Colonial farms
Grombalia, Tunisia
19th century
French colonialism brought significant changes to Tunisians' lifestyles, which consequently affected the country's rural architecture. The colonial settlers built their homes as soon as they arrived, and so Italian and French residential architecture evolved from a small hut to a large house. These old, often large, farmhouses punctuate the landscape with their red roofs and cellars, easily distinguishable against the green of the forest. They remind us that the great Italo-French rivalry was triggered by the competition over the best land, as viticulture was their main economic activity. Single-crop farming was used for these grapevines, which were almost entirely wine varieties.
This farmhouse, belonging to the French winemaker of Grombalia, can be distinguished by its white walls and industrial red tiles, stamped to show the name of their maker and place of origin. The tiles are overlapping to protect the house from the rainfall and snowfall. Contrary to the traditional farmhouses which were inward facing, this settler farmhouse has large windows on its façade and is built on a empty plot of land. The house is east facing and rectangular-based, with four annexes dedicated to the farm's needs, most importantly pressing the grapes and storing them in the cellars.
Saloua Khadhar Zangar "Colonial farms" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monuments;AWE;tn;21;en
Prepared by: Saloua Khadhar Zangar
Translation by: Flaminia Baldwin
MWNF Working Number: TN 021
Related Content
On display in
Sharing History Exhibition(s)
Migrations | North–south Movements | Overview Migrations | North–south Movements | A Matter Of Land: Agricultural Settlements In TunisiaDownload
As PDF (including images) As Word (text only)