Azouzi, Ilyas; (2024) Imperial Visions. Architectural Planning, Colonial Ideals, and Empire Building in Fascist Italy. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This work examines fascist Italy’s quest for hegemony through architecture and urban planning from the proclamation of the Empire in 1936 to the regime’s collapse in 1943. Specifically, it delves into the debates surrounding the conception of imperial architecture and town planning for Italy and its colonies, with a particular emphasis on projects in rural Libya, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, and Tirana in Albania. Overall, it seeks to examine how architecture shaped expressions of national identity and embodied fascism’s beliefs in palingenesis and racism in its attempt to establish superiority abroad. By highlighting key figures within the architectural sphere involved in the imperial venture, the project aims to contribute to an understanding of the mechanisms and power dynamics within the architectural profession under Mussolini. I begin by exploring the growing tensions within the architectural community over the imperial question, particularly in terms of stylistic directions, aesthetic pluralism, and segregationist policies, through a close analysis of archival material and architectural journals. Despite the theoretical debates, I argue that aesthetic diversity in the colonial realm was instrumentalised by the regime, thereby supporting the theory of a totalitarian pluralism specific to fascist Italy. A subsequent focus on the role of architecture in fascist propaganda and colonial consensus reveals its central role in establishing the achievements of the Empire in the collective mindset and bolstering plans for demographic colonisation. This is evidenced by widespread architectural renewal imagery that promotes the imperial renaissance. By the 1930s, technological advancements facilitated reproduction techniques, leading to the emergence of films and specialised press that further instrumentalised architecture as a potent iconographic agent reinforcing colonial stereotypes and enabling racist measures to establish Italian supremacy. A special focus on media coverage and the dissemination of architectural projects holds therefore an important place in this study, as much as a close study of the architectural and urban plans themselves.

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