Cardinal Massaja and the Catholic Mission in Ethiopia. Features of an Experience between Religion and Politics

After a long, complex experience in fascinating Ethiopia, Guglielmo Massaja was welcomed back to his homeland as a true missionary icon. After his death, however, with increased Italian interest in East Africa, his figure was also subjected to a political reworking process, first of all with an emphasis of his alleged role as a proponent of national colonial expansionism in the Red Sea area. Thanks to a reconstruction founded on extensive documentation, Forno’s volume finally casts light on many aspects of the actions of the Piedmontese cardinal during his troubled African mission, tracing the crucial moments of a story that has so far been almost entirely neglected by the scientific and historic research community.