Asmara

is the capital of Eritrea, a country between Ethiopia, Sudan and the red see. what makes Asmara so unique is the well preserved Italian foot print in the architecture and the urban planing.
Asmara was occupied by Italy in 1889 but only between the late 20's and the end of the 30's the face of the city was changed completely. the new organization of the 'Terre d'Oltremare' during the Fascist regime created a massive development of infrastructure and urban centers in the colony. most of the buildings were designed with a new architectonic style, the 'Razionalismo Italiano', which was parallel to the modernism or the international style in the rest of europe.
the 'Razionalismo Italiano' was inspired by the movement 'Futurismo' (developed in the beginning of the 20's), abstract Mediterranean architecture and the research for a modern Italian identity. the most important architects of the 'Razionalismo Italiano' in the Italian colonies were part of 'Gruppo dei sette' (the 7 group) which was founded in 1926 in Milan and was guided by Giuseppe Tarragni.
Asmara was nominated Piccola Roma (Little Rome) and still nowadays big part of the buildings are of Italian origin and many shops still have Italian names.