Darnah Province (called in ItalianProvincia italiana di Derna) was one of theprovinces of Libya under Italian rule. It was established in 1937 with the official name: "Commissariato Generale Provinciale di Derna". Derna province was called only "Darnah District" afterWorld War II.
Derna province was located in northernItalian Libya, next toEgypt. It was a semi-arid area near the Mediterranean coast, with a fertile plateau around ancientCyrene, but in the interior was theSaharadesert. Its administrative center was the small city ofDerna on the Mediterranean coast.
It was divided in 3 "circondari" (sections):
The province from 1939 was considered officially part of theKingdom of Italy, with the same laws. It was one of the four new Italian provinces of the so-calledQuarta Sponda (Fourth Shore). Indeed, on 9 January 1939, the colony ofItalian Libya was incorporated into "metropolitan Italy" and thereafter considered an integral part of theItalian state itself (theFrench, in 1848, had incorporatedFrench Algeria in the same manner).
In the coast of the province was built in 1937-1938 the eastern section of theLitoranea Balbia, that went fromTripoli to the border ofEgypt. Some Italian colonists moved to live in a group of new villages after 1938: they increased local agricultural production, but British invasion during World War II destroyed all improvements.
The car tag for the Italian province of Derna wasDE.[1]
According to the 1936 census, which allowed citizens to declare their ethnicity, Derna's native population was made up of 94.4%Arabs, 1.8%Turks, 0.7%Blacks, 0.2%Berbers, and 2.9% Others.[2]
According to the 1939 Italian Census of Libya,[3] these were the main population data:
| CITY | INHABITANTS | ITALIANS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beda Littoria | 16.238 pop. | 1.533 | Italians nearly 9,5% |
| Cyrene | 494 pop. | 222 | Italians nearly 45% |
| Bardia | 5,491 pop. | 216 | Italians nearly 4%; it was even called "Porto Bardia" |
| Derna | 16,609 pop. | 3,250 | Italians 20% |
| Tobruk | 11,284 pop. | 1,756 | Italians nearly 16% |
| Giarabub | 215 pop. | - | oasis with military garrison |
| Apollonia | 3,313 pop. | 449 | Italians 14% |
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