The global dimensions of the Rome zoological garden and Italian colonialism in Africa

The resuming of European colonial expansion after the 'scramble for Africa' created or redesigned urban spaces such as the colonial hospital or the world fair. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Carl Hagenback, a zoologist and animal trader, inspired the major zoological ga...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Capocci, Mauro, Cozzoli, Daniele
Tipo de recurso: capítulo de libro
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:rdupf_______::9889a93c68ab997f1fce82547a2925bf
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10230/73541
https://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780367814540-8
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Colonialisme
Imperialisme
Àfrica
Descripción
Sumario:The resuming of European colonial expansion after the 'scramble for Africa' created or redesigned urban spaces such as the colonial hospital or the world fair. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Carl Hagenback, a zoologist and animal trader, inspired the major zoological gardens in Europe to adopt a new model, mirroring a new relationship between the Western public and the exotic. The chapter frames the history of the Rome Zoological Garden within the evolution of Italian colonialism before WWII and the role Italy played within the post-war decolonization setting. We show how this zoo was crucial in shaping the relationship of the Italian public with colonialism (and decolonization later on). The evolving relationship between animals and the public played a part in fashioning the relationship between Italians and colonial subjects. The original project of the Zoo, which started as a private enterprise, envisaged a close interaction between the public and animals from colonial areas. In the 1930s, after the zoo had already become government property, Mussolini aimed at transforming it into an important colonial institution and connected it to other urban spaces representative of Italian colonialism, such as the Colonial Museum.