Investigating the Reinstallation of the Museo Coloniale di Roma: A Microcosm of Italian Colonial Memory Student Number: 11368225 Master’s Degree Thesis: Heritage and Memory Studies University of Amsterdam First Reader: Dr Chiara de Cesari Second Reader: Dr Tamara van Kessel Date of Completion: 30th May 2018 i Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES v Introduction 1 Outline of chapters 3 Methodology 4 CHAPTER ONE 7 Theory Framework and Historiography 7 1.0 Introduction 7 1.1 Memory Theories 7 1.1.1 Italian Colonial Memory 11 1.1.2 Colonial Memory in Postcolonial Museums 16 1.2 National Museums of Ethnography in Postcolonial Europe 16 1.3 Museum and Politics 19 1.4 Facts and Features of Italian Colonial History 20 1.4.1 The End of Colonialism 23 1.4.2 Particularities/Peculiarities of Italian Colonialism 23 CHAPTER TWO 26 The Colonial Visual Production of Africa: Colonial Exhibitions and the Museo Coloniale of Rome 26 2.0 Introduction 26 2.2 Colonial Exhibitions 26 2.3 La Mostra Coloniale di Genova 31 2.4 The History of the Museo Coloniale of Roma 34 2.4.1 The collection, the display and the narrative 35 2.5 Conclusion 40 CHAPTER THREE 42 The Museo Coloniale During the Decolonisation: The Years of Oblivion 42 3.0 Introduction 42 3.1 The Museo dell’Africa Italiana during the Immediate Aftermath at the End of Colonialism 42 3.2 The Years of Decline and Forgetting 45 ii 3.3 The Colonial Collection Arrives at the Luigi Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography 49 3.4 Recent Reorganisation: Museo delle Civiltà 50 3.5 Conclusion 51 CHAPTER FOUR 52 COLONIAL MEMORIES AT THE MUSEO DELLE CIVILTA’ 52 4.0 Introduction 52 4.1 Museo delle Civiltà’s Narrative 53 4.2 The Museo delle Civiltà’s Urban and Architectural Context 54 4.3 The History of the Luigi Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography and its Collection Origins. 60 4.4 The Africa Hall 65 4.4.1 The Africa Hall display’s issue 66 4.4.2 Italy’s memory politics within the Africa Hall display 73 4.4.2.1 The explorers and the Società Geografica Italiana expeditions 74 4.4.2.2 The discovery of African art 78 4.5 Conclusion 81 CHAPTER FIVE 83 The Process of Re-Imagining the New Museo Coloniale di Roma as Part of the Museo delle Civiltà 83 5.1 Introduction 83 5.2 The On-Going Decolonising Process at the Luigi Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography 84 5.3 The Challenge of Re-Imaging the New Museo Coloniale 87 5.3.1 ‘Impressioni d’Africa’ exhibition 89 5.3.2 ‘Impressioni d’Africa’ display issues 93 5.3.2 Exhibition project: ‘La cacciata degli Italiani dalla Libia’ 99 5.5.3 Issues and challenges related to the exhibition called ‘The expulsion of Italians from Libya’ 100 5.4 Conclusion 103 Conclusion 106 BIBLIOGRAPHY 110 OTHER SOURCES 119 Electronic sources 119 iii Interviews 122 Art catalogues and museums brochures 122 Conference Proceedings 122 APPENDIX A viii APPENDIX B xiv APPENDIX C xviii APPENDIX D xl APPENDIX E liii APPENDIX F lxxx iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of Italian Empire, 1939 (Brien Garnand). Source: Ben-Ghiat and Fuller 2005: xxii ................................................................................................................ 21 Figure 2: Indigenous people in costume guarding the entrance of the exhibition. Screenshots of the footage of the inauguration of the Esposizione di Arte Coloniale (Colonial Art Exhibition) in Rome. Source: Archivio Storico Luce 1931. ................ 28 Figure 3: Indigenous people in costume guarding the entrance of the exhibition. Screenshots of the footage of the inauguration of the Esposizione di Arte Coloniale (Colonial Art Exhibition) in Rome. Source: Archivio Storico Luce 1931. ................ 29 Figure 4:Indigenous people performing daily activities in the colonial pavilion in the Esposizione di Arte Coloniale (Colonial Art Exhibition) in Rome. Screenshots of the footage of the inauguration. Source: Archivio Storico Luce 1931. .......................... 29 Figure 5: Indigenous people performing daily activities in the colonial pavilion in the Esposizione di Arte Coloniale (Colonial Art Exhibition) in Rome. Screenshots of the footage. Source: Archivio Storico Luce 1931.......................................................... 30 Figure 6:Indigenous village in the ‘Italian Oriental Africa’ (A.O.I) recreated at the Triennale Exhibition of Overseas Lands 1940. Source: Labanca (1992:59). ............. 30 Figure 7:The view of one of the entrances of the Colonial Exhibition in Genova in 1914 (Photo from Lucchesi 1914). Source: Finauri (2017). ...................................... 32 Figure 8: The view of the colonial sector. The tower on the left-hand side corner is the reproduction of the Torre di Galata. Source: Finauri (2017) ..................................... 32 Figure 9: Mosque reproduction inside the Colonial Exhibition with a cannon taken by the Italian army during the Ain Zara battle in 1911. Source: Finauri (2017) ............ 33 Figure 10: The entrance of the Colonial Museum in 1937 – the Zoo Garden entrance side. Source: From Gandolfo (2014: 124). ............................................................... 34 Figure 11: The hall of the Adwa Cannons. Source: Labanca (1992:111). ................. 36 Figure 12: Memorial statues of the Konso people carved from wood currently kept in the deposit at the Luigi Pigorini National Museum (photograph by the author). ....... 37 Figure 13: A fur coat made from Somalian leopard fur, with the Italian brand label demonstrating its commercial benefit (photograph by the author). ........................... 39 v Figure 14: Shoes made from leather obtained from the Italian colonies (photograph by the author). .............................................................................................................. 39 Figure 15: Casapound’s propagandic advertisement against the closure of the Museo d’Arte Orientale. Source: Scianca (2017). ................................................................ 50 Figure 16: Arial view of the Luigi Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography in the EUR in the 1960s. Source: arti.beniculturali.it (2017). .............. 55 Figure 17: Piazza Guglielmo Marconi (photograph by the author). .......................... 57 Figure 18:The ground plan of Asmara, dated 1916, showing racial segregation with a colour scheme. The winding course of the river Mai Bela and Mussolini Avenue in the north-east part. Source: Volgger and Graf (2017:157). ....................................... 58 Figure 19: Fascist style facade of the Museo delle Civiltà in Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, Rome (photograph by the author). ............................................................ 59 Figure 20: First floor of the Luigi Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography, showing the Oceania and Prehistory Halls located next to each other. 63 Figure 21: Africa Hall at the Museo delle Civiltà (photograph by the author). ......... 69 Figure 22: Africa Hall at the Museo delle Civiltà (photograph by the author). ......... 70 Figure 23: Showcase of tribal sculptures in Africa Hall, Museo delle Civiltà (photograph by the author). ..................................................................................... 70 Figure 24: Picture exhibited at Africa Hall, Museo delle Civilta (photograph by the author). .................................................................................................................... 71 Figure 25: View of Ocean Hall at the Museo delle Civiltà (photograph by the author). ................................................................................................................................ 71 Figure 26: View of Ocean Hall at the Museo delle Civiltà (photograph by the author). ................................................................................................................................ 72 Figure 27: Text describing the life of the explorers (photograph by the author). ....... 76 Figure 28: Royal apparel, jewellery and crowns and equestrian parachutes are part of Negus Menelik’s donation to King Vittorio Emanuele III (photograph by the author). ................................................................................................................................ 78 vi Figure 29: Congolese tribal sculptures at the Luigi Pigorini Museum of Ethnography and Prehistory (photograph by the author). .............................................................. 79 Figure 30: Accompanying text describing the Congolese tribal sculptures called the “Magic Sculptures” (photograph by the author). ...................................................... 79 Figure 31: Text at the entry of the exhibition (photograph by the author). ................ 89 Figure 32:Painting of the ‘Market in Asmara’ (1931-195) by Maurizio Rava (photograph by the author). ..................................................................................... 90 Figure 33: Painting of an Arab market (1920 ca) by Gino Albieri (photograph by the author). .................................................................................................................... 90 Figure 34: Eritrean Jewelery (photograph by the author).......................................... 91 Figure 35: Objects from the colonies (photograph by the author). ............................ 91 Figure 36: Overview of a section of the Impressioni d’Africa exhibition (Photograph by the author). ......................................................................................................... 92 Figure 37: Furnishings