The Asmara President's Office is the building, in Italian neoclassical style, where the President of Eritrea lives and rules the country.
The Asmara President's Office is the building, in Italian neoclassical style, where the President of Eritrea lives and rules the country.
The former Italian government's palace was built in 1897 by Ferdinando Martini, the first Italian governor of Eritrea. The Italian government wanted to create in Asmara (just made capital of Eritrea in place of Massawa [1] ) an impressive building, from where the Italian governors could show the dedication of the Kingdom of Italy to the "Colonia primogenita" (first daughter-colony) as Eritrea was called. [2]
During the Italian Empire the building was improved as the center of the "Governatorato dell'Eritrea"; it was heavily damaged during World War II and then converted into a National Museum by the Ethiopian authorities in the 1950s.
Today, it is the office of the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afewerki.
Governor Ferdinando Martini wanted a structure with colonnades at the entrance in neoclassical style, surrounded by a park with lush vegetation. In his opinion the building would be the biggest and most beautiful in Asmara, the newly declared capital of the Italian colony in 1897.
The interior was decorated with Italian marble and furniture brought from Italy and France. The main hall was decorated with typical Renaissance stairs toward the projected second floor. The main doors were specially crafted with wood from Brazil.
15°20′10″N38°55′53″E / 15.3362°N 38.9314°E
Eritrea is an ancient name, associated in the past with its Greek form Erythraia, Ἐρυθραία, and its derived Latin form Erythræa. This name relates to that of the Red Sea, then called the Erythræan Sea, from the Greek for "red", ἐρυθρός, erythros. But earlier Eritrea was called Mdre Bahri. The Italians created the colony of Eritrea in the 19th century around Asmara and named it with its current name. After World War II, Eritrea annexed to Ethiopia. Following the communist Ethiopian government's defeat in 1991 by the coalition created by various armed groups notably the EPLF and the TPLF among others, Eritrea declared its independence. Eritrea officially celebrated its 1st anniversary of independence on May 24,1993.
Asmara, or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of 2,325 metres (7,628 ft), making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The city is located at the tip of an escarpment that is both the northwestern edge of the Eritrean Highlands and the Great Rift Valley in neighbouring Ethiopia. In 2017, the city was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well-preserved modernist architecture. According to local traditions, the city was founded after four separate villages unified to live together peacefully after long periods of conflict. Asmara had long been overshadowed by nearby Debarwa, the residence of the Bahr Negash or the governor of the coastal province, however it still existed as a major settlement for over half a millennium and enjoyed some importance as it stood on the trade route to Massawa. Asmara first rose to prominence during the 20th century, when it became capital of Italian Eritrea. Under Italian rule the city of Asmara experienced rapid urbanization and modernization.
Massawa or Mitsiwa is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for many centuries. Massawa has been ruled or occupied by a succession of polities during its history, including the Kingdom of Aksum, the Ethiopian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy.
Colonial architecture is a hybrid architectural style that arose as colonists combined architectural styles from their country of origin with design characteristics of the settled country. Colonists frequently built houses and buildings in a style that was familiar to them but with local characteristics more suited to their new climate. Below are links to specific articles about colonial architecture, specifically the modern colonies:
The Fiat Tagliero Building is a Futurist-style service station in Asmara, Eritrea. It was completed in 1938 and designed by the Italian engineer Giuseppe Pettazzi.
Education in Eritrea is officially compulsory between 7 and 16 years of age. Important goals of Eritrea's educational policy are to provide basic education in each of Eritrea's mother tongues as well as to produce a society that is equipped with the necessary skills to function with a culture of self-reliance in the modern economy. The education infrastructure is currently inadequate to meet these needs.
The Cinema Impero is an Art Deco-style cinema in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. It was built in 1937 by the colonial authorities in Italian Eritrea.
The Governor's Palace is the city hall of Asmara, Eritrea. It was built during the colonial period in the city centre, in an Italian Art Deco style.
The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, Asmara is a Catholic church built in the early 1920s in Asmara, when the city was the capital of Italian Eritrea. Often called "the cathedral", it is a large Lombard Romanesque style church in the centre of the city, built in 1923 to serve as the principal church of the Apostolic Vicariate of Eritrea.
The National Museum of Eritrea is a national museum in Asmara, Eritrea. Established in 1992 by Woldeab Woldemariam, it was originally located in the former Governor's Palace until 1997, when it was moved. The venue has since been relocated to the former Comboni Sisters School for Women.
Articles related to Eritrea include:
Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the south, Sudan in the west, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi), and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.
Italian Eritreans are Eritrean-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Eritrea during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Eritrea.
Italian Eritrea was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in 1869, which came under government control in 1882. Occupation of Massawa in 1885 and the subsequent expansion of territory would gradually engulf the region and in 1889 the Ethiopian Empire recognized the Italian possession in the Treaty of Wuchale. In 1890 the Colony of Eritrea was officially founded.
Eritrea Governorate was one of the six governorates of Italian East Africa. Its capital was Asmara. It was formed from the previously separate colony of Italian Eritrea, which was enlarged with parts of the conquered Ethiopian Empire following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
Asmara Theatre, also known as Asmara Opera, is a theatre in Asmara, Eritrea. It was constructed in 1918 following a design by the Italian engineer Odoardo Cavagnari, with later renovations in 1936.
Enda Mariam Cathedral is an Eritrean Orthodox church in Asmara, Eritrea. The cathedral is located on Arbate Asmara Street.
Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, first rose to prominence in medieval and post-medieval times. Though it had long overshadowed by nearby Debarwa, the residence of the Bahr Negash or the governor of the coastal province, it still existed as a major settlement for over half a millennium and enjoyed some importance as it stood on the trade route to Massawa. During the 20th century it was a staging ground for Italian initiatives in East Africa, collateral of Britain's colonial politics, and the subject of the expansion of Ethiopia until 1993, when the sovereign state of Eritrea was established. Despite the passage of over seventy years, the city has remained mostly unchanged in structural design, likely influenced by its position as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Asmara, Eritrea. Asmara was under Italian colonial rule from 1889 until 1941.
Eritrea–Italy relations are the bilateral relations between Italy and Eritrea. Both nations are members of the United Nations.
