s defeat by the Allies in 1941. The quantity
and ubiquity of modernist structures designed
and built in Asmara from 1935–41 has createdan outstanding example of an urban landscapethat illustrates a significant stage not simply in thedevelopment of architecture and town-planning
but also in human history. Asmara provided asetting in a unique African context where modern
ideas in architecture and planning from Europe
could be designed and realised when at home onthe eve of the Second World War, attention andresources were being diverted from construction
to destruction – modernism’s omnipresent
bedfellows. Asmara’s architectural heritage wasconcealed from the world by subsequent events
that neither bolstered nor undermined theintegrity of the city’s physical character but which
added significantly to its intangible heritage.
3.4 African Context
Beyond the physical attributes of Asmara’s
innovative urban plan and modernist architecture,
Asmara is an outstanding example of theinterchange of cultural influences brought about
by the encounter with modernity in an African
context. The built environment embodies theexpression of native, cultural and local identity
through interaction with successive foreign forces
and colonisers over decades that culminated in

Former villa (1938), architect unknown.

13

the universal aspiration for and attainment of anational identity. Asmara’s historic urban landscape
not only encapsulates key stages of modernity’s
development and its principal characteristics(colonial encounters, rapid technological and urban
development, transportation and communication,
cultural and political consciousness, conflictand national identity), it also evidences highly
innovative and experimental architecture drawn
from local precedents. In summary, Asmara
can be seen as an urban ensemble and culturallandscape defined by a wide-range of humanexperiences that defined the twentieth century
and culminated in the city becoming the nation’s
capital following independence in 1991. As thepolitical and spiritual centre of Eritrean national
identity, Asmara has helped define a people asmuch as they have defined it.

4. The Management System of Asmara

4.1 Central Region Administration
The Central Region Administration is in chargeof all preservation and conservation activities
within its jurisdiction. Under the Central Region
Administration, the Department of Public
Works Development (DPWD) is one of the key
departments dealing with urban development,
infrastructure, maintenance of road networks andpedestrian areas, issuing building permits for new
and old buildings, supervision of construction
works for the entire city and technical archival
documentation. To implement its duties the
DPWD has three divisions:• Building and supervision division;• Roads and maintenance division, and;• Urban planning division.
These three divisions have their own definedroles and responsibilities. The building andsupervision division is responsible for building
design and permits, issuing various construction
permits
includingoccupation
permits;
monitoring and supervising construction workand compliance with building regulations. The
roads and maintenance division is responsible
for maintenance of existing and new road works;
traffic management; installation of traffic signage
and street lighting. The urban planning division is incharge of developing regional and city wide urban
development strategies and the implementation
programme; to collect and analyse relevant dataon planning, socio-economics, and demographics,
that are essential for urban development planning;surveying and mapping works, and the collection
and compilation of data on historical buildings.
4.2. Asmara Heritage Project (AHP)
The newly established agency Asmara Heritage
Project (AHP) is responsible for the preparation
15of the Nomination Dossier for inscription on theWorld Heritage List, the Integrated Management
Plan (IMP) and Urban Conservation Master Plan
(2017). The IMP is also proposed to expand AHP
mandate in supervising and monitoring the historic
perimeter. Another important recently establishedorgan is the Steering Committee, whose mandate
is to give strategic guidance in protecting related
activities. The AHP has produced an Integrated
Management Plan (IMP) for Asmara (2016). The
main aim of the IMP for the site is to promote
the sustainable management of the nominatedsite so that its Outstanding Universal Values(OUVs) are conserved over time and transferredto future generations. The overall objective of
IMP is to ensure that an appropriate management
plan is formulated and duly implemented for theconservation, protection and valorisation of thesite through the development of appropriate
conservation strategies and action plan measuresand a mechanism through which the site will
be managed, enhanced and valorised by all
stakeholders.
The IMP outlines the vision, overall goals,
objective, guiding principles and strategies withregard to the conservation and protection of thenominated site. The major strategic intervention
areas envisaged for the implementation of the
IMP are grouped under ten themes: Integrated
Conservation Plan, Maintenance of Historic
Buildings,
Infrastructures
andServices,
Rehabilitation and Recovery, Mobility and Traffic,
Socio-Economic Development Pressure, Tourism
and Visitor Management, Protected Areas, Risk
Preparedness and Disaster Mitigation, Institutionaland human capacity development. Each themeis presented with its respective rationale andplanning, implementation and monitoring andevaluation strategies and actions. The IMP also
highlights the existing institutional frameworkto manage the site, institutional collaboration
among various institutions at national andregional levels, community involvement andparticipation in the implementation of the IMP,
capacity development, and the implementation
programme. This is proposed to be achieved byestablishing an appropriate institution or organ
responsible for the management of the site. The
institution or organ to be established will need tobe supported by government, private, local andinternational institutions and the participationof the various communities. In addition, it willneed to be supported by an appropriate fund andadequately staffed.
Eritrea took measures to protect and manage
Asmara’s historic urban landscape have been
established and implemented. AHP has conducted
extensive surveys to provide the necessary baseline
information for managing and monitoring thenominated property. A comprehensive inventoryof buildings infrastructure and open spaces in
the nominated property and Buffer Zone wasconducted by the AHP from early-2014 – late2015. The inventory forms the basis of an overall
assessment of the state of conservation andprovides evidence of the benchmark conditions
for future restoration and maintenance. Over4,300 buildings, 257 roads and 38 open spaces weresurveyed by the end of 2015. The survey forms
were designed to provide an overall assessment

Former Società Anonima Alfa Romeo (SAAR) (1937).
16of all the properties (buildings, streets, andinfrastructure and open spaces). A heritage building
database using Geographical Information System(GIS) has been set up to assist in the monitoringof the state of conservation. The records kept in
the heritage building inventory include conditionof the buildings, state of infrastructure and public
open spaces as well as recording proposed andactual interventions that have taken place sinceconstruction.
The AHP has also organised a wide range ofcommunity engagement activities. Brochures inthree languages (Tigrinya, Arabic and English)
have been prepared and circulated to the generalpublic in various meetings and exhibitions to raise
public awareness and promote Asmara’s candidacy
for UNESCO World Heritage listing. In addition,
various stakeholders meetings and workshops havebeen conducted and group discussions held. The
process has also entailed extensive stakeholder
engagement and consultation with local residents
including four successive exhibitions at the annual
Eritrea Expo (visited by hundreds of thousandsof people); printing and dissemination ofmultilingual brochures and information leaflets;interviews on the media, including television, radio
and newspapers; hosting public and professional
workshops; and intensive international exposure
to reach global audiences including the Eritrean
diaspora.

5. Conclusion

Eritrea’s current application to UNESCO for
Asmara’s inclusion on the World Heritage Listfor its outstanding modernist architecture andurban planning and its exceptional testimony of
the universal aspiration for and attainment of
national self-determination goes beyond merely
pursuing international recognition for its cultural
assets. Asmara’s nomination also presents anopportunity to encourage critical reflections
on cultural relations and heritage globally, andto promote stability and prosperity locally. In
addition, Asmara has the potential to contributeto UNESCO’s global strategy of redressing thecomparative under-representation of African andmodernist sites on the WHL.

Cinema Impero (1937), designed by Mario Messina.
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6. Signatures

Prepared by the Asmara Heritage Project (April 2017)© Asmara Heritage Project. Photographs by Edward Denison.