There were not many Italian possessions around the world. Here is a brief list of Italian colonies: Aegean Islands, Dalmatia, Albania, Italian North Africa, Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, Fezzan, Eritrea, Italian Somalia, Italian Libya, Italian East Africa.

 

Aegean Islands – a group of islands in the Aegean Sea (Ionian Islands, Corfu, Dodecanese, etc.), under Italian control from 1912 to 1945.

 

Dalmatia – Italian colony in the Balkans, covering present-day Croatia and Montenegro. Under Italian (Venetian) influence from 1420 to 1797. After that, it became part of the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, from a philatelic perspective, this Italian colony is of little interest.

 

Albania – Italian protectorate from 1939 to 1945. Officially named the Albanian Kingdom (Regno albanese).

 

Italian North Africa – Italian colonies in North Africa from 1912. This territory passed to Italy from the Ottoman Empire as a result of Italy's victory in the Italo-Turkish War. In 1927, Italian North Africa was divided into three separate colonies: Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan, which existed until 1934. In 1934, these colonies were merged into one colony named Libia italiana (Italian Libya). Libya remained under Italian control until 1943.

 

Eritrea – Italian colony in East Africa from 1890 to 1936. In 1936, after a reorganization of colonies, Eritrea became part of Italian East Africa.

 

Italian Somalia – colonial possessions of the Kingdom of Italy in East Africa from 1880 to 1936. In 1936, after a reorganization of colonies, Italian Somalia became part of Italian East Africa.

 

Italian East Africa – Italian colony in East Africa, formed in 1936 by merging several Italian colonies: Italian Eritrea (since 1890), Italian Somalia (since 1890), and the occupied Ethiopian territories. Italian East Africa lasted until 1941, when it was occupied by British forces.

 

Tianjin – Italian concession in China from 1901 to 1943. Following the Second Opium War, the Chinese government was forced to make concessions, one of which was granting foreigners concessions in Tianjin.