“We had a toilet!” The modernisation of the countryside as perceived by the inhabitants, the public spaces and the presence of politics in the new settlements in Italy and colonial Libya (1932-1939).

Technical University Berlin, Habitat Unit – Chair of International Urbanism and Design  

Corresponding author: vittoria.capresi@tu-berlin.de

Abstract

The foundation of the new settlements, both in Italy and colonial Libya, was a step to achieving the project of internal colonisation launched by Mussolini. The modernisation of the countryside was promulgated by the Fascist propaganda, which presented only a misleading impression of how life was. What happens if - as an additional level of interpretation we add the narratives of the inhabitants who lived these moments? This paper presents this original methodical approach, introducing the narratives of the settlers in relation to the presence of politics in daily life during the Fascist era.