Vittorio di Africa (originally called "Vittorio d'Affrica" or simply "Vittorio" [1] ) was a small town in southern Italian Somalia, created by Italian colonists in the late 1920s near the southern Shebelle river. [2]
Vittorio di Africa (originally called "Vittorio d'Affrica" or simply "Vittorio" [1] ) was a small town in southern Italian Somalia, created by Italian colonists in the late 1920s near the southern Shebelle river. [2]
The Genale dam on the river Shebelle, together with an extensive network of canals, was built in the south of Somalia in the late 1920s. It was strongly promoted by Cesare Maria De Vecchi -Italian governor of Italian Somalia from 1924 to 1928- in order to provide water for irrigation of a vast territory of 20000 hectares between Genale, Merca and Vittorio d'Africa, to be given in concession to Italian colonists. [3]
One hundred of those colonists created in the south of the Genale concessions (called in Italian Concessioni agricole) a small city named "Vittorio d'Africa", that had a population of nearly 1200 inhabitants in 1940. It was located 11 km from Merca. The city was linked to the Port of Merca by a decauville railway, used to transport the huge production of bananas of the farms around Vittorio d'Africa.
Vittorio d'Africa was founded on March 5, 1928 by prince Umberto di Savoia (that in 1946 was the last King of Italy) [4] on a hill at 70 meters of altitude and nearly 15 km from the Port of Merca. It had a small hospital and buildings for processing local food products.
During the Italian colonial period Genale and Vittorio di Africa were the center of a vast area of agricultural concessions for the cultivation of banana, cotton and other subsidiaries. [5] The bananas were the main product and were marketed by the Royal Banana Monopoly (abbreviated RAMB) that had, in fact, a monopoly of the export to Italy granted in order to safeguard banana production in Somalia on the Italian market. Consequently, until the 1950s all the bananas consumed in Italy came from the area of Genale and Vittorio. [6]
The cultivation was made possible by a large dam [7] in the river Shebelle, and by a vast network of canals built between 1924 and 1926. Given the importance of the area it was created, from the administrative point of view, the Vicecommissariato di Genale with Vittorio D'Africa as capital (currently "Scialambod"), where industrial activities were focused also for the processing of agricultural products.
It is noteworthy to pinpoint that in 1939 Italian Somalia nearly all the development was concentrated in the triangle "Genale/Vittorio - Villabruzzi - Mogadiscio". The center of Vittorio di Africa was a few kilometers inland from the city of Merca which is its Port of Merca. During the period dell'A.F.I.S. (Trust Territory of Somalia) in the years 1950-60, the local "Consortium of farmer-dealers" in the area was reinforced, but in the late 1970s started to lose importance and in the 1990s disappeared.
The late Aden Abdullah Osman Daar (Adan Cadde), Somalia's first president, had a farm in the town.[6]
During WW2 in Vittorio d'Africa was done by the Italians the last battle against the British army before the Allied attacked Mogadiscio in 1941: because of this fight the small city suffered heavy damages. After the war all the Italians moved away and the farm production dwindled, reducing the city to a kind of ghost town. Actually is growing in the area of the disappeared Vittorio d'Africa a small village of Somalis, called Shalam boot.
The Jubba River or Juba River is a river in southern Somalia which flows through the region of Jubaland. It begins at the border with Ethiopia, where the Dawa and Ganale Dorya rivers meet, and flows directly south to the Somali Sea, where it empties at the Goobweyn juncture. The Jubba basin covers an area of 749,000 km2 (289,000 sq mi). The Somali regional state of Jubaland, formerly called Trans-Juba, is named after the river.
Italian Somaliland was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and Majeerteen in the north, and in the south by the political entities; Hiraab Imamate and the Geledi Sultanate.
Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, was an Italian mountaineer and explorer, briefly Infante of Spain as son of Amadeo I of Spain, member of the royal House of Savoy and cousin of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III. He is known for his Arctic explorations and for his mountaineering expeditions, particularly to Mount Saint Elias and K2. He also served as an Italian admiral during World War I. He created Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi in Italian Somalia during his last years of life.
Merca is the capital city of the Lower Shebelle province of Somalia, a historic port city in the region. It is located approximately 109 km (68 mi) to the southwest of the nation's capital Mogadishu. Merca is the traditional home territory of the Bimal clan and was the center of the Bimal revolt.
The Catholic Church in Somalia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Economic history of Somalia is related to the development of Somalia's economy in the last two centuries.
Italian Somalis are Somali-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Somalia during the Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Somalia. Most of the Italians moved to Somalia during the Italian colonial period.
The Mogadiscio–Villabruzzi Railway is an historical railway system that ran through southern Somalia. It was constructed between 1914 and 1927 by the colonial authorities in Italian Somaliland. The railway connected the capital city Mogadishu with Afgooye, and subsequently with Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi – usually called "Villabruzzi". The line was later dismantled by British troops during World War II. Plans for re-establishing the railway were made in the 1980s by the Siad Barre administration, but were aborted after the regime's collapse.
Railway transport in Somalia consisted of the erstwhile Mogadishu–Villabruzzi Railway and secondary tracks. The system was built during the 1910s by the authorities in Italian Somaliland. Its track gauge was 950 mm, a gauge favoured by the Italians in their colonies in the Horn of Africa and North Africa. The railway was dismantled in the 1940s by the British during their military occupation of Italian Somaliland, and was subsequently never rehabilitated.
Mogadishu Cathedral is a ruined Catholic cathedral located in Mogadishu, Somalia. Between 1928 and 1991, it served as the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio. Built in 1928 by Italian colonial authorities, much of the building was destroyed in 2008 by al-Shabaab. In 2013, the diocese announced plans to refurbish the building.
Somalia Governorate was one of the six governorates of Italian East Africa. It was formed from the previously separate colony of Italian Somalia, enlarged by the Ogaden region of the conquered Ethiopian Empire following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
Janale is agricultural town in the southeastern Lower Shebelle region of Somalia.
The Governor's Palace was the seat of the governor of Italian Somaliland, and then the administrator of the Trust Territory of Somaliland.
All railway stations in Italian Somaliland were served by the Mogadishu–Villabruzzi Railway of 114 kilometres (71 mi).
The Port of Merca also known as Merca Port, is the official seaport of Merca, situated in southeastern Somalia. It is classified as a jetty class port. It has a harbour as well as a pier which juts into the Somali Sea.
Ganale Doria is a dam located near Genale on the river Shabelle. It was built in the south of Somalia in the 1920s along with an extensive network of canals. The dam was strongly promoted by Cesare Maria De Vecchi - Italian governor of Italian Somalia from 1924 to 1928 - in order to provide water for irrigation of a vast territory between Genale, Merca and Vittorio di Africa, to be given in concession to colonists.
Guido Corni was a colonial governor of Italian Somaliland.
The Mogadiscio Circuit was formerly a car race through the main streets of Mogadiscio, Italian Somaliland, being first run in 1938.
Genale was a town founded by Italian colonists in the southeastern Lower Shabelle region of Italian Somaliland. It is now called Janale.
Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi was a village that was founded as an agricultural settlement in Italian Somalia.
