Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi (often called "Villabruzzi" in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) was a village that was founded as an agricultural settlement in

Italian Somalia Italian Somalia ( it, Somalia Italiana; ar, الصومال الإيطالي, Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; so, Dhulka Talyaaniga ee Soomaalida), was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th centur ...

Data

The famous Duca degli Abruzzi, a senior member of the

Italian Royal Family The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alps, Alpine County of Savoy, county north-west of Ita ...

, created the village in 1920 and raised funds for a number of development projects in this agricultural place, including roads, dams, schools, hospitals, a church and a mosque. He died in the village on 18 March 1933. The Mogadishu-Villabruzzi Railway was initially built for the surrounding area of

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

(''Mogadiscio'' in

), after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914. In the 1924, it was extended to

Afgooye Afgooye ( so, Afgooye, ar, أفجويى, it, Afgoi) is a town in the southwestern Somalia Lower Shebelle (Shabellaha Hoose) region of Somalia. It is the center of the Afgooye District. Afgooye is the third largest city of Southwest State. Afgo ...

. In 1927, it was extended again by the Duca degli Abruzzi to the

Shebelle River The Shebelle River ( so, Webi Shabeelle, ar, نهر شبيلي, am, እደላ) begins in the Ethiopian Highlands, highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where ...

colonial village he was then developing. The line, 114 km long, reached Villabruzzi in 1928. The original proposal was for the railway to go on from Villabruzzi to the Somali border with

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and into the

Ogaden Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; so, Ogaadeen, am, ውጋዴ/ውጋዴን) is one of the historical names given to the modern Somali Region, the territory comprising the eastern portion of Ethiopia formerly part of the Harargh ...

, but the

Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

in 1936 stopped further construction. From 1911 in the Shebeli river area the Italian government started to take the local farmers and resettle them in specific new villages in an attempt to improve the economy of Italian Somalia. The area around the "Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi" was the most agriculturally developed of Somalia before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and had some food industries. Villabruzzi (in Italian)
/ref> In the Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi the Italian colonists were experimenting with new cultivation techniques. In 1926, the colony comprised 16 villages, with some 3,000 Somali and 200

inhabitants. It was commonly known as ''Villabruzzi''. In 1940, Villabruzzi had a population of 12,000, of whom nearly 3,000 were

Italian Somalis Italian Somalis ( it, Italo-Somali) are Somali descendants from Italian colonists, as well as long-term Italian residents in Somalia. History In 1892, the Italian explorer Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti for the first time labeled as ''Somalia'' the ...

, and enjoyed a notable level of development as a small manufacturing area.

WW2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

hit the city and the agricultural production of the surrounding area hard. Currently the city has a new name:

Jowhar Jowhar ( so, Jowhar, ar, جوهر) is the capital city of Hirshabelle state of Somalia. Jowhar is also the administrative capital of Middle Shabelle Regions of Somalia, region of Somalia. Along with Baidoa, it used to form the joint adminis ...

Notes

Bibliography

*Tripodi, Paolo. ''The Colonial Legacy in Somalia''. St. Martin's P Inc. New York, 1999.

Data

Notes

Bibliography

See also