View source for Asmara

==UNESCO World Heritage Site==
Asmara was listed as a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in July 2017, becoming the first modernist city anywhere to be listed in its entirety.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jul/08/the-italian-architecture-that-shaped-new-world-heritage-site-asmara|title=The Italian architecture that shaped new world heritage site Asmara|first=Oliver|last=Wainwright|work=The Guardian|date=8 July 2017|access-date=9 July 2017}}</ref> The inscription taking place during the 41st World Heritage Committee Session.

The city has thousands of [[Art deco architecture|Art Deco]], [[futurist]], [[modernist]], and [[Rationalism (architecture)|rationalist]] buildings, constructed during the period of [[Italian Eritrea]].<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1550/|title=Asmara: A Modernist African City|first=UNESCO World Heritage|last=Centre|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/africa/1026237/eritreas-asmara-is-now-a-unesco-world-heritage-site-and-should-boost-tourism/|title=Eritrea's picturesque capital is now a World Heritage site and could help bring it in from the cold|first=Tom Gardner|last=Commentary|website=Quartz Africa|date=11 July 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.africanews.com/2017/07/12/eritrea-capital-asmara-makes-unesco-world-heritage-list/|title=Eritrea capital, Asmara, makes UNESCO World Heritage list &#124; Africanews|access-date=27 April 2020|archive-date=4 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804142653/https://www.africanews.com/2017/07/12/eritrea-capital-asmara-makes-unesco-world-heritage-list/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/eritreas-capital-added-to-unesco-world-heritage-site-list/a-39609655|title=Eritrea's capital added to UNESCO World Heritage site list &#124; DW &#124; 08.07.2017|website=DW.COM}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.apollo-magazine.com/eritrea-italy-modernist-architecture/|title=The modernist marvels of Eritrea|date=19 November 2019|website=Apollo Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/design/asmara-eritrea-art-deco-unesco-architecture-italy-little-rome-world-heritage-a8040871.html|title=Exploring Eritrea's UNESCO certified Art-Deco wonderland|date=9 November 2017|website=The Independent}}</ref> The city, nicknamed "''La piccola Roma''" ("Little Rome"), is located over 2,000 meters above sea level, and was an ideal spot for construction due to the relatively cool climate; architects used a combination of both Italian and local materials.

Some notable buildings include the [[Fiat Tagliero Building]], [[Bar Zilli]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1550/|title=Asmara&#x3a; A Modernist African City|first=UNESCO World Heritage|last=Centre|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|accessdate=16 February 2024}}</ref> opera houses, hotels, and cinemas, such as the [[Cinema Impero]].

A statement from UNESCO read:

{{cquote|It is an exceptional example of early modernist urbanism at the beginning of the 20th century and its application in an African context.|200|50|[[UNESCO]]<ref name="auto1"/>}}

{{Gallery
|title=Some buildings included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list for Asmara:
|width=220 | height=190
|align=center
|File:Asmara, teatro d'opera, 02.JPG
|[[Asmara's Opera|Teatro d'Opera]], the opera house of Asmara.
|File:Asmara University Eritrea.jpg
|A building at the [[University of Asmara]].
|File:Asmara, ambasciata italiana (villa roma).JPG
|Villa Roma, [[Italy|Italian]] embassy.
|File:Fiat tagliero, 07,0.JPG
|[[Fiat Tagliero Building|The Fiat Tagliero Building.]]
|File:Asmara, albergo italia, esterno 01.JPG
|Hotel (Albergo) Italia, built 1889. The hotel is one of the oldest hotels in Asmara
|File:Asmara, africa pension 01.JPG
|The African pension. 
|File:Asmara, ufficio postale, interno 01.JPG
|Interior of Asmara post office.
|File:Embasoira hotel Asmara, Eritrea.jpg
|The Embasoira built 1919 (Old Imperial hotel), celebrated 100 years in 2019.
|File:Casa degli italiani restaurant Asmara, Eritrea.jpg
|The Casa degli Italiani restaurant.
|File:Bf Asmara Gleisseite.JPG
|The railway station in Asmara.
|File:An old house in the European quarter built during Italian Eritrea in the early 19th century in Asmara, Eritrea.jpg
|An old house in the European quarter.
|File:Asmara, bar zilli 02.JPG
|[[Bar Zilli]], architecturally modeled in accordance with the [[Art Deco]] movement in the 1930s.
}}

The Historic Center of Asmara was placed on the [[World Monuments Fund]]'s 2006 Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites. The listing was designed to bring more attention to the city to save the center from decay and redevelopment and to promote restoration.

Following CARP (a World Bank initiative on Cultural Heritage), the [[European Union]] Delegation in Asmara has engaged into a Heritage Project pertaining to building's restoration and archive management. Launched in 2010 the EU/Eritrea Cultural Project was expected to be completed in 2014 (Pierre Couté – Edward Denison, Project Design Report, EUD Asmara 2009).