Khartoum. L’invenzione di una capitale (1898-1910)

The city of Khartoum, the capital of present-day Sudan, strategically located at the crossroads of the crossings of the African continent, along the north-south and east-west routes, was rebuilt ex novo by the British, at the turn of the 19th-20th century. Founded in 1820 in the context of Turkish-E...

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Main Author: Marina D’Errico
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Firenze University Press 2020-01-01
Series:Bollettino della Società Geografica Italiana
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Online Access:https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/bsgi/article/view/802
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author Marina D’Errico
author_facet Marina D’Errico
author_sort Marina D’Errico
collection DOAJ
description The city of Khartoum, the capital of present-day Sudan, strategically located at the crossroads of the crossings of the African continent, along the north-south and east-west routes, was rebuilt ex novo by the British, at the turn of the 19th-20th century. Founded in 1820 in the context of Turkish-Egyptian Egypt, it grew rapidly in the central decades of the 1800s, it was then sacked and partially destroyed after 1885 during the years of the Mahdist revolt. Following the British re-occupation of Sudan, the city was rebuilt on the basis of an urban plan devised by an excellent team. The project represented a real laboratory, in which the theme of the urban and progressive utopia of doctors and urban planners was confronted with the white man’s civilizing mission, but the interpretation of the design of the city appears anything but easy to read. From a careful analysis of the papers developed and of the literature, it is possible to advance the hypothesis that the matrix of the plan is of a military nature and that the urban structure, based on a series of diagonal road axes, has been designed to guarantee the safety of the settlers with respect to local populations through a spatial organization that, although developed horizontally (unlike other colonial cities located in an elevated position), offered the maximum visibility and facilitated the operations of intervention by the British army.
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spelling doaj-art-db070ef8634b41f6a452035f422fb1c02025-08-02T20:58:31ZengFirenze University PressBollettino della Società Geografica Italiana1121-78202020-01-012110.13128/bsgi.v2i1.802Khartoum. L’invenzione di una capitale (1898-1910)Marina D’Errico0Ricercatore indipendenteThe city of Khartoum, the capital of present-day Sudan, strategically located at the crossroads of the crossings of the African continent, along the north-south and east-west routes, was rebuilt ex novo by the British, at the turn of the 19th-20th century. Founded in 1820 in the context of Turkish-Egyptian Egypt, it grew rapidly in the central decades of the 1800s, it was then sacked and partially destroyed after 1885 during the years of the Mahdist revolt. Following the British re-occupation of Sudan, the city was rebuilt on the basis of an urban plan devised by an excellent team. The project represented a real laboratory, in which the theme of the urban and progressive utopia of doctors and urban planners was confronted with the white man’s civilizing mission, but the interpretation of the design of the city appears anything but easy to read. From a careful analysis of the papers developed and of the literature, it is possible to advance the hypothesis that the matrix of the plan is of a military nature and that the urban structure, based on a series of diagonal road axes, has been designed to guarantee the safety of the settlers with respect to local populations through a spatial organization that, although developed horizontally (unlike other colonial cities located in an elevated position), offered the maximum visibility and facilitated the operations of intervention by the British army.https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/bsgi/article/view/802AfricaKhartoumurban planning
spellingShingle Marina D’Errico
Khartoum. L’invenzione di una capitale (1898-1910)
Bollettino della Società Geografica Italiana
Africa
Khartoum
urban planning
title Khartoum. L’invenzione di una capitale (1898-1910)
title_full Khartoum. L’invenzione di una capitale (1898-1910)
title_fullStr Khartoum. L’invenzione di una capitale (1898-1910)
title_full_unstemmed Khartoum. L’invenzione di una capitale (1898-1910)
title_short Khartoum. L’invenzione di una capitale (1898-1910)
title_sort khartoum l invenzione di una capitale 1898 1910
topic Africa
Khartoum
urban planning
url https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/bsgi/article/view/802
work_keys_str_mv AT marinaderrico khartoumlinvenzionediunacapitale18981910