Il limes coloniale italiano e il ruolo (inesplorato) del Club Africano di Napoli. Nuovi cantieri di ricerca: per una lettura decoloniale in archivio

In the context of the intense international debate that has critically reinterpreted the processes of colonization since the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the contributions of postcolonial studies, Italian colonialism remains a relatively unexplored field of research, with a few notable exceptions. During the early phase of Italian colonization, the city of Naples was considered a key center for the Mediterranean expansion of colonial interests, as evidenced by the founding of the African Club of Naples (CAfrNA) in 1880. This Club later became the African Society of Italy (SAI), which served as the original nucleus for the Society of Geographical and Colonial Studies of Florence, and which as become an important national geography association. This contribution aims to explore the unpublished documentary collection of the CAfrNA, held within the SAI archives at the University of Naples “L’Orientale.” This collection remains in need of proper reorganization, and its study offers an opportunity for a more nuanced understanding of Italian colonialism, particularly through the construction of decolonial memories.