Italian archaeology in Libya from colonial Romanità to decolonization of the past

Abstract

Italian imperialism in Africa, especially in Libya, was from the start connected with the ideology of Romanità. Of course, Italy's colonial experience ended traumatically with the disaster of WWII, followed by the collective removal of all signs of fascism, including also the abandonment of the Romano-centrism of Italian archaeology. owever, sketching a picture of what were potentially important scientific enterprises, while at the same time facing evidence for hurried, non-stratigraphic excavations subordinated to political ideologies, is a tax that contemporary Italian archaeology must now have the courage to pay. Archaeology played a fundamental role in building the ideology of the historical right of Rome to Libyan land. As a result, the political powers turned particular attention to the discipline and to classical studies, in general. Fascism enlarged greatly and rapidly the already strong recognition of the political value of Romanità and of Roman archaeology, thereby permanently binding the concept of Romanità to itself. © 2004 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.