 Most of central Asmara was built between 1935 and 1941, so the Italians effectively managed to build almost an entire city in just six years.At this time, the dictator Benito Mussolini had great plans for a second Roman Empire in Africa.War cut this short, but his injection of funds created the Asmara of today, which supposedly was to be a symbol to the conlonial fascism during that period of time.