This dissertation project will explore the diverse and contradictory interpretations offered by Italian architects of the vernacular architecture of the Mediterranean region during the fascist period. Of primary concern will be the links between these views and the development of modernism in Italian architecture with a particular focus on the Italian colonization of North Africa. The intention is to provide a more critical reading of the relationship between the broader culture of Italian colonization and its architectural manifestations. My proposal for this fellowship is to conduct nine months of field research in Italy consulting library and archival sources. The two primary areas of investigation for this research are the general 'cultural' activities related to the Italian colonization of North Africa and the specific documentation of architects and their works in the colony of Libya. More particularly, my interests are in the architecture of tourism, in agricultural towns in Libya and in the representation of the North African colonies in Fairs and Exhibitions.