the province from 1939 was considered officially part of the kingdom of italy, with the same laws. it was one of the 4 new italian provinces of the so-called "quarta sponda" (fourth shore) of mussolini's greater italia. indeed on january 9, 1939, the colony of italian libya was incorporated into "metropolitan italy" and thereafter considered an integral part of the italian state (the french, in 1848, had incorporated "french algeria" in the same manner).