He specialised in the study of the Italian Colonial Empire, and the involvement in Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia during the first part of 20th century.
Del Boca was the first post-WWII Italian scholar to devote himself extensively to the study of Fascist Italy's expansion in Africa, and to publish information on the crimes committed by the Italian army in Ethiopia and Libya during its period of Fascism and World War II.
After the war he was editor for the newspaper Il Giorno, and later a professor of Contemporary History at the University of Turin.
[2] Del Boca is widely regarded to have been one of the first historians to denounce Italy's use of poison gas.
During the rise of Bettino Craxi, Del Boca abandoned political writings and began focusing on historical research.