Before Italian colonisation in 1890, according to popular Tigrinya folklore, Asméra (ኣስመራ), subsequently referred to as Asmara by the Italians, originated from the union of four neighbouring villages on the Hamasien Plateau (now the Central Region). The villages united to defend themselves against outside raiders who attacked and pillaged them, a historic alliance remembered as Arbate Asmara (ኣርባዕተ ኣስመራ), meaning “the four united”.

Italy formally proclaimed the Colony of Eritrea on 1 January 1890. In 1897, under Governor Ferdinando Martini, the colonial capital was moved from Massawa to Asmara. Italian rule ended in 1941, when British and Commonwealth forces defeated the Italians during the East African Campaign.

In pursuit of Mussolini’s short-lived Second Roman Empire, the Italians transformed Asmara into La Piccola Roma (“Little Rome”), a living museum of Italian architectural experimentation and urban planning made possible by the indispensable labour of Eritreans.

The Hamasien plateau overlooking Forte Baldissera. The fort, named after Italian General Antonio Baldissera, who governed Eritrea, was a military post strategically built on the hilltop site of the historic village of Beit Meka’e, forcing the local inhabitants to resettle nearby.

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Forte Baldisera (Source: Wikimedia).

Italian Mobilisation Camp (Source: M. Plaut).

Asmara, c. 1935 (Source: National Geographic).

Post Office, c. 1910–1920 (Source: Public Arch.).

Asmara Railway Stn. (Source: Public Archive).

Stazione Ferroviaria (Source: F. Ferraboschi).

Viale Mussolini , c.1938 (Source: IsIAo Archive).

Viale di Forte, 1943 (Source: M. Plaut).

Viale Roma , late 1930s (Source: IsIAO Archive).

Palazzo del Governo (Source: IsIAO Archive).

Harnet Ave. Timeline (Source: © Ciao Asmara).

Map of Asmara, 1929 (Source: Public Archives).

Asmara Panorama, Fig. 1 (Source: M. Plaut).

Asmara Panorama, Fig. 2 (Source: M. Plaut).

Asmara Panorama, Fig. 3 (Source: M. Plaut).

Asmara Market, 1935 (Source: M. Plaut).

Asmara Fish Market (Source: Bruno Pavan).

Asmara Fish Market (Source: Bruno Pavan).

Asmara Fish Market (Source: Bruno Pavan).

Gheza Banda Fountain (Source: Bruno Pavan).

Gheza Banda Fountain (Source: Bruno Pavan).

Gheza Banda Fountain (Source: Bruno Pavan).

Cinema Impero, 1941 (Source: Unidentified).

Asmara’s Last Stand (Source: Pathé).

Liberation of Asmara, Fig. 1 (Source: M. Plaut).

Liberation of Asmara, Fig. 2 (Source: M. Plaut).

First to be freed, c,1941 (Source: M. Plaut).

Italian Equipment, 1942 (Source: M. Plaut).

Bar Torino, 1930s (Source: Bruno Pavan).

Albergo CIAAO, c.1937 (Source: Bruno Pavan).