Italian Somalians
Encyclopedia
Italian Somalis or Italo Somalis are Somali
descendants from Italian colonists, as well as Italian long-term residents in Somalia
.
referred to as Benadir
, which was then under the joint control of the Somali
Geledi Sultanate
(who, also holding sway over the Shebelle region in the interior, were at the height of their power) and the Arab
Sultan of Zanzibar. In April 1905, the Italian government acquired control (from a private Italian company called SACI) of this coastal area around Mogadishu
, and created the colony of Italian Somaliland
.
From the outset, the Italians signed protectorate
agreements with the local Somali authorities. In doing this, the Kingdom of Italy
was spared bloody rebellions like those launched by the Dervish
leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan
(the so-called "Mad Mullah") over a period of twenty-one years against the British colonial authorities in northern Somalia, an area then referred to as British Somaliland
.
In 1908, the borders with Ethiopia
in the upper river Uebi-Scebeli were defined, and after World War I, the area of Oltregiuba was ceded by Britain and annexed to Italian Somaliland.
The dawn of Fascism
in the early 1920s heralded a change of strategy for Italy. With the arrival of Governor Cesare Maria De Vecchi
on December 15, 1923, the then-ruling northeastern Somali Sultan
ates were soon to be forced within the boundaries of La Grande Somalia. Italy hitherto had access to these areas under various protection treaties, but not direct rule. Under its new leadership, Italy mounted successive military campaigns against the Somali Hobyo
and Majeerteen Sultanates, eventually defeating the Sultanates' troops and exiling the reigning Sultans. The colonial troops called dubats
and the gendarmerie zaptié
were extensively used by De Vecchi in this military campaign.
In the early 1930s, the new Italian governors, Guido Corni and Maurizio Rava, started a policy of assimilation of the local populace, enrolling many Somalis in the Italian colonial troops. Some thousands of Italian settlers also began moving to Mogadishu as well as agricultural areas around the capital, such as Jowhar
(Villaggio duca degli Abruzzi).
In 1936, Italy then integrated Eritrea
, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland into a unitary colonial state called Italian East Africa
(Africa Orientale Italiana), thereby enlarging Italian Somaliland from 500,000 km2 to 700,000 km2 with the addition of the Ogaden
.
From 1936 to 1940, new roads such as the "Imperial Road" from Mogadishu to Addis Abeba were constructed in the region, as were new schools, hospitals, ports and bridges. New railways were also built, such as the famous Mogadiscio-Villabruzzi Railway (Italian
: Ferrovia Mogadiscio-Villabruzzi).
During the first half of 1940, there were about 22,000 Italians living in Italian Somaliland. In urban areas, the colony was one of the most developed on the continent in terms of standard of living.
In the second half of 1940, Italian troops invaded British Somaliland
and ejected the British. The Italians also occupied areas bordering Jubaland
around the villages of Moyale
and Buna. However, Britain retained control of the almost exclusively Somali-inhabited Northern Frontier District.
In the spring of 1941, Britain regained control of British Somaliland, and conquered Italian Somaliland with the Ogaden
. From 1941, the British started to administer Somalia, maintaining the Italian bureaucracy.
This led to resentment between Somali nationalists on the one hand, and Italian Somalis on the other, the latter of whom wanted to preserve Italian rule after the end of World War II.
was held, where it was decided not to return Italian Somaliland to Italy.
As a result of this failure on the part of the Big Four powers to agree on what to do with Italy's former colonies, Somali nationalist rebellion against Italian rule culminated in violent confrontation in 1948, when a number of Italians and Somalis died in rioting in several coastal towns. The direct consequence of the 52 Italian Somalis killed in these riots, was the start of the process of reduction and disappearance of the Italian community in Somalia.
In November 1949, the United Nations finally opted to grant Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland, but only under close supervision and on the condition—first proposed by the Somali Youth League
(SYL) and other nascent Somali political organizations, such as Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (later Hizbia Dastur Mustaqbal Somali, or HDMS) and the Somali National League (SNL), that were then agitating for independence—that Somalia achieve independence within ten years.
Despite the initial SYL's unrests, the 1950s were something of a golden age for the nearly 10,000 remaining Italian expatriates to Somalia. With United Nations aid money pouring in and experienced Italian administrators who had come to see Somalia as their home, infrastructural and educational development blossomed. This decade passed relatively without incident and was marked by positive growth in many sectors of local life.
The economy was controlled by the Bank of Italy
through emissions of the Somalo
shilling, that was used as money in the Italian administered region from 1950 to 1962.
In 1960, Italian Somaliland declared its independence and united with British Somaliland in the creation of modern Somalia
.
In 1992, after the fall of president Siad Barre
, Italian troops returned to Somalia to help restore peace during Operation Restore Hope (UNISOM I & II) under the mandate of the United Nations, and patrolled for nearly two years the central area of Somalia around the Shebelle river.
By the early nineties, there were just a few dozen Italian colonists left, all old aged and still concentrated in Mogadishu and its surroundings.
The first Italians moved to Somalia at the end of the nineteenth century. However, it wasn't until after World War I that their number increased to about one thousand, a presence that primarily concentrated in the towns of Mogadishu and Merca
in the Benadir
region of Somalia.
The colonial emigration toward Somalia was limited initially mostly to men alone. The emigration of entire families was promoted only during the Fascist period
, mainly in the agricultural developments of the Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi, near the Shebelle River
. In 1920 the Societa Agricola Italo-Somala (SAIS) was founded by the Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
, in order to explore the agricultural potential of central Italian Somalia and create a colony for Italian farmers.
The area of Genale in southern Somalia (near the Jubba River
) was another place where Italian colonists from Turin
developed a group of farms, under governor De Vecchi, that were successful for cotton and after 1931 for banana exports.
In 1940, there were 22,000 Italians in Somalia, of whom 10,000 in the capital Mogadishu (called Mogadiscio in Italian), for whom the Italian government opened some Italian schools like a Liceum.
Italian Somalis were concentrated in the cities of Mogadishu
, Merca
, Baidoa
, Kismayo and the agricultural areas of the rivers Jubba and Shebelle (Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi).
After World War II, the number of Italians in Somali territory started to decrease and by the time of the Somali republic
's independence in 1960, their numbers had dwindled to less than 10,000. Most Italian settlers returned to Italy, while others settled United States, United Kingdom, Finland, and Australia. By 1989, they were only 1,000 in total. Since the Somali civil war
and the fall of Somali president Siad Barre
's government in 1991, in Somalia remain only a handful of the old colonists. Many Italian Somalis left for United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Finland, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Middle East.
Of the latter, one of the better known Italian casualties was the former Bishop of Mogadishu, Salvatore Colombo
, murdered in 1989. This was followed by the murder of an Italian nun, Leonella Sgorbati
, in 2006. With the disappearance of Italians from Somalia, Roman Catholicism
was reduced from a record high of 8500 parishioners in 1950 (0.7% of Mogadishu's population) to just 100 individuals in 2004.
among the country's ruling elite. Up until World War II, the Italian language was the only official language of Italian Somaliland. Italian was official in Italian Somaliland during the Fiduciary Mandate, and the first years of independence.
In 1954, the Italian government established the post-secondary institutions of law, economics, and social studies in Mogadishu. These institutions were satellites of the University of Rome, which provided all the instruction material, faculty, and administration.
All the courses were presented in Italian. In 1964, the institutions offered two years of study in Somalia, followed by two years of study in Italy. After a military coup in 1969, all foreign entities were nationalized, including Mogadishu's principal university, which was renamed Jaamacadda Ummadda Soomaliyeed (Somali National University).
In 1972, the Somali language
was officially declared the only national language of Somalia, though it now shares that distinction with Arabic. Due to its simplicity, the fact that it lent itself well to writing Somali since it could cope with all the sounds in the language, and the already widespread existence of machines and typewriters designed for its use, the government of Somali president Mohamed Siad Barre, following the recommendation of the Somali Language Committee that was instituted shortly after independence with the purpose of finding a common orthography for the Somali language, unilaterally elected to only use the Latin
script for writing Somali instead of the long-established Arabic
script and the upstart Osmanya script.
Until 1991, there was an Italian school in Mogadishu (with courses of Middle school and Liceum), later destroyed because of the civil war.
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
descendants from Italian colonists, as well as Italian long-term residents in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
.
History
In 1892, the Italian explorer Robecchi Bricchetti for the first time labeled as Somalia the region in the Horn of AfricaHorn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
referred to as Benadir
Benadir
Benadir is a coastal region of Somalia. It covers most of the Indian Ocean coast of the country, from the Gulf of Aden to the Juba River, containing the capital of Mogadishu. The name comes from Persian bandar, which means port , a fact that reflects the region's importance to Persian and Arab...
, which was then under the joint control of the Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
Geledi Sultanate
Gobroon Dynasty
The Gobroon dynasty or Geledi sultanate was a Somali royal house that ruled parts of East Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was established by the Ajuuraan soldier Ibrahim Adeer, who had defeated various vassals of the Ajuuraan Empire and established the House of Gobroon...
(who, also holding sway over the Shebelle region in the interior, were at the height of their power) and the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
Sultan of Zanzibar. In April 1905, the Italian government acquired control (from a private Italian company called SACI) of this coastal area around Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
, and created the colony of Italian Somaliland
Italian Somaliland
Italian Somaliland , also known as Italian Somalia, was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy from the 1880s until 1936 in the region of modern-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th century by the Somali Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate, the territory was later acquired by Italy through various...
.
From the outset, the Italians signed protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
agreements with the local Somali authorities. In doing this, the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
was spared bloody rebellions like those launched by the Dervish
Dervish State
The Dervish state was an early 20th century Somali Sunni Muslim state that was established by Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, a religious leader who gathered Somali soldiers from across the Horn of Africa and united them into a loyal army known as the Dervishes...
leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan
Mohammed Abdullah Hassan
Sayyīd Muhammad `Abd Allāh al-Hasan was a Somali religious and patriotic leader...
(the so-called "Mad Mullah") over a period of twenty-one years against the British colonial authorities in northern Somalia, an area then referred to as British Somaliland
British Somaliland
British Somaliland was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa...
.
In 1908, the borders with Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
in the upper river Uebi-Scebeli were defined, and after World War I, the area of Oltregiuba was ceded by Britain and annexed to Italian Somaliland.
The dawn of Fascism
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
in the early 1920s heralded a change of strategy for Italy. With the arrival of Governor Cesare Maria De Vecchi
Cesare Maria De Vecchi
Cesare Maria De Vecchi, 1st Conte di Val Cismon was an Italian soldier, colonial administrator and Fascist politician.-Biography:...
on December 15, 1923, the then-ruling northeastern Somali Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
ates were soon to be forced within the boundaries of La Grande Somalia. Italy hitherto had access to these areas under various protection treaties, but not direct rule. Under its new leadership, Italy mounted successive military campaigns against the Somali Hobyo
Sultanate of Hobyo
The Sultanate of Hobyo was a 19th century Somali ruling house in present-day northern Somalia. It was carved out of the former Majeerteen Sultanate by Yusuf Ali Kenadid, cousin of the Majeerteen Sultanate's ruler, Boqor Osman Mahamuud....
and Majeerteen Sultanates, eventually defeating the Sultanates' troops and exiling the reigning Sultans. The colonial troops called dubats
Dubats
Dubats was the designation given to armed irregular bands employed by the Italian Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali in Italian Somaliland from 1924 to 1941...
and the gendarmerie zaptié
Zaptié
Zaptié was the designation given to locally raised gendarmerie units in the Italian colonies of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland between 1889 and 1942....
were extensively used by De Vecchi in this military campaign.
Jowhar
Jowhar is the capital town of the Shabeellaha Dhexe region of Somalia . Along with Baidoa, it used to form the joint administrative capital of the Transitional Federal Government, which captured it from the Islamic Courts Union....
(Villaggio duca degli Abruzzi).
In 1936, Italy then integrated Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland into a unitary colonial state called Italian East Africa
Italian East Africa
Italian East Africa was an Italian colonial administrative subdivision established in 1936, resulting from the merger of the Ethiopian Empire with the old colonies of Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...
(Africa Orientale Italiana), thereby enlarging Italian Somaliland from 500,000 km2 to 700,000 km2 with the addition of the Ogaden
Ogaden
Ogaden is the name of a territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim. The title "Somali Galbeed", which means "Western Somalia," is often preferred by Somali irredentists.The region, which is...
.
From 1936 to 1940, new roads such as the "Imperial Road" from Mogadishu to Addis Abeba were constructed in the region, as were new schools, hospitals, ports and bridges. New railways were also built, such as the famous Mogadiscio-Villabruzzi Railway (Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: Ferrovia Mogadiscio-Villabruzzi).
During the first half of 1940, there were about 22,000 Italians living in Italian Somaliland. In urban areas, the colony was one of the most developed on the continent in terms of standard of living.
In the second half of 1940, Italian troops invaded British Somaliland
British Somaliland
British Somaliland was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa...
and ejected the British. The Italians also occupied areas bordering Jubaland
Jubaland
Jubaland , also known as Azania or the Juba Valley and formerly as Trans-Juba , is an autonomous region in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies 40–60 km east of the Jubba River, stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in...
around the villages of Moyale
Moyale
Moyale is a market town on the border of Ethiopia and Kenya, which is split between the two countries: the larger portion is in Ethiopia , and the smaller is in Kenya . There are four disputed locations within the Moyale district between the Somali and Oromo regions...
and Buna. However, Britain retained control of the almost exclusively Somali-inhabited Northern Frontier District.
In the spring of 1941, Britain regained control of British Somaliland, and conquered Italian Somaliland with the Ogaden
Ogaden
Ogaden is the name of a territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim. The title "Somali Galbeed", which means "Western Somalia," is often preferred by Somali irredentists.The region, which is...
. From 1941, the British started to administer Somalia, maintaining the Italian bureaucracy.
This led to resentment between Somali nationalists on the one hand, and Italian Somalis on the other, the latter of whom wanted to preserve Italian rule after the end of World War II.
After World War II
In 1945, the Potsdam conferencePotsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
was held, where it was decided not to return Italian Somaliland to Italy.
As a result of this failure on the part of the Big Four powers to agree on what to do with Italy's former colonies, Somali nationalist rebellion against Italian rule culminated in violent confrontation in 1948, when a number of Italians and Somalis died in rioting in several coastal towns. The direct consequence of the 52 Italian Somalis killed in these riots, was the start of the process of reduction and disappearance of the Italian community in Somalia.
Somali Youth League
The Somali Youth League was the first political party in Somalia. It played a key role in the nation's road to independence during the 1950s and 1960s.-History:...
(SYL) and other nascent Somali political organizations, such as Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (later Hizbia Dastur Mustaqbal Somali, or HDMS) and the Somali National League (SNL), that were then agitating for independence—that Somalia achieve independence within ten years.
Despite the initial SYL's unrests, the 1950s were something of a golden age for the nearly 10,000 remaining Italian expatriates to Somalia. With United Nations aid money pouring in and experienced Italian administrators who had come to see Somalia as their home, infrastructural and educational development blossomed. This decade passed relatively without incident and was marked by positive growth in many sectors of local life.
The economy was controlled by the Bank of Italy
Banca d'Italia
Banca d'Italia is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, Roma, via Nazionale...
through emissions of the Somalo
Italian Somaliland somalo
The somalo was the currency of the Trust Territory of Somalia between 1950 and 1962. It was subdivided into 100 centesimi .-History:...
shilling, that was used as money in the Italian administered region from 1950 to 1962.
In 1960, Italian Somaliland declared its independence and united with British Somaliland in the creation of modern Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
.
In 1992, after the fall of president Siad Barre
Siad Barre
Mohamed Siad Barre was the military dictator and President of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991. During his rule, he styled himself as Jaalle Siyaad ....
, Italian troops returned to Somalia to help restore peace during Operation Restore Hope (UNISOM I & II) under the mandate of the United Nations, and patrolled for nearly two years the central area of Somalia around the Shebelle river.
By the early nineties, there were just a few dozen Italian colonists left, all old aged and still concentrated in Mogadishu and its surroundings.
Italian population in Somalia
Merca
Merca is a port city on the coast of southern Somalia, facing the Indian Ocean. It is the main town in the Shabeellaha Hoose region, and is located approximately southwest of the nation's capital, Mogadishu.-History:...
in the Benadir
Benadir
Benadir is a coastal region of Somalia. It covers most of the Indian Ocean coast of the country, from the Gulf of Aden to the Juba River, containing the capital of Mogadishu. The name comes from Persian bandar, which means port , a fact that reflects the region's importance to Persian and Arab...
region of Somalia.
The colonial emigration toward Somalia was limited initially mostly to men alone. The emigration of entire families was promoted only during the Fascist period
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
, mainly in the agricultural developments of the Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi, near the Shebelle River
Shebelle River
The Shebelle River begins in the highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where it follows the coast. Below Mogadishu, the river becomes seasonal...
. In 1920 the Societa Agricola Italo-Somala (SAIS) was founded by the Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
Prince Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco di Savoia-Aosta , Duke of the Abruzzi , was an Italian nobleman, mountaineer and explorer of the royal House of Savoy...
, in order to explore the agricultural potential of central Italian Somalia and create a colony for Italian farmers.
The area of Genale in southern Somalia (near the Jubba River
Jubba River
The Jubba River is a river in southern Somalia. It begins at the border with Ethiopia, where the Dawa and Ganale Dorya rivers meet, and flows directly south to the Indian Ocean, where it empties at the Goobweyn juncture.-History:...
) was another place where Italian colonists from Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
developed a group of farms, under governor De Vecchi, that were successful for cotton and after 1931 for banana exports.
In 1940, there were 22,000 Italians in Somalia, of whom 10,000 in the capital Mogadishu (called Mogadiscio in Italian), for whom the Italian government opened some Italian schools like a Liceum.
Italian Somalis were concentrated in the cities of Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
, Merca
Merca
Merca is a port city on the coast of southern Somalia, facing the Indian Ocean. It is the main town in the Shabeellaha Hoose region, and is located approximately southwest of the nation's capital, Mogadishu.-History:...
, Baidoa
Baidoa
Baidoa is a city in south-central Somalia, situated by road northwest of the capital Mogadishu. It is the capital of the Bay region, which is traditionally inhabited by the Digil and Mirifle clans....
, Kismayo and the agricultural areas of the rivers Jubba and Shebelle (Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi).
After World War II, the number of Italians in Somali territory started to decrease and by the time of the Somali republic
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
's independence in 1960, their numbers had dwindled to less than 10,000. Most Italian settlers returned to Italy, while others settled United States, United Kingdom, Finland, and Australia. By 1989, they were only 1,000 in total. Since the Somali civil war
Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1991, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces...
and the fall of Somali president Siad Barre
Siad Barre
Mohamed Siad Barre was the military dictator and President of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991. During his rule, he styled himself as Jaalle Siyaad ....
's government in 1991, in Somalia remain only a handful of the old colonists. Many Italian Somalis left for United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Finland, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Middle East.
Of the latter, one of the better known Italian casualties was the former Bishop of Mogadishu, Salvatore Colombo
Salvatore Colombo
The Most Rev. Dr. Pietro Salvatore Monsignor Colombo, O.F.M., Bishop of Mogadiscio, was born 28 October 1922 in Carate Brianza, Italy. He was murdered on 9 July 1989 in Mogadishu, Somalia.-Biography:...
, murdered in 1989. This was followed by the murder of an Italian nun, Leonella Sgorbati
Leonella Sgorbati
Sister Leonella Sgorbati was an Italian Roman Catholic nun who was murdered in Somalia shortly after controversial comments by Pope Benedict XVI concerning Islam....
, in 2006. With the disappearance of Italians from Somalia, Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholicism in Somalia
Roman Catholicism in Somalia refers to the presence of the Catholic faith in the Northeast African country of Somalia. The Roman Catholic Church in Somalia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome.-Overview:There are very few...
was reduced from a record high of 8500 parishioners in 1950 (0.7% of Mogadishu's population) to just 100 individuals in 2004.
Italian language in Somalia
Prior to the Somali civil war, the legacy of Italian influence in Somalia was evinced by the relatively wide use of the Italian languageItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
among the country's ruling elite. Up until World War II, the Italian language was the only official language of Italian Somaliland. Italian was official in Italian Somaliland during the Fiduciary Mandate, and the first years of independence.
In 1954, the Italian government established the post-secondary institutions of law, economics, and social studies in Mogadishu. These institutions were satellites of the University of Rome, which provided all the instruction material, faculty, and administration.
All the courses were presented in Italian. In 1964, the institutions offered two years of study in Somalia, followed by two years of study in Italy. After a military coup in 1969, all foreign entities were nationalized, including Mogadishu's principal university, which was renamed Jaamacadda Ummadda Soomaliyeed (Somali National University).
In 1972, the Somali language
Somali language
The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....
was officially declared the only national language of Somalia, though it now shares that distinction with Arabic. Due to its simplicity, the fact that it lent itself well to writing Somali since it could cope with all the sounds in the language, and the already widespread existence of machines and typewriters designed for its use, the government of Somali president Mohamed Siad Barre, following the recommendation of the Somali Language Committee that was instituted shortly after independence with the purpose of finding a common orthography for the Somali language, unilaterally elected to only use the Latin
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
script for writing Somali instead of the long-established Arabic
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
script and the upstart Osmanya script.
Until 1991, there was an Italian school in Mogadishu (with courses of Middle school and Liceum), later destroyed because of the civil war.
See also
- Italian East AfricaItalian East AfricaItalian East Africa was an Italian colonial administrative subdivision established in 1936, resulting from the merger of the Ethiopian Empire with the old colonies of Italian Somaliland and Italian Eritrea. In August 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to Italian East Africa...
- Italian Somalia
- DubatsDubatsDubats was the designation given to armed irregular bands employed by the Italian Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali in Italian Somaliland from 1924 to 1941...
- ZaptiéZaptiéZaptié was the designation given to locally raised gendarmerie units in the Italian colonies of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland between 1889 and 1942....
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadiscio
- White Africans
Famous Italian Somalis
- Salvatore ColomboSalvatore ColomboThe Most Rev. Dr. Pietro Salvatore Monsignor Colombo, O.F.M., Bishop of Mogadiscio, was born 28 October 1922 in Carate Brianza, Italy. He was murdered on 9 July 1989 in Mogadishu, Somalia.-Biography:...
, Bishop of MogadishuMogadishuMogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries.... - Zahra BaniZahra BaniZahra Bani is a Somali-Italian javelin thrower.-Biography:In 1989, Bani moved to Torino, Italy from Somalia with her Italian father and Somali mother and started playing volleyball...
, athletic champion (javelinJavelin throwThe javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
) - Fabio LiveraniFabio LiveraniFabio Liverani is an Italian football coach and former midfielder of partial Somali descent, currently working as youth coach of Genoa.-Club career:...
, professional football player - Saba AnglanaSaba AnglanaSaba Anglana is a Somali-Italian actress and international singer.-Biography:Saba was born in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, during the regime of General Mohamed Siad Barre...
, actress and international singer. - Cristina Ali FarahCristina Ali FarahCristina Ali Farah is an Italian writer of Somali and Italian origin.- Biography :Born in Italy to a Somali father and an Italian mother, Farah grew up in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia...
, writer and poet - Mari Gianni, President Italian somalis community
- Leonella SgorbatiLeonella SgorbatiSister Leonella Sgorbati was an Italian Roman Catholic nun who was murdered in Somalia shortly after controversial comments by Pope Benedict XVI concerning Islam....
, Catholic nun
External links
- Website of Italian Somalis in Italy (in Italian)
- Blog of Italian Somalis (in Italian)
- Article with photos on a 2005 visit to 'Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi' (Jowhar) and areas of former Italian Somalia (in italian)
- Website of the exiled Italians of Somalia, with photos of the colonial era (in italian)
- Photos of the destroyed Catholic Cathedral of Mogadiscio, similar to a norman Cathedral in Sicily
- Detailed map of Somalia in 1936