An almost-forgotten piece of marine architecture in Italian East Africa: the Cape Guardafui lighthouse and the fascist reception of Pharos

An almost-forgotten piece of Italian fascist architecture still stands in Somalia at the easternmost point of the Horn of Africa. This is a lighthouse in the shape of fascio littorio, built in 1930. During this period, fascist architecture boomed across Italy and its style influenced and reached the colonies from Libya to the Italian East Africa, as a medium to develop thalassocratic ambitions and to challenge competitors. This paper offers an original view on the real purpose of this controversial marine structure, by exploring its fascist use of Classical elements.