Italian postcard of colonial propaganda: "Dawn of civilization"
Italian postcard of colonial propaganda at the time of the Italo-Ottoman war of 1911–12 over Libya
'Alba di civiltà'
Rome, Italy
State Library of Modern and Contemporary History
About MIBACT | State Library of Modern and Contemporary History, Rome
Biblioteca di Storia Moderna e Contemporanea
1911–12
This postcard explicitly states a key element of colonial propaganda: the notion that the colonisers brought “civilisation” to the newly conquered territories. Italian navy ships in the background are intended to convey the notion of Italy’s military might, but nothing reminds viewers of the violence of the colonial enterprise: the military man in the forefront does not carry weapons, but only the Italian flag.
cart. 349/003
Maria Pia Critelli, Giulia Barrera "Italian postcard of colonial propaganda: "Dawn of civilization"" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;it;132;en
Prepared by: Maria Pia Critelli, Giulia Barrera
Copyedited by: Anne Dowell
MWNF Working Number: IT1 132
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