2/5 Hussein M. 1 year ago on Google
Villa
Somalia
(originally
called
Villa
del
Viceré
when
inaugurated
in
October
1936)
was
on
high
ground
that
overlooked
Italian
Mogadishu
on
the
Indian
Ocean,
with
access
to
both
the
harbour
and
Petrella
airport.
It
was
originally
a
large,
squarish
stucco
building
with
a
tiled
roof.[2]
The
edifice
was
built
in
the
new
section
of
the
city
(developed
by
the
Italians
in
the
late
1930s)
and
it
was
a
famous
symbol
of
modernist
(art
deco)
architecture.
The
story
of
Mogadishu’s
Modernist
buildings
begins
during
the
time
of
Italian
colonial
rule.
Unlike
Asmara
in
Eritrea
and
Tripoli
in
Libya,
where
the
Italians
built
their
colonial
city
alongside
the
native
walled
town,
in
Mogadishu
the
walls
of
the
old
medina
were
torn
down
and
the
occupiers’
buildings
imposed
in
the
city
centre.....Another
prominent
building
of
the
period
is
Villa
Somalia,
an
Art
Deco
palace
which
served
as
the
residence
of
the
Italian
governor.....it
is
still
in
good
condition
today,
thanks
to
the
fact
that
it
remained
the
seat
of
whoever
was
internationally
recognised
as
the
leader
of
Somalia,
with
all
the
security
that
entailed.
–Rakesh
Ramchum[3]
Following
independence
in
1960,
the
building
became
the
presidential
palace
of
the
President
of
the
Somali
Republic.[2]
After
the
start
of
the
civil
war
and
the
overthrow
of
the
Siad
Barre
administration
in
the
early
1990s,
various
local
faction
leaders
fought
for
control
of
and
installed
themselves
in
the
residence.
On
8
January
2007,
Transitional
Federal
Government
President
Abdullahi
Yusuf
Ahmed
entered
Mogadishu
for
the
first
time
since
being
elected
to
office.
The
government
subsequently
relocated
to
Villa
Somalia
from
its
interim
location
at
Baidoa.[4]
Today,
it
is
the
office
of
the
President
of
Somalia
Hassan
Sheikh
Mohamud.
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