C O L O N I A L A M N E S I A A N D T H E M A T E R I A L R E M A I N S O F I T A L I A N C O L O N I A L I S M I N M O G A D I S H U Iman Mohamed Department of History, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA .................. architecture colonialism heritage Italy Somalia war ................. This essay examines the material legacies of Italian colonialism in Mogadishu in the aftermath of postcolonial transformations and the devastation of the Somali Civil War. It traces the history of colonial Mogadishu and the deep imprint of the Italian state on the city ’ s spatial organization and architectural heritage. From 1893 to 1941, the city was transformed into a colonial capital through the imposition of a new European-style city upon the old historic centre. This required the demolition of pre-colonial structures and homes, and the displacement of many Somalis to the outskirts the city. With independence, colonial sites were appropriated and nationalized – streets honouring Italian fi gures were renamed to honour Somalis; colonial buildings became national buildings. With these transformations, however, the colonial history of the now postcolonial capital city became invisibilised and easily forgotten. ....................................................................................................... interventions, 2023 https://doi.org/10.1080/1369801X.2023.2222107 imm862@g.harvard.edu © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Contestations and struggles over collective memory and national histories are complicated processes in any society. In Mogadishu, 1 these histories are above all foregrounded by the recent past of violence, disaster, and displace- ment. In a three decades-long war, all facets of urban life in the city were affected – from the physical destruction of buildings and monuments to the annihilation of civic life following the collapse of the state. In the current process of post-con fl ict reconstruction, the question of the past is ever- looming – how does one deal with the rubble of history? Any nostalgic impulse to recreate the Mogadishu that existed before the war, or to forge a new path for the city, must contend with the layered histories of violence and dispossession that led to the destruction of the city in the fi rst place. Rightfully, there has been emphasis on the importance of confronting the grievances related to the con fl ict and the postcolonial state that produced it. Unfortunately, however, there has been no such concern for the history of colonialism that laid, in a literal material sense, the foundations of the city for much of the last century. The fact of war does not suf fi ciently explain why Italian colonialism appears forgotten in the capital of the former Somalia Italiana. Colonial amnesia, the forgetting of the colonial past, in Somalia was not a very differ- ent process than what happened in Italy. As Mia Fuller (2011) has described, this alleged amnesia in Italy was “ at least in part the result of active disinfor- mation ” in which “ successive generations of Italians [were] persuaded or reassured by their leaders ’ silences that Italians were brava gente ( ‘ good, decent people ’ ) in their colonies ” . In Somalia, this erasure of colonialism was a process that began in the colonial period and was also the by- product of the process of state building in the lead up to independence. Soma- lia ’ s birth as an independent nation had a unique midwife – its former colo- nial master, Italy, was tasked by the United Nations to prepare the country for independence as a Trust Territory. At its core, this process, which began in 1951 and ended with the country ’ s independence in 1960, did not depart signi fi cantly from colonialism – fascist-era colonial of fi cials returned as newly formed “ experts ” on Africa and on Somalia in particular. The mandate of preparing the former colony for independence became “ a sort of renewed civilizing mission ” , one in which “ the colonial past was no longer condemned, but became an example to defend and even re-propose ” (Morone 2015, 134). The myth of “ Italiani brava gente ” was less successful in Somalia because of the anti-colonial struggle waged by Somali nationalists, but the institutional structure of trusteeship mitigated any real colonial reck- oning (Mohamed 2023). Somalis had to delicately balance between refusing to be put “ in conditions of political vassalage ” and recognizing the mighty weight of Italy ’ s fi nancial and political power over them (Fanon 2002, 53 – 5; Scek 1961, 185). The postcolonial script was one that did not allow for much more than the “ moral reparation ” of political independence (Fanon 1 Although I use the English spelling (Mogadishu) in this essay, I use Somali names and spellings for the city ’ s districts. Mogadishu is also spelled Muqdisho and Mogadiscio in Somali and Italian, respectively. i nt e r v e nt io n s – 0 :0 2 ............................ 2002, 58). Rather than focusing on the colonial past, the generation that brought forth this independence had to get on with the task of building a nation and a state. Still, the material traces of Italian colonialism in Mogadishu remain, despite postcolonial forgetting and the violence of the war. The capital city has an understandably central place in the Somali national imaginary; claim- ing and moulding space in the city has always been a form of asserting and representing the state ’ s broader power within and outside of Mogadishu. In the early twentieth century, the colonial state imposed a new European- style city upon the old historic centre, deliberately destroying many parts and recreating the city in an Italian image. It erected symbols of its dominance like the Mogadishu Cathedral and monuments dedicated to Italian royalty. At independence, colonial sites were appropriated and nationalized – streets honouring Italian fi gures were renamed to honour Somalis; colonial buildings became national buildings. With these transformations, the colo- nial past became almost invisible. For new generations of Somalis who have had no contact with the colonial state, their only referents to colonialism on Mogadishu ’ s urban landscape are limited to sites honouring certain anti- colonial fi gures. These symbols were chosen to construct a national identity around heroic martyrs and leaders, and, in turn, made it easier to set aside the quotidian, the structural, and the ongoing legacies of Italian colonialism in Somalia. Using archival sources, maps, personal accounts, and images, this essay traces the colonial imprint on the development of the city. The fi rst part of this essay recounts the history of Mogadishu from the late nineteenth century until the outbreak of World War II, with a focus on the relationship between power and the built form. The second part of the essay examines colonial amnesia, re fl ecting on the deep-rooted colonial architectural and spatial arrangements that persist in the city. Taking modern Mogadishu as an archetypical example of colonial amnesia in both Italy and Somalia, I seek to make visible how the colonial state shaped its racialized, political, cul- tural, and economic structure. Mogadishu before the Italians Mogadishu was by no means a colonial invention. By the time of Italian arrival, this port city had been involved in regional and Indian Ocean trading for centuries. Oral traditions trace its founding to the tenth century, though at least one archaeologist has suggested a later twelfth- century origin (Chittick 1982, 61). In addition to oral traditions and archae- ological sources, important information about the city ’ s history can be found C O L O N I A L A M N E S I A A N D T H E M A T E R I A L R E M A I N S O F I T A L I A N C O L O N I A L I S M I N M O G A D I S H U I m a n M o h a m e d 3 ............................ in the writings of Chinese, Arab, and European travellers and merchants who visited the city from the twelfth to nineteenth centuries (Filesi 1996; Hersi 1977). Some of these, like the account of Ibn Battuta from 1331, give vivid descriptions of a cosmopolitan mercantile and Islamic society that was Mogadishu at its zenith. Like other port cities along the Indian Ocean, it came to life with the arrival of dhows from the shores of the Arabian Penin- sula and the Indian subcontinent brought by the monsoon winds (Cassanelli 1982, 26). Culturally and politically, Mogadishu was historically closely connected to other littoral societies of East Africa. Sometimes called the northernmost Swahili city, more speci fi cally Mogadishu has been integral to the Banaadiri cities of the southern Somali coast. The cities that form the Banaadir are War- sheikh, Mogadishu, Marka, and Baraawe (Brava), with Mogadishu being the largest and most powerful among them. The term Banaadir derives from the Arabic word for port city, Bandar (and its plural form, Bana ̄ dir) (Adam 2011, 9). The inhabitants of these cities, the Banaadiri people, have complex, multi- ethnic identities that they trace to parts of the Persian Gulf, Central Asia, and the Somali interior (Reese 1996, 3). In the decades preceding Italian domination, the city experienced economic growth and political transformations, in part due to the development of plan- tation slavery in the interior and integration “ into the economic orbit of Omani Zanzibar through the medium of Indian merchant capital ” (Alpers 1983, 448). For a brief period, the Banaadir was called the “ grain coast for the supply of Southern Arabia ” due to its exports of millet, sesame, and other agricultural products to the Arabian peninsula and Zanzibar (Christo- pher 1844, 87). In addition to functioning as a port city from which goods from the interior were exported, the city ’ s primary industry was the manufac- turing of the Futa Banaadir cotton textile. These economic developments were also accompanied by political in fi ght- ing between the leadership of two historic sections of the city, Xamarwayne and Shangaani. Xamarwayne, meaning large or greater Xamar, 2 was the older of the moieties, while Shangaani was the political centre of the early nineteenth century. Due in part to this competition, the leadership of Xamar- wayne invited the Sultan of Oman and Muscat to send a representative, and after some resistance, the city pledged allegiance to the Sultan and his succes- sors in Zanzibar (Alpers 1983, 447). Like the other Banaadiri towns, Moga- dishu came under the sovereignty of the Zanzibari Sultanate, which maintained a garrison in the town and imposed customs duties. The seat of the Sultan ’ s power, the “ large and well-appointed customs house and [Gov- ernor ’ s] residence ” known as the Garesa, was strategically located between Xamarwayne and Shangaani (Adam 2011, 78). European travellers to mid-nineteenth-century Mogadishu, like the British naval captain W. F. W. Owen or the French explorer Charles Guillain, 2 The city of Mogadishu is known as Xamar (spelled Hamar in English) by most residents. i nt e r v e nt io n s – 0 :0 4 ............................ provide historically rich descriptions of Mogadishu in that era. Owen noted that at a distance, “ [t]he eye is at fi rst attracted by four minarets of consider- able height, towering above the town, and giving it an air of stilly grandeur ” (Alpers 1983, 444). Mogadishu was surrounded by walls and guarded entrances, which prevented pastoralists from the interior from entering without permission and local patronage. Those permitted to enter had to “ leave any weapons they possessed at the main town gate in the safekeeping of the garrison soldiers, or, in the days before Zanzibari control, the town militia ” (Reese 1996, 189). The town ’ s layout was “ characterised by irregular streets and blind alleys ” due to the close proximity of buildings, which “ increased the city ’ s security ” and re fl ected the tight-knit nature of the residents (Scikei 2017, 3). Architecturally, Europeans described Mogadishu ’ s stone houses as “ remains of the ancient city founded by the Arabs ” that had largely fallen “ into ruins ” (Guillain 1856, 2:520). Owen counted 150 stone houses in one of the moieties (Alpers 1983, 444 – 5). Like other East African coastal towns, Mogadishu ’ s large coral reef provided the coral that was traditionally used to build stone homes and mosques (La Loma 1982). In addition to these stone buildings, the city was also populated by huts that had “ the form of beehives, with a straw roof and a cob and branch perimeter ” (Guillain 1856, 2:520). Mogadiscio: the making of a colonial capital Although there is a rich historiography of Italian colonial architecture, especially in Libya, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, there has not been as much written about Italian architecture and urban planning in Somalia (Abdulka- dir, Restaino, and Spina 2020; Ali 2017; Fuller 2007; Gresleri, Massaretti, and Zagnoni 1993; Nuzzaci 2013). Similarly, technical studies on Moga- dishu ’ s urban planning only refer to colonial history as relevant background to address contemporary problems (Repubblica Democratica Somala 1971). In this section, I trace the colonial history of urban development and architec- ture in Mogadishu, the site from which Italian power emanated across Somalia Italiana. Italians of fi cially took possession of the Banaadir cities, the southern region of what would later become Somalia Italiana, in 1893 as a lease from the Zanzibar Sultanate. In the early years of Italian rule, under the two companies Compagnia Filonardi (1893 – 6) and Societa ̀ Anonima Com- merciale Italiana del Benadir (1896 – 1905), there was very little investment in Mogadishu (Hess 1966). When the Italian government took possession of the colony in 1905, the colonial material presence in the city was limited C O L O N I A L A M N E S I A A N D T H E M A T E R I A L R E M A I N S O F I T A L I A N C O L O N I A L I S M I N M O G A D I S H U I m a n M o h a m e d 5 ............................ to a few buildings leased or bought from city landowners and little construc- tion (Scikei 2017) (Figure 1). Italy of fi cially purchased southern Somalia from Zanzibar in 1905, but little changed in the colonial administration for the fi rst few years. Governor Giacomo de Martino (1910 – 16) was the fi rst to impose some form of urban planning in the colonial capital. 3 The 1912 1:5,000 scale plan of the city (Figure 1), though it was technically only a demonstrative plan showing exist- ing and new construction, is the earliest example of colonial urban planning in Mogadishu (Gresleri 1993, 206). The plan exhibited some continuity and signi fi cant changes to the existing fabric of the city. First, it showed that the primary political of fi ces of the city – the government of fi ces, the Garesa, and the Palazzo Governatore – were inserted into the centre, primarily in the southern part of Shangaani facing the coast. 4 The appropriation of the Garesa as a military headquarters had political signi fi cance, representing Italy ’ s supplanting of Zanzibari power in Mogadishu and the broader Banaa- dir coast. 5 De Martino ’ s plan also re fl ected new buildings either in construc- tion or already built: a hospital (that is still in existence today and bears De Martino ’ s name), of fi ces, a radiotelegraph station, markets, barracks of the Eritrean askari, and more. Figure 1 Mogadiscio, pianta dimostrativa delle nuove costruzioni eseguite ed iniziate al 1° ottobre 1912 [Mogadishu, demonstrative plan of the new constructions carried out and started on October 1, 1912]. Italian Geographical Society. 3 There was never an appointment of a permanent urban planner or architect in the colony; these jobs were done ad hoc and usually by people who worked in other colonies in the Italian empire (Nuzzaci 2015, 139). 4 Compare this to cities in Italian Eritrea and Libya where new cities were planned from the ground up, usually near or besides existing settlements and towns (Gresleri 1993, 206). 5 The Garesa was also used as a prison during the company rule era. In 1904, Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti (1904, 54), the Italian explorer and anti-slavery campaigner, reported that the Garesa was used as a prison for escaped slaves or those whose owners sought to punish them for not paying the daily tax. i nt e r v e nt io n s – 0 :0 6 ............................ According to the plan, two new native quarters were to be constructed in the outskirts of the city, one north of the Shangaani walls, the other west of the walls of Xamarwayne. Little archival record exists of what life was like for Somalis who lived in these areas. Giuseppe Stefanini (1922, 32), who visited the city in 1913, noted that their housing was “ insuf fi cient ” and that when he returned from an excursion out of the city in December of that year, he found that it “ was cleared for sanitation reasons, due to an epi- demic of the bubonic plague ” . Housing in these quarters varied, with blocks designed in a rectilinear fashion. As space in the expanding city centre was the prized possession of Italians, this practice of moving Somalis to the outskirts of the city continued in subsequent colonial administrations. The colonial political of fi ces were strategically placed on the main street that intersected the city, Viale Cerrina (later Corso Vittorio Emanuele III). It was built in what was then a “ no-man ’ s land ” between the moieties of the city. While this road may not have required demolitions, other smaller roads that were planned, including the road to the De Martino hospital and the city jail, did project the demolition of parts of the city wall and exist- ing buildings (Arecchi 1979, 76). In the early 1890s, the Filonardi govern- ment had repaired these walls as defence forti fi cations for the city (Hess 1966). The 1912 plan shows the continued existence of three city gates, but eventually they would all be destroyed in the 1920s. For the people of Mogadishu, the tearing down of the city walls marked a fundamental shift in the social fabric of the city. It symbolized, in essence, a loss of power and autonomy for the Banaadiri people, “ precipitat[ing] an irreversible decline of town society ” (Reese 1996, 354). The appointment of quadrumvir Cesare Maria De Vecchi (1923 – 8) as gov- ernor marked the arrival of the Ventennio, the two-decade period of Italian fascism, in Somalia Italiana. The literature on Italian colonial architecture is mostly concerned with the fascist period because it was the height of state investment in colonial public works. Indeed, Mussolini believed “ great public works would not only recall the triumphs of imperial and medieval Italy; they would surpass them ” (Hall 2014, 227). In many ways, the endur- ing impact of this era ’ s urban planning and architecture attests to this. De Vecchi ’ s rule is most associated with his violent campaigns to dismantle the protectorate sultanates of the colony and to conquer the rest of the colony (Hess 1966). Though this took place far from the capital, which had already been effectively occupied by the Italians for decades by this point, the fascist colonial policy it inaugurated was felt there as well. De Vecchi (1935, 15 – 19) saw himself as responsible for bringing “ fascist order ” to Somalia, having inherited a colony in disarray and bankruptcy. In his book, Orizzonti d ’ Impero , he describes Mogadishu as having become “ an orderly, clean town, with public and private buildings, and gardens ” and “ one of the most decorous cities of the African coast on the Indian Ocean ” under his C O L O N I A L A M N E S I A A N D T H E M A T E R I A L R E M A I N S O F I T A L I A N C O L O N I A L I S M I N M O G A D I S H U I m a n M o h a m e d 7 ............................ governorship (1935, 342). For Mogadishu to be “ clean ” , however, was to remove traces of the colonized through displacement and demolition. He enacted a decree in 1924 that established a network of roads and regulated the demolition of “ many unhealthy and dilapidated native houses ” so that “ the streets [could be] widened ” and new piazzas (squares) with gardens could be built (De Vecchi 1935, 343). In addition, a 115 km railway connect- ing Mogadishu to Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi (today ’ s Jowhar) was con- structed on the northern side of the city (Gresleri 1993, 206). The new city roads were renamed after important Italian fi gures. These streets became sites where empire was ritually enacted; for example, the central Corso Vittorio Emanuele III (named after the king of Italy) was the site of colonial “ ceremonial processions, marches and parades ” (Ali 2017, 13). Monuments began to litter the city ’ s landscape. Turinese sculptor Cesare Biscarra designed the Monumento ai Caduti della Somalia (the fallen of Somalia monument), built with two Roman columns brought from Italy, in honour of Italians who died building the empire (De Vecchi 1935, 344). Biscarra ’ s commemorative art could be found in many important sites in the capital, including in the Palazzo del Governatore, the Mogadishu Cathedral, and other memorial sites (Touring club italiano 1929, 755 – 7). Biscarra also designed the Arco Trionfale Romano (Roman Triumphal Arch), placed next to the twelfth-century Arba ʿ a Rukn mosque on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele. This arch commemorated the 1928 visit of the Prince of Piedmont and heir to the Italian throne, Umberto II, to Mogadishu. The use of neoclassicist aesthetics, like in the Arco Trionfale, in fascist art and architecture was part of the ideological investment in identifying Italy as the successor of the Roman empire (Ciucci 1987). Above all, it was the Roman triumphal “ arch [that] represented all things classical, powerful, and histori- cally legitimate ” (Fuller 2007, 130). Mogadishu ’ s triumphal arch was deco- rated with symbols of the House of Savoy, the ruling family of Italy (Touring club italiano 1929, 757). Today, it remains in its central place in the historic district and was renovated as recently as 2018. The Mogadishu Cathedral, consecrated during the visit of Prince Umberto, is perhaps the most prominent monumental legacy of De Vecchi ’ s governor- ship. This building, which “ would for a long time come to de fi ne Moga- dishu ’ s cityscape ” (Ali 2017, 13), re fl ected to De Vecchi (1935, 345) “ the powerful animating breath of Fascism ” . Antonio Vandone, the Cathedral ’ s architect, used the Arab-Norman style Cathedral of Cefalù in Sicily as his inspiration. The Cathedral was distinguished by its two 37-metre bell towers and aesthetically displayed “ a complete indifference to its local environment ” , towering over other buildings (Ali 2017, 13). In describing the consecration ceremony, De Vecchi (1935, 286) noted “ the deep emotion of those present, including the native notabilities admitted to the temple [who] felt that on that day and in that place a new era was rising i nt e r v e nt io n s – 0 :0 8 ............................ on that ocean shore ” . The notabilities present included Osman Mohamud, the Sultan deposed by De Vecchi the year before. The Cathedral ’ s imposing presence was a symbolic demonstration of colonial power as imagined by De Vecchi: it served as an emblem of this new era in which Italy ’ s legitimate and effective power in Somalia Italiana could no longer be questioned, above all by the colonized. In June 1928, Guido Corni (1928 – 31) was appointed as the second fascist governor of Somalia Italiana and was the fi rst to institute an of fi cial regulat- ory town plan. This plan “ radically altered the morphology of the old city ” , as Rashid Ali (2017, 13) reports, “ by breaking it up and carving out more open, European type city spaces ” . This town plan cemented Mogadishu as an Italian imperial outpost – from the names of the streets and piazzas (e.g. Lun- gomare Benito Mussolini, Piazza Francesco Crispi, Via 28 Ottobre, etc.) to the design of the large Italian-style avenues, public squares, and gardens that cut through the city. 6 Mogadishu was designed on an orthogonal grid pattern, built around Corso Vittorio Emanuele III. This style of urban plan- ning was in no doubt in fl uenced by the Roman model, and resembled the New Towns built in in the Pontine Marshes as well as in Italian Libya (Hall 2014, 228; von Henneberg 1996, 244). In Mogadishu, the grid pattern was a stark departure from the existing layout of “ narrow pathways Figure 2 Outline of the city from the 1920s (Touring club italiano 1929, 752). 6 Lungomare Benito Mussolini (Benito Mussolini Seafront Road) honoured Mussolini. Piazza Francesco Crispi (Francesco Crispi Square) honoured Crispi, an architect of Italian uni fi cation and twice Prime Minister of Italy. Via 28 Ottobre (October 28 Road) honoured the Fascist March on Rome that brought Mussolini to power. C O L O N I A L A M N E S I A A N D T H E M A T E R I A L R E M A I N S O F I T A L I A N C O L O N I A L I S M I N M O G A D I S H U I m a n M o h a m e d 9 ............................ winding through irregularly-shaped and constantly expanding buildings ” (Puzo 1972, 74) (Figure 2). The Corni town plan was also the fi rst to explicitly incorporate racial zoning: “ the concept that inspired [the town plan] was to create the new European city totally separate from the native one ” (Piccioli 1934, 2:1000). Shangaani, for example, was designated as the European quarter of the city, and any colonized subjects living there were to be removed. Racial seg- regation was not a unique feature of Italian colonial town planning; as William C. Bissell (2011, 169) notes, when “ town planning was transported into the colonial world, aesthetic ideals (spatial order and regularity) came together with notions of proper hygiene and beliefs in cultural separatism and European chauvinism ” . With the advent of fascism, however, there was new emphasis placed on the prohibition of racial mixing in the colonies and a concern about Italian men ’ s sexual and social relations with colonized subjects. 7 The new white Italian-zoned Shangaani would thus address the problem of housing for Italian settlers while also upholding the colonial racial hierarchy. 8 The desire for racial segregation was accompanied by public health justi fi - cations that denigrated Somali-style capanne (or huts) as not only eyesores, but also “ fi lthy ” , “ irrational ” , and “ unhygienic ” (Piccioli 1934, 2:1000). These homes, called arish in Somali, were built using “ branches driven into and tied together with other, larger branches ” ; their walls were “ sealed with layers of mud and dung, and [they had] a thatched or metal roof ” (Puzo 1972, 104). Italians considered these homes to be aesthetically incom- patible with Mogadishu ’ s new design and targeted them for the fi rst demoli- tions (Puzo 1972, 70). Those who took down their arish homes in the old Shangaani and rebuilt them in the new native village were compensated with 150 Italian lire ( Corriere della Somalia , June 10, 1929). The Corriere della Somalia (April 30, 1929; May 1, 1929; May 4, 1929; May 6, 1929), the colony ’ s fi rst daily newspaper, has a number of articles dis- cussing the demolitions and the distribution of land in the new native quarter. Italians assigned Somalis land in the new quarter according to their clan af fi liation and the kind of homes they would build. Those who built baraka homes were given more prized land closer to the city centre over those who built arish homes. The material used in their construction differ- entiated these two Somali architectural styles – those who had more resources could afford the more expensive stone and concrete used in the baraka. 9 The process of displacement did not only serve the project of racial zoning, there- fore, but also rei fi ed existing class hierarchy amongst the colonized. Although the regulatory plan is a useful metric to understand colonial aspirations for the city, it can only tell us so much. For example, the 1928 town plan does not give us a sense of what Mogadishu ’ s colonized inhabi- tants thought about the changes their city was undergoing, including their 7 The Italian race laws were passed almost a decade after the plan was put in place, but there were these racial logics of separation by the time of De Vecchi if not earlier (De Vecchi 1935, 351; Nuzzaci 2015). 8 What little housing available for Italians was called “ substandard ” for their aesthetic and sanitary needs, no doubt due to the fact that many of the Italian settlers had to rent from native landlords (Stefanini 1922, 31). For example, there is a list of Italian renters, with the name of their (usually) Somali landlord, number of rooms, and monthly rent, in the Guido Corni archive. Archivio Storico Diplomatico del Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Archivi di personalita ̀ , Guido Corni, Pacco 9. i nt e r v e nt io n s – 0 :0 10 ............................ own displacement. Writing about urban planning in British Zanzibar, Bissell (2011, 1) notes that “ colonial urban plans often appear fully formed, the ulti- mate realisation of promises to modernise the city, but in practice they were marked again and again by incoherence, incapacity, and incompleteness ” This was clear in Mogadishu where the colonial state ’ s lack of resources slowed their ability to implement the town ’ s master plan. For instance, demo- litions in Shangaani slowed down after the fi rst year. For stone houses con- sidered too expensive to tear down, the state switched to a gradual policy of demolishing homes they deemed uninhabitable. To facilitate this, they pro- hibited Somali landowners from repairing or modifying their existing build- ings (Piccioli 1934, 2:1002). Writing in the 1980s, architect Alberto Arecchi (1984, 224) noted that the plan to “ gut ” the historic centre and move all the Somali inhabitants outside the city was never fully realized. Nonetheless, Somalis who were already displaced in service of making a European district also had to contend with the humiliation of the violent daily enforcement of colonialism ’ s racial hierarchy. For example, the best parts of the city ’ s beaches were reserved for the Italians: “ If a Somali crossed the racial line, he would be beat and kicked out ... all on Somali land ” , recalled Mohamed bin Ali ( “ Uunsane ” ), who came of age during the height of fascist rule (Hufnaan Media 2019). In addition to racialised displacement, the other looming question that is left unaddressed in the colonial record is that of labour. Somalis either used their own labour or, for those who could afford it, hired labour to con- struct their new homes in the native quarters. Colonial public works projects were delegated to private Italian companies, but little is recorded about the workers who built these large projects and how they were recruited. There is a signi fi cant literature on coercive labour practices in Somalia Italiana, but these largely focus on agricultural labour (Urbano 2017). In popular memory, it is the construction of roads and dams in the colony ’ s interior that people seem to associate with the most gruesome labour practices. The fascists certainly used corvée labour to build public works projects in rural areas, but was it used in the construction that happened in Mogadishu? Haroon Q. Mohamoud (2021, 51) recounts oral testimony describing “ how Mogadishu Cathedral had been constructed on the back of prisoners trans- ferred from Migiurtinia. Perhaps equipped with only the most rudimentary equipment and with little experience ... many of the workers fell to their deaths ” . This Cathedral was built immediately after De Vecchi had violently subdued the Migiurtinia Sultanate, which may suggest that there is some truth to these stories. It is likely, however, that much of the other construc- tion in Mogadishu relied on paid workers as many Somalis moved to the capital city during the colonial period in search of work. Following Corni was Governor Maurizio Rava (1931 – 5), who had a sig- ni fi cant impact on the urban landscape of Mogadishu with the help of his 9 See William Puzo ’ s description of the arish, baraka, and casa matoni styles (Puzo 1972, 104 – 12). C O L O N I A L A M N E S I A A N D T H E M A T E R I A L R E M A I N S O F I T A L I A N C O L O N I A L I S M I N M O G A D I S H U I m a n M o h a m e d 11 ............................ in fl uential architect son, Carlo Enrico Rava. The younger Rava, most known for his theoretical interventions in colonial architectural debates (Fuller 2007; Nuzzaci 2013; Santoianni 2008, 157 – 74), designed the fi rst major hotel in the city, the Croce del Sud, built to host colonial functionaries and visitors. The hotel was completed in 1934 and was distinguished by its imposing Rationalist façade and its second- fl oor continuous veranda that enveloped the perimeter of the building. The Croce del Sud ’ s colonial mod- ernist style inaugurated an enduring architectural tradition that would shape later postcolonial designs in Mogadishu, in fl uencing buildings like the National Theatre and the National Assembly (Ali 2017, 15). Rava also designed the Arco del Re, a triumphal arch dedicated to the King of Italy, who visited the colony in November 1934. The monument ’ s two cylindrical towers bore a resemblance to the tower-minaret of Mogadishu ’ s oldest mosque, Jama ’ a in Xamarwayne, a stark departure from the neoclas- sicist triumphal arch designed by Biscarra in 1928 (Santoianni 2008, 168 – 9). This “ free and modern synthesis ” of the Roman triumphal arch form and the local architectural inspiration revealed a movement in colonial aesthetics towards appropriating vernacular architectural styles, a move championed by Rava in debates within Italian colonial architecture (Fuller 2007, ch. 5; Ma 1935, 27). The arch remains on Mogadishu ’ s landscape despite the rup- tures of the war, and few people may know of its original historical purpose as a monument to the King of Italy. 10 By the mid-1930s, the use of vernacular and oriental architectural styles in designing the city was not limited to Rava ’ s monument. In 1934, the old Zan- zibari Garesa was converted into the new Museum of the Garesa. It was the fi rst museum in Italian East Africa, and it also hosted the colonial state ’ s archive and library, chronicling Italian expansion and domination in the ter- ritory (Governo della Somalia Italiana 1934). After independence, it became the National Museum of Somalia. In the renovations to the crumbling build- ing, the colonial state employed local artisans to design and decorate the building ’ s walls, doors, and ceilings in a carefully curated “ oriental ” style, to give the impression that the building was a preserved relic of the Zanzibari period. In the sector of housing, the Istituto Nazionale Case Impiegati dello Stato used architect Vincenzo Gregoretti ’ s “ vaguely Arabized ” designs of villas for Italian civil servants in the new European Shangaani (Gresleri 1993, 206 – 9). These and other Mediterranean and vernacular-inspired homes became the model for housing development in Mogadishu ’ s elite neighbourhoods for the next few decades. In May 1936, Benito Mussolini proclaimed Italy as an Empire, following the violent annexation of Ethiopia. Soon thereafter, Italy ’ s old and new colo- nial possessions were reorganized as Africa Orientale Italiana (AOI, Italian East Africa), consisting of the six regions: Amhara, Galla-Sidama, Harar, Shoa, Eritrea, and Somalia. Mogadishu remained the capital of the now- 10 It bears the inscription: “ O Re Vittorioso, sono presenti dinanzi a te gli spiriti immortali degli esploratori, degli eroi, dei precursori, che su questo suolo, affrontarono la morte, per la grandezza e la gloria D ’ Italia; Nell ’ anno XVI della Vittoria XII dell ’ era fascista, La Somalia Italiana accoglieva con profonda Gioia e Fierezza, sua maestà Vittorio Emanuele III Simbolo vivente della Storia e della Gloria d ’ Italia. E dinanzi a Lui, i pionieri, gli agricoltori, i Soldati giuravano di rinnovare su questa estrema terra Italica il i nt e r v e nt io n s – 0 :0 12 ............................ expanded Somalia Italiana, with the addition of the Somali region of Ethiopia (Hess 1966, 174). With the city ’ s subsequent population growth and new status as an imper- ial capital came opportunities for urban development. The technical of fi ce of the Mogadishu municipality created a new regulatory plan. Built upon the previous plan, it further expanded the settler area into parts of Xamarwayne and continued the demolitions in Shangaani to make way for wider streets and an expanded Italian residential area. Under this plan, the colonized would be moved to a new quarter outside the historic centre (near the village of Wardhiigley), while some important homes of the former noble families (e.g. the Mudaffar and Amudi houses) and the historic mosques would be maintained to serve as a kind of historical reminder of what was once there (Gresleri 1993, 209). Those parts of Xamarwayne that were left intact were to be hidden by the new constructions on the seafront, including a never-built cenotaph designed by well-known colonial architect Florestano Di Fausto and dedicated to the memory of the Duke of Abruzzi (Nuzzaci 2013, 141). Mogadishu ’ s new town plan proved insuf fi cient for the General Inspecto- rate of Addis Ababa. Guglielmo Nasi, the vice governor general of AOI, responded that the plan to keep the mosques intact, which was justi fi ed by the desire to maintain some historic elements as well as the political expe- diency of maintaining colonial legitimacy, was unacceptable. The most important political principle to Nasi was “ la difesa della razza ” (the defence of the race) (Gresleri 1993, 210). Following the promulgation of a series of race laws beginning in 1936, it would no longer be politically tenable to have an Italian imperial capital populated by mosques and other markers of the colonized. Instead, he proposed “ a gradual demolition of mosques and their reconstruction in areas far from the [Italian] quarter ” (Nuzzaci 2013, 141). The head of the Mogadishu technical of fi ce opposed these changes, writing that the preservation of the mosques was what gave Mogadishu its unique urban landscape, and that the “ conservation of the tra- ditional elements [was], moreover, a common standard for most of the better-studied town plans ” (Gresleri 1993, 210). Ultimately, the execution of the new town plan was halted by the outbreak of World War II in 1939. By the end of March 1941, the British military had defeated the Italians on the East African front of the war and captured Moga- dishu. During their nine-year occupation of the city, the British displayed no intent to complete the town plan that the Italians had approved in the late 1930s. Instead, they dismantled what they could use for the war effort, including the railroad connecting Mogadishu with other parts of the colony. Existing Somali neighbourhoods expanded and new ones were “ arranged ” by the British as the city ’ s population grew to 72,000 inhabitants (Puzo 1972, 80 – 1). miracolo di Vita che rese Immortale nei secoli il nome di Roma ” ( Somalia Fascista , November 4, 1934). C O L O N I A L A M N E S I A A N D T H E M A T E R I A L R E M A I N S O F I T A L I A N C O L O N I A L I S M I N M O G A D I S H U I m a n M o h a m e d 13 ............................ The British military occupation marked the end of of fi cial Italian colonial rule in Somalia. This was cemented when Italy relinquished control over its colonies in the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty. Soon thereafter, Italy regained control over Somalia under the auspices of a United Nations Trust Territory. The Amministrazione Fiduciaria Italiana della Somalia (AFIS) was mandated with the task of preparing the former Somalia Italiana for i