ABSTRACT
How did Italian architects’ “colonial-modern” differ from their other theorizations? The terms of their colonial-architectural debates were virtually identical with those discussed in the last chapter, regarding all but one issue: difference. Self-conscious, state-mandated architecture in the metropole took an increasingly didactic turn in the interwar period, attempting to depict a unified Italy by minimizing architectural allusions to internal, regional differences. In the colonies, however, differences of ethnicity, “race,” religion, and political-cultural capital could hardly be dissimulated (and it is unlikely, in any case, that Italian colonizers would have wanted them to be). At the same time, the incorporation of local ornamental elements also held great aesthetic appeal for many architects. More important still, many architects wished to emulate native structural provisions for local climate conditions such as bright sun and intense heat.
