To the ancient Romans, the Mediterranean was mare nostrum, "our sea" -- a claim that not only pertained to its waters, but to much of the territory that bordered it. At its height, the Roman Empire spanned from Britain to Mesopotamia. But when the modern state was eventually founded in 1861 -- bringing together a number of independent monarchies and city-states on the Italian peninsula -- Italy was a shadow of its former self, more a collection of duchies and principalities than anything resembling a modern nation.
Eclipsed by more powerful, more established European neighbors, Italy came late to the colonialism game and was, to put it rather bluntly, left to pick up the scraps -- the yet-uncolonized areas of Africa, including the places now known as Libya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. Italy's occupation of these countries was undoubtedly brutal -- Italian security forces were constantly suppressing insurrections in each -- and all of its former colonies have struggled since gaining their independence. But Italy's influence in these areas, in the way of culture, architecture, and political identity, is still unmistakable. Above, a mosque in the Eritrean city of Asmara.
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