© Biblioteca di storia modera e contemporanea


Name of Object:

Italian postcard of colonial propaganda: "Dawn of civilization"

Other name of the Object (second name):

Italian postcard of colonial propaganda at the time of the Italo-Ottoman war of 1911–12 over Libya

Name in original language:

'Alba di civiltà'

Location:

Rome, Italy

Holding Institution:

State Library of Modern and Contemporary History

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Holding Institution (original language):

Biblioteca di Storia Moderna e Contemporanea

Date of Object:

1911–12

Description:

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.

Archival or Bibliographical Reference:

cart. 349/003

Citation of this web page:

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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