Visiting Eritrea is a truly engaging experience, especially for us Italians, in a country with traditions so strongly linked to our colonial period. The city of Asmara , called " the little Rome ", with its atmosphere as an Italian colonial town of the fascist era and with a unique architectural style stopped at the '30s , offers vivid brackets of Italianness: the Cinema Impero , the Caffè Roma , the Fiat Tagliero dealership and many inhabitants who still speak our language. Due to these peculiar characteristics, in 2017 Asmara has been declared UNESCO heritage .
Keren, the Monday market . Although today it is the third largest city in Eritrea, after Asmara and Massawa, Keren still breathesa cozy, intimate atmosphere. Also for this reason it is considered one of the most beautiful and fascinating cities of Eritrea . Monday is an important market day in Keren. This weekly appointment is a kaleidoscope of people, stories and different situations and is set in a different context than what has been observed so far; there is a more Middle Eastern and African air , with many men wearing the turban and bargaining like in a real souk .A multitude of people from the mountains and surrounding villages gather between dozens and dozens of camels, loaded with bundles of firewood, hoping to get some good deals.
Massawa, timeless charm. A city whose current charm has been influenced in the past centuries by Portuguese, Arab, Turkish, Egyptian, English, Italian and, above all, by the Eritreans themselves. Built on two islands, Taulud and Massawa , they are connected to the mainland by bridges. On the island of Massawa is located the oldest part of the city, which has ancient coral buildings and arches that reflect the Turkish influence , as well as the ancient mosques . The Italian occupation ofMassawa took place peacefully on February 5, 1885, by a shipping corps of 1500 Bersaglieri. Since then Massawahas had a very troubled life: from the most important port of the African Red Sea coast, to the dark years of the bombing during the war with Ethiopia, to finally begin again in the last few years a slow ascent towards peace and development .
