Piccola Roma

**Piccola Roma** (Little Rome) was the nickname of Asmara (capital of Italian Eritrea), during the decades of Italian colonial rule of Eritrea.

## History

The city of Asmara was founded by the Italians in the last years of the XIX century, from a small native village. Soon was made the capital of their colonial possessions in Eritrea, mainly because of the climate being located at more than 2000 meters of altitude.

In the 1930s the city was being populated by many thousands of Italian colonists and in 1940 it was mostly Italian looking (by architecture and by inhabitants way of life). That it the reason why it was called "Piccola Roma" ("little Rome"), due to the fact that it was a bit similar to the capital of Italy (Roma).

The capital of Eritrea experienced a huge increase in population: in 1935 there were only 4,000 Italians and 12,000 Eritreans; in 1938 there were 48,000 Italians and 36,000 Eritreans. Historian Gian Luca Podesta wrote that practically Asmara in 1940 has become an Italian city (he wrote: "_in pratica Asmara era diventata una citta' italiana_".

"Piccola Roma" was a typical Italian city created in the middle of eastern Africa, where the majority of the population was southern european in appearance & customs, spoke italian and practised the catholicism when WW2 started. It was going to be the industrial center of the _Italian East Africa_, but the war blocked this development.

Italian Asmara as a city (in architecture) was practically created by the Italians, when it was chosen as Eritrea's capital in August 1897. Italian Asmara was even called in the late 1930s with the nickname _Piccola Roma_ (little Rome), because looked like a typical small Italian city, with most inhabitants being Italians.

When in the late 19th century the first Italians arrived in the area where it is now Asmara, they found a small Christian village of nearly 200 inhabitants. The missionary Remedius Prutky had passed through Asmara in 1751, and described in his memoirs that a church built there by Jesuit priests 130 years before was still intact.

Asmara, which was then part of the independent kingdom of Medri Bahri, was ruled by Ras Alula who had received the title of governor of Medri Bahri from the emperor of Ethiopia.

Asmara acquired importance when it was occupied by Italy in 1889 and was made the capital city of Eritrea in preference to Italian Massawa by Governor Ferdinando Martini in 1897. In the early 20th century, a railway line was built to the coast, passing through the town of Ghinda, under the direction of Carlo Cavanna. In both 1913 Asmara Earthquake and 1915 Asmara Earthquake the city suffered only slight damage in those large earthquakes.

Italian Asmara attracted a small community of Italian Jews, that grew in the 1930s. The first Jews to settle in Eritrea were Yemenite Jews who began arriving in the late 19th century, attracted by new commercial opportunities driven by Italian colonial expansion, which saw the colonization of Eritrea at the time. In 1906, the Asmara Synagogue was completed in Asmara. It included a main sanctuary which could seat up to 200 people, classrooms, and a small Jewish cemetery. Indeed, in the 1930s, the Jewish community was bolstered when many European Jews emigrated to Eritrea to escape Nazi persecution in Europe.

In the late 1930s the Italians changed the face of the town, with a new structure and new buildings: Asmara was called _Piccola Roma_ (Little Rome). While Eritrea was under Italian colonial rule, architecturally conservative early-20th-century Europeans (mostly Italians) used Asmara "to experiment with radical new designs", creating masterpieces of art deco like the Fiat Tagliero Building. Nowadays the major part of buildings in Asmara are of Italian origin, and shops still have Italian names (e.g., _Bar Vittoria_, _Pasticceria moderna_, _Casa del formaggio_, and _Ferramenta_).

Indeed, the city acquired an Italian architectural look in the 1930s

Today Asmara is worldwide known for its early 20th-century Italian buildings, including the Art Deco Cinema Impero, "Cubist" Africa Pension, eclectic Orthodox Cathedral and former Opera House, the futurist Fiat Tagliero Building, neo-Romanesque Roman Catholic Cathedral, and the neoclassical Governor's Palace. The city is littered with Italian colonial villas and mansions. Most of central Asmara was built between 1935 and 1941, so effectively the Italians designed and enabled the local Eritrean population to build almost an entire city, in just six years.

Asmara was populated by a numerous Italian community and consequently the city acquired an Italian architectural look. The city of Asmara (called in the Italian Empire: _Asmara italiana_) had a population of 98,000, of which 53,000 were "Italian Eritreans" according to the Italian census of 1939. This fact made Asmara the main "Italian town" of the Italian empire in Africa. In all Eritrea the Italians were 75,000 in that year.

The official language was the Italian language, while the currency was the "Tallero Eritreo" until 1921 and later the "Italian East African lira". The city was mostly Christian, with Catholicism being the most numerous faith (64% in 1940, including the Italians): the government built in 1922 one of the best churches in Africa, the Asmara Roman Catholic Cathedral (called "St Joseph's Cathedral").

Asmara was connected to Addis Ababa (capital of Ethiopia) by the _Via della Vittoria_, a fully asphalted new road of 1,077 km built between 1936 and 1939 and served by a weekly bus service that connected the two capitals in four days. A huge modern hospital (called "Hospitem, Ospedale italiano" (called now "Hospital Italiano" and still working with another Italian Hospital called "Hospital Regina Elena") was inaugurated in 1937. Asmara had one of the first airports in eastern Africa and was connected to Italy by the worldwide famous "Linea dell'Impero", an international flight of nearly 7,000 km between Rome and Mogadiscio (capital of Italian Somalia).

The first sport activities and structures were made in Italian Asmara in the 1930s: it was even created a football tournament linked to the Italian championships. Even a "Circuit of Asmara" was created in 1937: the first car race in eastern Africa. Furthermore, many industrial investments were made by Italy in Asmara (and surrounding areas of Eritrea), but the beginning of World War II stopped the blossoming industrialization (mainly in the metal-mechanic sector) of the area.

Italy was defeated in 1941, and the British administered the city from then until 1952. Most Italians moved away from the city in those years: after 1942 started a very difficult decade for the Italians of Asmara. In 1952, the United Nations resolved to federate the former colony under Ethiopian rule, but in 1991 Eritrea obtained the independence after a long struggle.

Historian Maitacli wrote that:

"_The city is known for its early 20th century buildings, including the Art Deco "Cinema Impero" (opened in 1937 and considered by the experts one of the world's finest examples of Art Déco style building), the Cubist "Africa Pension", the rationalist "Governor's Palace", the eclectic Eritrean Orthodox "Tewahdo" Church, the former "Asmara Opera House", the futurist architecture "Fiat Tagliero Building", the neo-Romanesque architecture "Roman Catholic Cathedral", and the neoclassical architecture "President's Palace". The city is adorned by Italian colonial villas and mansions, one prominent example being the 'Asmara's World Bank Building'...._"

Most of central Asmara was built between 1935 and 1941, so effectively the Italians managed to build almost an entire city in just six short years.

Actually (in July 2017) Asmara has been declared _World Heritage Site_ by the UNESCO, mainly because of the architecture created during the Italian colonial years (that lasted from 1881 until 1941).

## Related pages

- Addis Abeba
- Italian Mogadiscio
- Asmara

## Bibliography

- Podesta, Gian Luca et al. _Lo sguardo della storia economica sull'edilizia urbana_. Volume 4. Chapter: "Le citta dell'impero". Publisher Croma - Università Roma TRE. Roma, 2009. ISBN 888368107X