Thursday,
February 08, 2007
Eritrea
Struggles to Save its Italian Architectural Gems
The
British had turned over the bothersome port
of Massawa,
to Italy in 1885, and Italy's control of all of fragmented Eritrea was
formalized in 1889 with the signing of the Treaty of Uccialli
with Emperor Melinik II of Ethiopia, whom the Italians helped
gain power by providing him with armaments, and who immediately reneged,
claiming being tricked/stupidity. The Italians controlled Eritrea from
1889 until 1941,
Italian
administration of Eritrea
spared no expense to create themselves a "home
away from home. and brought improvements in the
medical and agricultural sectors of Eritrean society. Furthermore, the Italians
employed many Eritreans in public service (in
particular in the police and public works departments) and oversaw the
provision of urban amenities in Asmara and Massawa
In a region marked by cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity, and great
conflict, a succession of Italian governors maintained a notable degree of
unity and public order. The Italians also built many major infrastructural
projects in Eritrea
including the Asmara-Massawa
Cableway and the Eritrean Railway.
As
Italians they built. Four square kilometers of downtown Asmara now known
as the "historical perimeter," and is is a
fascinating mixture of Italian Novecento,
neo-classical, Gothic, rationalist , art deco, Romanesque, and
Renaissance-inspired .Vast pavements were constructed for the Italian passaggiata , lined with plush cafes to take a
cappuccino. Villas surrounded by gardens overflowing with bougainvillea and
frangipani constituted the residential areas -an explosion of taste and color.
Although
many buildings are suffering from the ravages of time and adversity, central Asmara still has the feel
of a pleasant Italian town. The UN is being urged to assist in preserving this
Eritrean Architectural Treasure.
As compared
to the prosperity of the Italian Administration, currently Eritrea is one of the poorest
countries in the world, with over 60 percent of the population living below the
poverty line.
"Eritrean
Architecture is Like a Frozen Music" - Ali Abdu
All Africa. com
Shabait.com (Asmara)
By Corinne Archer
Asmara
A
soaring plane, a surging ship, a swirling staircase. Disconnected as they may
seem, these elements all come together in Asmara,
capital of Africa's newest country Eritrea, in a veritable Aladdin's
Cave of architectural riches. The symbolism characterizes the eclectic
buildings of this extraordinary city, which is now slowly revealing itself to
the outside world.
For more than
three decades, Asmara's hidden wonders were kept secret as civil war raged
through the craggy mountains, narrow valleys, and desert plains of Eritrea -then a province of Ethiopia.
Guerrilla fighters struggling for independence from successive oppressive
rulers finally marched into their newly liberated capital in 1991 and, with
peace, Asmara's unique architecture was at last brought out into the
open.
Straddling a
plateau over two kilometers high, the "city in the clouds" houses one
of the highest concentrations of modernist buildings anywhere in the world. It
was an experimental playground for the Italian colonizers of the early
twentieth century, whose architects and builders were given free reign to
dabble to their heart's content.
The result is a
mishmash of inspired engineering, packed into an area of four square
kilometers, which fits together in the most charming way imaginable. Futuristic buildings depicting the new fascination with machines in
the early 1900s stand alongside the simple rationalist styles of the 1930s and
the austere monumentalism of the fascist era.
As fascism waned,
this too was reflected in the architecture with a return to rustic, classical
villas. Intermingled with these various styles are fabulously ornate buildings,
such as the Asmara Theatre, the former palace and the Roman Catholic cathedral
-neo-classical designs, with touches of Gothic and flourishes of art deco.
But all this
history requires preservation, a fact that was quickly acknowledged by the new
Eritrean authorities. After the war, hurried and unplanned construction began
sprouting everywhere to the horror of world-renowned architects like Naigzy Gebremedhin.
Realization of
the threat dawned, and the government placed a building embargo on Asmara's historical center. Naigzy
returned to his native Eritrea
in 1994 to establish a national environmental program, and became the
independent country's first director of environmental protection.
Aided by World
Bank funding, he launched an initiative known as the Cultural Assets
Rehabilitation Project (CARP) in a bid to save the buildings, many of which had
started crumbling badly due to war, isolation, and neglect. He worked as the
coordinator of CARP until his retirement in 2004, serving without pay in
recognition of the many sacrifices made by fellow Eritreans
in achieving the nation's independence.
Before
liberation, Naigzy trained as an architect and city
planner at various institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, and lectured at the faculty of building and architecture at Haile Selassie University
in Addis Ababa.
He then went into private practice and his many projects included preparing the
masterplans for campuses of the new university system
in Ethiopia.
When the brutal military regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam ousted Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, Naigzy joined the Nairobi-based UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) where he headed projects dealing with
urban planning and its environmental aspects. In 1994 he left the UN and went
to work for his newly independent country.
Naigzy's love for Asmara and its remarkable heritage is
infectious. You gaze in awe at the old Fiat Tagliero
garage constructed in the shape of a plane with its two enormous concrete wings
ready for take off. You wonder at the sight of the Bar Zilli,
built to mimic a ship whose bow juts out into Martyrs Avenue -named after the tens of
thousands who gave their lives for the country's independence. You linger over
a macchiato in the panelled art deco interior of the
Cinema Roma cafe with its zinc top bar alongside the former projection
equipment, kept in the foyer as an exhibit.
"This is a
city where experimentation with modernism is unparalleled anywhere else in the
world," Naigzy points out.
He says much of
the Italian architecture in Asmara
is Novecento and rationalist. The designs are simple,
straight lines as evidenced in the apartment blocks dotted around the city or
commercial buildings such as the Hotel Selam -a
classic example of the rationalist style.
Round the corner
there are more treasures in store. Naigzy takes you
inside a delapidated, unprepossessing apartment
block. You are stunned by the sight that greets you -a perfectly preserved
spiral staircase of yellow-painted concrete swirls that make you feel giddy as
you follow them to the top of the building. An Italian
experiment with interior decoration.
The Italians, who
controlled Eritrea
from 1889 until 1941, spared no expense to create themselves a "home away
from home." But the building spree really took off in the 1930s when
fascist leader Benito Mussolini decided to use the territory as a springboard
from which to expand his African empire. Between 1935 and 1941, as Italians
flooded into the colony, Asmara's
population grew tenfold.
Eritreans were not allowed into the
area now known as the "historical perimeter," where vast pavements
were constructed for the Italian passaggiata , lined with plush cafes for the well-heeled colonizers to
pause and take a cappuccino. Solidly-built cinemas, hotels, and restaurants in
a variety of styles were erected for their entertainment. Pastel colored villas
surrounded by gardens overflowing with bougainvillea and frangipani constituted
the residential areas -an explosion of taste and color.
Walking down Liberation Avenue
-the palm-fringed main thoroughfare that has undergone a series of name changes
-the eclectic range of Asmara's
architecture is on full view. Rationalist blocks of flats hug the sides of
imposing, severe fascist buildings such as the former party headquarters, now
the Ministry of Education Across the road is the art deco Cinema Impero with its nearby cafi
terrace. Further up lie the gigantic Romanesque-style Catholic cathedral and
the Renaissance-inspired Asmara Theatre. Although many buildings are suffering
from the ravages of time and adversity, central Asmara still has the feel of a pleasant
Italian town. The altitude means the climate is temperate and the filtered
sunlight bounces off the multi-colored buildings, creating hues of pale greens,
yellows, and pinks. And from every corner, the tell-tale sign of a cafe society
-the pervasive aroma of roasting coffee.
But Naigzy fears that grinding poverty in Eritrea could
hamper the continuation of much-needed conservation efforts. The World Bank
project is set to expire at the end of this year. "Given the lack of
financial resources, it is likely that conservation work will be given a low
priority," he says. "The needs of architectural preservation pale in
contrast to health, nutrition, and education."
Eritrea is one of the poorest
countries in the world, with over 60 percent of the population living below the
poverty line. And the territory has been devastated by war, occupation, and
natural disasters for hundreds of years.
Wedged in the
Horn of Africa between Ethiopia,
Djibouti, and Sudan this tiny nation of nearly four million
people is strategically situated along 1,000 kilometers of Red
Sea coast. Its location has resulted in a steady stream of
invaders and occupiers over the centuries -Turks, Egyptians, Italians, British,
and Ethiopians. Each of these foreign occupiers has had a distinct impact on
the creation of an Eritrean identity, resulting in a resilient and fiercely
independent people. Eritrea, which is equally divided between Moslems and
Christians, was given its name by the Italians, taken from 'Mare Erythraeum' meaning Red Sea in Latin.
The British took
over the colony in 1941 after defeating the Italians at the Battle of Keren. But they were never very interested in their new
acquisition and in 1952, the UN decided Eritrea should be federated with Ethiopia as an
autonomous entity. However, ten years later Emperor Haile
Selassie annexed the territory using acts of Eritrean
armed resistance as a pretext. Thus began one of the longest civil wars in
African history. Eritrea's
struggle for independence was mostly fought in isolation after the superpowers
took it in turn to support Ethiopia.
But the seemingly formidable foe was defeated, the victorious Eritrean People's
Liberation Front (EPLF) entered Asmara in 1991
and two years later Eritrea's
independence was formalized in a referendum.
Eritrea was peaceful for a while.
The guerrilla leaders strove to turn themselves into politicians and create new
institutions for the fledgling state. But in 1998, war again broke out with Ethiopia -this time with the EPLF's
erstwhile allies, the Tigray People's Liberation
Front (TPLF) who had taken control of Ethiopia
the same year as Eritrea
gained its independence. A skirmish over the border town of Badme flared up
into a full-scale war that lasted two years with the loss of tens of thousands
of lives. The situation remains tense with the border closed and still to be
demarcated.
"The current
no-war-no-peace situation will impact negatively on any initiative aiming to
raise investment funds," warns Naigzy, who is
co-author of the seminal book Asmara: Africa's Secret Modernist
City , which brought the capital to the attention of the world.
But the Eritrean
government plays down any suggestion that historical preservation is about to
take a back seat. In fact it was CARP, which is administered by the Eritrean
Ministry of Tourism, that sponsored Asmara's
recent nomination to the World Monuments Fund 2006 list of 100 Most Endangered Sites , a move they believe will aid in their effort to
harness private-sector support for restoration of the city.
"This is an
equal priority for us, along with other programs," says Information Minister Ali Abdu. "The past is
very important in order to build the future." The conservation project, he
says, will continue with a budget under the Ministry of Tourism.
However private
investors are now paying hard currency for empty plots both within the historic
perimeter and in urbanized parts of Asmara.
Naigzy is afraid that investors, who have paid
dollars for prime land, will want to maximize their return by building
"high and wide."
"Persons who
have fought against concrete monstrosities may be in for a rude shock," he
says. "I hope and pray that one is wrong with this dire prediction."
Ali Abdu seeks to
allay any fears in this regard. He admits there have been "one or two
mistakes," but stresses that the government is very aware of this potential
problem. "We do have a say with the private investors," he says.
"We are protecting the historical buildings and we emphasize the
importance of this to the investors."
The government,
he says, is endeavoring to separate the old and the new by building a modern
city around the historical center.
Naigzy acknowledges that up to
now the moratorium on new construction or even substantial modification within
the historical perimeter still holds. "This is remarkable," he says.
"Is it the result of detached and unadulterated responsibility? Difficult to say. The economy is in stagnation mode, hence
no construction."
Whatever their
politics and beliefs, Eritreans have one thing in
common -an unbridled devotion to their capital city. And the government has continued
the trend of building unusual monuments in the city center. Rather than cultish
statues or distasteful memorials to commemorate the independence of their
country, they built a monument in the form of a huge pair of sandals -the Shidda worn by the freedom fighters.
Far from
denouncing the architecture as a colonial reminder, as in so many other African
countries, Eritreans believe their capital is unique.
It is this belief that might well propel the push for continued preservation.
"Our
architecture is like frozen music," says Ali Abdu. "It's like wine
-the longer it stays, the better it tastes. It is magnificent -very, very
unique." His favorite buildings, he says, are the art deco pastel post
office on the main square, and the former Fiat Tagliero
garage.
"African
countries are very quick to destroy their architecture," he adds.
"But it's not bad to remember the past. You can't cancel history, you can
learn from it."
Naigzy agrees. "Eritreans in general and the citizens of Asmara in particular seem to have thoroughly
appropriated the colonial architecture, to the extent of almost perceiving it
inherently as their own," he states. "There is most definitely a
feeling that Asmara is a unique city in Africa, indeed, in the world."
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