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The Italian coffee triangle: From Brazilian colonos to Ethiopian colonialisti

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2021

Diana Garvin
Diana Garvin*
Affiliation:
Department of Romance Languages, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA
*
*Email: dgarvin@uoregon.edu
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Abstract

This article investigates the history of coffee culture across three continents during the Fascist ventennio (1922–45.) By using the novel framework of coffee, from the bean in the field to the machine in the caffè, it connects interwar histories that previously have been explored independently. Specifically, it examines the transnational economics of coffee bean trade routes and the colonial imagery of coffee advertising to argue that caffès emerged as key sites for promoting the Fascist imperial projects in East Africa – an architectural and artistic legacy that remains in place today. Ultimately, this trajectory broadens the way that we understand how food and farming became politicised during the Fascist period. By untangling the interwar trade of beans and bodies between Italy, Brazil, and Ethiopia, this article brings to light an untold story of caffeinated imperial aggression and resistance.

L'articolo ricostruisce una storia culturale del caffè attraverso tre continenti durante il ventennio fascista (1922–1945). Facendo riferimento alla "struttura innovativa" del caffè, che va dal chicco vero e proprio alla macchina da caffè usata nei bar, questo saggio intreccia le varie storie e le loro interpretazioni durante il periodo interbellico poichè – in precedenza – erano state esaminate come fenomeni indipendenti e non interconnessi. In particolare si analizza la dimensione (economica) transnazionale delle rotte commerciali del caffè (inteso come prodotto) assieme all'immaginario "coloniale" usato per le pubblicità, al fine di argomentare che i caffè (intesi come luoghi fisici) sono emersi come luoghi chiave per la promulgazione dei progetti imperiali del fascismo in Africa Orientale Italiana. Questa è un'eredità architettonica e artistica che persiste ancora oggi. In sintesi, questa nuova prespettiva permente di ampliare la nostra comprensione su come il cibo e l'agricoltura siano stati politicizzati durante il periodo fascista. Sgrovigliando il nodo delle rotte tra Italia, Brasile ed Etiopia, l'articolo racconta una storia dimenticata fatta di aggressione fascista e di resistenza eroica.

Keywords

coffeecaffècaféplantationFascismcolonialismItalyBrazilEthiopia
Type
Research Articles
Information
Modern Italy , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , August 2021 , pp. 291 - 312
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for the Study of Modern Italy

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