Faccetta Nera

The lyrics are written from the perspective of a fascist Italian Blackshirt soldier during the invasion of Ethiopia.

In the song, the Italian narrator tells a beautiful young enslaved Abysinnian (Ethiopian) girl that she will be liberated from slavery and ruled by a new regime.

During the invasion, the song was hugely popular in Italy and caused national fervor.

[2] During the fascist occupation of Ethiopia, Ethiopian women cohabited with Italian men in a system of concubinage known as madamismo.

The Fascist authorities considered banning the song, and removed all picture postcards depicting Abyssinian women from Roman shop windows.

Italian notice, signed by General Emilio De Bono , proclaiming the abolishment of slavery in Tigray in Italian and Amharic . The abolition of slavery was one of the first measures taken by the Italian colonial government in Ethiopia.