"Italia si, Italia no". Materialità transimperiali e soggetti (post)coloniali tra Italia ed Etiopia (1956–1974)

This article analyses the transimperial construction of political and cultural meanings related to the material legacies of the Fascist empire between Italy and Ethiopia. In doing so, it considers both the presence of a significant and active Italian community in the post-colonial context and the new relationships between the former invading and invaded countries. Starting from a reconstruction of the new diplomatic relations between Italy and Ethiopia with a specific focus on the connection between reparations, financial development aid and the restitution of certain spoils of war (such as the Axum obelisk and the Lion of Judah statue), this study seeks to reflect on the political and mnemonic significance of the empire’s material legacies. This significance was often mediated and shaped by liminal agents, in this case former settlers linked to the past but operating within the new post-colonial context. A representative example is provided by the life and work of the architect Arturo Mezzedimi. He arrived in Eritrea at the end of the Italian East Africa empire and in the decades that followed became a trusted collaborator of Emperor Haile Selassie, who commissioned from him major works including the municipal palace of Addis Ababa and the African Hall. The reconstruction of Mezzedimi’s activities, which also involved renovating old buildings and spaces related to the previous Fascist empire, will help us to understand not only the vicissitudes related to former colonizers remaining in the Horn of Africa but also the role of specific (post)colonial individuals in reinterpreting imperial spaces, objects, and infrastructure in the context of the new political relationships between Italy and Ethiopia.