Special Sub-Topic: Italy as a colonial power? Click Here To Play: Italy as a colonial power?

In 1912, as a result of a war between Italy and Turkey, a group of Mediterranean islands became an Italian possession:

The Dodecanese. During the the war against Turkey (1911-1912), in order to cut communications and war smuggling activities between Turkey and Libya, Italy occupied the islands of the Dodecanese (present-day Greece). Full Italian sovereignty was granted by France and Britain in 1915 with the London pact. Turkey gave up every claim on the islands after WW1, as a result of the Treaty of Sevres (1920).

Because of its proximity to southern Italy, Tripolitania (a region of contemporary Libya annexed in 1911) was soon nicknamed:

The Fourth Shore. Tripolitania and Cirenaica (both regions of present-day Libya) were occupied in 1911 by Italian troops as a result of the war against Turkey, and annexed to the Italian Kingdom in the same year. Tripolitania was, for decades, the largest and closest Italian colony, and Tripoli the largest Italian colonial city. The coast of Tripolitania, facing Italy's southern shores, was close enough to gain the nickname of 'Fourth Shore' (Quarta Sponda), the other three being the Tyrrhenian, the Adriatic and the Ionian.

As a consequence of the Tirana Talks of 1920, a small island off the Albanian coast became an Italian possession:

Sazan (Saseno). The Island of Saseno had no civilian inhabitants, neither Italians of Albanians. A few miles from the Albanian town of Valona (Vlore), the Italian government built fortifications, roads and warehouses, but never a permanent settlement. The island was probably used to control naval transit over the Otranto Channel.

Italy's colonial history started in 1869, through a specific act:

The purchase of Assab, Eritrea. A privately owned commercial society named Rubattino purchased Assab, Eritrea, and a nearby strip of land in 1869. In 1882 Assab was declared an Italian Colony. Favored by Britain, Italians later occupied Massawa (1885), and Asmara (1889).

An easy one: Canton Ticino, an Italian speaking region of Southern Switzerland, has been an Italian possession. True or false?

false & f. Canton Ticino became part of Switzerland in 1803, approximately half a century before the unification of Italy.

In 1902 Italy was granted a 450,000 sq meter concession in China populated, among others, by 150 Italians. Such concession was in:

Tianjin. A very little known fact: the 'Concessione di Tien-Tsin' was a residential area within the city of Tianjin itself. It was ruled by a mayor or 'Podesta'' (namely the Italian consul), appointed by the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and assisted by a Municipal Council.

Which of the following countries has not been an Italian colony?

Djibouti. Eritrea (annexed in 1890), Ethiopia (1936) and Somalia (1905) formed alltogether the so-called Italian Oriental Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana), or A.O.I.: although close, Djibouti was never part of such congregation. A.O.I. had a single capital city (Addis Ababa), and was divided into five other separate administrative districts or 'governi': Eritrea, Amara, Galla and Sidama, Harar, Somalia.

Albania was annexed to Italy in:

1939.

When Ethiopia was annexed to Italy, in 1936, Italian king Vittorio Emanuele also became?

Emperor of Ethiopia. As Ethiopia was an empire itself, even before Italian occupation and annexion, Vittorio Emanuele in 1936 became King of Italy and Emperor of Ethiopia. Italy, for some years, celebrated on May 9th the 'Foundation of the Empire' as a national holiday.

What Dalmatian city became Italian in 1920?

Zadar (Zara). Isolated from Italy, on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, and almost completely surrounded by former Jugoslavia, Zara was not a colony or a dominion, but considered as part of mainland Italy, and head on the Zara province, which consisted in only two municipalities: the city itself and the island of Lagosta (Lastovo), further south. Both are now in contemporary Croatia.