This article assesses Italy's participation in the Expo du Sahara in Paris in 1934, placing it within the framework of European colonial culture, exhibitions, and international relations during the 1930s. Hitherto, the Expo du Sahara has been largely ignored by historiography, but it offers important insights into Italo-French relations in the years immediately preceding Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, as well as the ways in which Fascist Italy sought national and international legitimacy through the medium of exhibitions. The Paris exhibition, staged by the European powers after years of clashes, was also a physical representation of the so-called ‘colonial concord’ and ‘peaceful’ partition of North Africa, processes in which Italy's role was fundamental.

本文评估了意大利参与 1934 年在巴黎举办的撒哈拉博览会，并将其置于 1930 年代欧洲殖民文化、展览和国际关系的框架内。迄今为止，撒哈拉博览会在很大程度上被史学所忽视，但它提供了对意大利入侵埃塞俄比亚前几年意大利-法国关系的重要见解，以及法西斯意大利通过媒体寻求国家和国际合法性的方式的展览。由欧洲列强在多年冲突后举办的巴黎展览也是所谓的“殖民协和”和北非“和平”分割的物理表现，意大利在其中的作用至关重要。