Metropole/Colony
Africa and Italy
Metropole/Colony: Africa and Italy uses selections from the Wolfsonian’s collections, some of which have never before been exhibited publicly, to explore and illustrate the central role African colonization played in shaping Italian national identity during the Fascist era (1922-1943).
Colonization was integral, rather than peripheral, to efforts by the regime and other actors to forge a social and cultural consensus nationwide.
The exhibition focuses on a set of themes (including broadcast media, tourism, urban planning, land reclamation, infrastructure, agriculture, industry, children’s games, and architecture) and uses materials in the Wolfsonian collections to show how these concerns were manifested within both the metropole (the Italian mainland) and the colonies.
Curator: David Rifkind