The name Asmara comes from Arbate Asmara. Oral tradition holds that there were four small villages in this area which were fighting with each other. The women of the villages got together and worked out a plan to end the fighting and unite the four as one village. Asmara remained a small village until 1897. In that year, Ferdinando Martini,the first Italian civil governor of Eritrea,transferred the capital from Massawa to Asmara.
Italian architecture prevails in the center city.
The main avenues are shaded by palm and other trees. Bougainvillea flowers are everywhere. Both the top floor of Nyala hotel and the Cherhi bar offer vistas of the city. Liberation Avenue is the center of city life. It extends from Government Administrative Center eastward to September First Stadium.