Cultural treasure or painful reminder? Libya’s colonial architecture

An official Italian colonial building - once used as the university - in the old town of Benghazi as it appeared in 2007 before civil war and the ensuing regeneration projects took hold [Eric Lafforgue/Art in All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images]

Benghazi, Libya – It happened in the middle of the night, as most destructive operations carried out without the consent of the local population are. In March 2023, an area of Benghazi’s historical centre including several buildings of Italian colonial heritage, was razed to the ground.

So unexpected was the operation conducted by the Libyan military, that even Benghazi’s mayor was taken by surprise.