Toward the National Digital Library of Eritrea

Toward the National Digital Library of Eritrea Identification, recovery, and digitization of all published material printed in Eritrea (1867-1962)

Exposed Writings 7: LandThe earliest Italian posters analyzed in this series on exposed writings ...
29/05/2026

Exposed Writings 7: Land
The earliest Italian posters analyzed in this series on exposed writings featured an extremely simple layout, making it difficult to discern whether they were intended solely for reading or for public posting. In contrast, the specimen presented today – signed by Oreste Baratieri – adopts graphic solutions that highly suggest it was meant to be posted on walls. It is an official ban that forbids selling land to non-Eritreans. The text is clearly divided into two titled sections; this specific portion, designed to capture the reader's attention, features a larger font size. Given the historical context of the 1890s, the language used is still Amharic.

Exposed Writings 6: Celebrating the return of the 5th Battalion in Tigrinya (2/2)Let us return to the leaflet that the I...
30/04/2026

Exposed Writings 6: Celebrating the return of the 5th Battalion in Tigrinya (2/2)

Let us return to the leaflet that the Italian authorities published to celebrate the return of the 5th Ascari Battalion from Libya (August 1912). This is a typical example of exposed writing, a text designed for public display and consumption; furthermore, it is a printed text intended for the Eritrean public.
By the way, if anyone is interested in the history of the 5th Ascari Battalion in Libya, you can refer to my book: Anch'io per la tua bandiera. Il V° battaglione ascari in missione sul fronte libico (1912), Ravenna, Giorgio Pozzi, 2012 (available also online via Academia.edu).
This is a rough translation of the text (thanks to Rediet Taddesse, Uoldelul Chelati Dirar, and Daniel Korbaria for the help in translating the text):
“The Government of Eritrea
greets its heroic children who are coming back triumphantly from the war in Tripoli with great happiness and joy. Turkish girls cry, for the Eritrean heroic battalions under the Italian tricolor flag, snatched their men, and reminded them of the dark days of Araki Bey in Gundet and Esmail Bashai in Gurae. Today, Eritrea, receives you, her children, with happiness and smile and would not grief for those two or three who fell on your left and right fighting honorably for 6 months, as many of them would have died in their own land without any war.
Hence, since Eritrea has hopes to spend great good times with Italy, she is content that you showed the strength of arms and faith to Italy. In the past, when Italy was fighting against Ethiopia and the Dervishes in Koatit, Amba Alagi, Enda Aba Gerima, Agordat, Kassala, etc, she might have lamented that [the Eritreans] fought, for the most part, for their own land and for their own interest, but today, Eritrea gave Italy its heroes, forerunners, and faithful, and now more than ever, she gave her trustworthy children, and saw the seed of blood and loyalty in the heart of the Italian Prince, King; hence, her past lamentation would never be repeated. The seed you sowed in the heart of the Prince King will flourish in a short time; it will give its fruits to all of us collectively.
Hence, we all are rejoicing jointly, and we pay tribute to you with all our hearts on this special day of yours, as your celebration is also our celebration, as we are proud of your joy, we thank you immensely. For those of your comrades who died under our flag we wish that God will give them peace, and for those alive, we wish them to celebrate the same way you are.
Eritrean Governor
Salbago [Salvago] Raggi”

Exposed Writings 5: Celebrating the return of the 5th Battalion in TigrinyaThe 5th Battalion was the first Eritrean unit...
23/04/2026

Exposed Writings 5: Celebrating the return of the 5th Battalion in Tigrinya

The 5th Battalion was the first Eritrean unit to be deployed on the Libyan front. The battalion left Massawa on 1 February 1912 and landed in Tripoli on the 9th. It remained in Libya for six months, taking part in various military operations and performing to great acclaim. Before returning to Eritrea, the battalion was sent to Italy, arriving on 24 July. After disembarking in Naples, the battalion visited Rome, where it received an enthusiastic welcome from the public and authorities. The return journey began on 2 August, and the 5th Battalion arrived in Asmara on 13 August 1912, where it was received with great warmth.
The 5th Battalion was the first Eritrean unit to be deployed on the Libyan front. The battalion left Massawa on 1 February 1912, landing in Tripoli on the 9th. It remained in Libya for six months, taking part in various military operations and performing to great acclaim. Before returning to Eritrea, the battalion was sent to Italy, arriving on 24 July. After disembarking in Naples, the battalion visited Rome, where it received an enthusiastic welcome from the public and authorities. The return journey began on 2 August, and the 5th Battalion arrived in Asmara on 13 August 1912, where it was received with great warmth.
It was most likely on this occasion that Governor Giuseppe Salvago Raggi decided to publish what was probably conceived as a leaflet to be distributed to the Ascari and the Eritrean population. For this reason, Tigrinya was chosen, marking a further step towards establishing this language as the official language of the colonial administration, replacing Amharic, which, as we have seen, had been the official language of the Italian administration in Eritrea alongside Arabic.
In the next post, we will provide a translation of the leaflet.

Exposed Writings 4: CaporettoThe authorities frequently used posters to communicate with the Italian population in Eritr...
16/04/2026

Exposed Writings 4: Caporetto
The authorities frequently used posters to communicate with the Italian population in Eritrea. This reinforced the importance of the written word in the colonial context. Some notifications were periodic, such as the call to arms for young conscripts, while other communications were related to specific emergency situations. This poster invites the Italian community of Asmara to contribute ‘for our Italian refugee brothers’ and for the honour of Italy. It is signed by religious leaders (Monsignor Camillo Carrara), civilians (Alessandro Allori, representing Governor Giacomo De Martino), and military officials (Colonel Giovanni Milner; Ferdinando C**a is more difficult to identify). The decisive element is the date: 14 November 1917, and then the reference to victory and the honour of the Fatherland.
On 24 October 1917, Austro-Hungarian troops, reinforced by German units, launched an offensive in the Caporetto (Kobarid) area, causing the Italian lines to collapse. Over the next few days, the Italian army retreated in disarray to the Piave River, 150 kilometres from Caporetto. During this retreat, 250,000–300,000 soldiers surrendered, and nearly half a million civilians were forced to flee. The enemy offensive continued until 9 November, when Italian forces established themselves along the Piave line.
The Italian counter-offensive began on 13 November (the First Battle of the Piave, 13-26 November 1917). During this extremely delicate phase, the Italian community in Eritrea also mobilised to raise funds, saying, “We are all ready to give everything for victory and for the honour of Italy”. Interestingly, the appeal avoids any reference to the disastrous defeat at Caporetto, focusing exclusively on the relief of refugees.

If you're in the Pisa area, you might be interested in attending Francesca Custodi's presentation: Italiani Brava Gente?...
14/04/2026

If you're in the Pisa area, you might be interested in attending Francesca Custodi's presentation: Italiani Brava Gente?
The lecture will provide an overview of Italian colonialism and the violence committed by Italians in the colonies. Finally, it will focus on shifting the narrative to view colonized populations not just as passive subjects but as active agents of resistance, with a particular focus on Eritrea.

Exposed Writing 3: Between the Written and the PrintedThere are categories of documents that sit somewhere between handw...
09/04/2026

Exposed Writing 3: Between the Written and the Printed

There are categories of documents that sit somewhere between handwritten and printed material. The example presented here concerns a trilingual Act of Pardon - in Amharic, Arabic, and Italian - signed by Governor Ferdinando Martini on April 17, 1900, and held at the Addi Qӓyyәḥ Regional Archive (Circulars I). This document was intended for circulation and, in some cases, for public posting; it thus falls into the category of “exposed writings”.
To create it, the Italian administration used a “text duplicator”, a machine that reproduced texts mechanically. The first duplicators appeared in the United States between 1876 and 1887, achieving immediate success. They were soon imitated in other parts of the world: in Italy, in 1902, the Società Editrice Laziale in Rome marketed “Il copista automatico” (The Automatic Copyist). This device could produce 300 copies of any text on any type of paper within an hour, and the final product was a reasonably faithful reproduction of the original document.
Evidence shows that some Italian army officers stationed in Eritrea used it, as the advertising campaign for the “copista automatico” featured several military officers and administrators as testimonials. From the Commissariat of Kärän, Dante Odorizzi declared himself “extremely satisfied” with the device; from Massawa, Lieutenant Gentile, attached to the military garrison, found it “useful and practical, being able to pull a large number of copies in just a few minutes”; also from Massawa, Lieutenant Ettore Blasio vouched that the machine “perfectly serves the purpose for which it is intended”. Indeed, the system was quite useful, especially for those needing to produce dozens or hundreds of copies - too many for carbon paper, but too few for typographic printing.

Exposed Writings: 2. The first advertisement in Ge’ez script (part 2).In our previous post, we identified what is likely...
06/04/2026

Exposed Writings: 2.
The first advertisement in Ge’ez script (part 2).
In our previous post, we identified what is likely to be the earliest known example of an advertisement written in Ge’ez script: a Fernet-Branca advertisement from Massawa dating possibly from 1890-1905.
Fernet was a medicinal drink that perfectly encapsulated the era in which it was created. It was produced using 27 herbs and spices sourced from four continents, making Fernet-Branca a drink that could be considered emblematic of the global age. The Branca family began marketing Fernet in 1845, achieving great success, particularly in Europe and South America. Their branding strategy and emphasis on advertising were also innovative. Some of the Branca company’s campaigns were clearly inspired by Africa (see images 1, 2, 3 and 4). Fernet-Branca, produced by Fratelli Branca in Milan, spread throughout the world.
The Review of the Main Customs of the Peoples Who Use Fernet-Branca, compiled by Fratelli Branca of Milan (Milan, 1912), features 17 African countries.
The iconic logo depicting an eagle with outstretched wings holding a bottle of liqueur above the world was created by the illustrator and poster artist Leopoldo Metlicovitz. It first appeared on the Branca calendar in 1895. Further evidence for dating the photograph comes from its photographer, Alessandro Comini. He is known to have been present in Massawa from 1896 onwards.
Thanks to the Fernet-Branca logo and Comini’s presence in Massawa, we can narrow down the date of the Ge'ez script advertisement to between 1896 and 1905.

Exposed Writings: 1. The first advertisement in Ge’ez scriptAs promised, we will now begin our analysis of a series of “...
31/03/2026

Exposed Writings: 1. The first advertisement in Ge’ez script
As promised, we will now begin our analysis of a series of “exposed writings”. Let us start with the definition of this genre. The term “exposed writing” was coined by the palaeographer Armando Petrucci (1932-2018) and refers to any type of writing designed to be exhibited or used in open spaces for collective reading. This is a broad and flexible definition capable of encompassing a variety of documentary types, including advertising.
But when did the first examples of printed advertising intended for the Eritrean public appear?
A photograph may help us answer this question. Photograph 1 depicts two imposing identical buildings constructed by the Italians in the 1890s at the entrance to Taulud Island in Massawa, which were subsequently demolished in 1905. There is a very interesting detail in this photograph: near the street lamp, there are two advertising billboards. The high-quality photograph by Alessandro Comini allows us to zoom in (see image 2). One of the billboards is an advertisement for Fernet Branca, but the interesting thing is that it uses the Ge'ez script! This is most likely one of the earliest examples of advertising aimed at the Eritrean public, and perhaps the very first, dating from around 1890-1905.

‘Scritture esposte’ in the Colonial ContextThere is a whole category of printed documents that tends to lie on the fring...
22/03/2026

‘Scritture esposte’ in the Colonial Context
There is a whole category of printed documents that tends to lie on the fringes of our research into the history of printing in Eritrea, which has focused entirely on printed books and pamphlets.
From the 1980s onwards, Armando Petrucci (1932–2018) introduced us to the concept of “scritture esposte” (exposed writings), a highly diverse category of texts that go beyond the book. These are writings intended to be displayed in public spaces and accessed by a wide range of readers. The types of texts included in this category are truly very diverse. They range from texts with a clear administrative and political purpose – notices, laws, proclamations – to a whole series of texts with a more economic significance, such as notices for traders and buyers, shop price lists, receipts and price tags, advertisements. As regards studies on Italian colonialism, attention has focused mainly on ‘scritture esposte’ in Italy; there is a lack of research on public inscriptions in the colonial territories. What happens when we analyse the presence of ‘scritture esposte’ in the colonies?
Building on the concept of ‘exhibited writings’ developed by Petrucci, in the next posts, we will analyse a series of ‘exhibited writings’ that circulated in Eritrea at the beginning of the 20th century to better understand the history of literacy among the subaltern classes in Eritrea.

Rebels for a ReasonOur seminar series, created in collaboration with the Research and Documentation Center, continues. O...
25/02/2026

Rebels for a Reason
Our seminar series, created in collaboration with the Research and Documentation Center, continues. On February 6, 2026, Francesca Custodi, PhD candidate from the University of Pisa, held the seminar: “Rebels for a Reason. Mapping Dissent in Colonial Eritrea (1890-1907)”.
The seminar, introduced by Natnael Aron Ghebrehiwet from RDC, reflects the topic of her still ongoing doctoral research on the various expressions of dissent against Italian colonialism in Eritrea. Focusing on the individuals referred to as "rebels" and/or "bandits" by Italian authorities, the research tried to move beyond the more traditional and visible forms of resistance to colonial rule.

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