World Heritage Identification Number: 1550
World Heritage since: 2017
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇪🇷 Eritrea
Continent: Africa
UNESCO World Region: Africa
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Asmara: A Testament to Early Modernist Urbanism in Africa
Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea, stands as a unique testament to early modernist urbanism in Africa. Situated at an elevation of 2,325 meters above sea level, Asmara is not only the sixth highest capital globally but also boasts a rich architectural heritage that earned it the prestigious designation of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Located at over 2,000 m above sea level, the capital of Eritrea developed from the 1890s onwards as a military outpost for the Italian colonial power. After 1935, Asmara underwent a large scale programme of construction applying the Italian rationalist idiom of the time to governmental edifices, residential and commercial buildings, churches, mosques, synagogues, cinemas, hotels, etc. The property encompasses the area of the city that resulted from various phases of planning between 1893 and 1941, as well as the indigenous unplanned neighbourhoods of Arbate Asmera and Abbashawel. It is an exceptional example of early modernist urbanism at the beginning of the 20th century and its application in an African context.
Encyclopedia Record: Asmara
Asmara, or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of 2,325 metres (7,628 ft), making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The city is located at the tip of an escarpment that is both the northwestern edge of the Eritrean Highlands and the Great Rift Valley in neighbouring Ethiopia. In 2017, the city was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well-preserved modernist architecture. According to local traditions, the city was founded after four separate villages unified to live together peacefully after long periods of conflict. Asmara existed as a major settlement for over half a millennium and enjoyed some importance as it stood on the trade route to Massawa. Asmara first rose to prominence during the 20th century, when it became capital of Italian Eritrea. Under Italian rule the city of Asmara experienced rapid urbanization and modernization.Additional Site Details
Area: 481 hectares
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
Coordinates: 15.3352777778 , 38.9358333333
Image
© sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
