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The city of Mogadishu came under Italian control in the 1880s after they acquired the territory of Italian Somaliland. In 1905, it was made the capital of the territory. The Italians subsequently referred to the city as Mogadiscio. After World War I, the surrounding territory came under Italian control with some resistance.p. 28
Thousands of Italians settled in Mogadishu and founded small manufacturing companies. They also developed some agricultural areas in the south near the capital, such as Janale and the Villaggio duca degli Abruzzi (present-day Jowhar).p. 233 In the 1930s, new buildings and avenues were built. A 114 km (71 mi) narrow-gauge railway was laid from Mogadishu to Jowhar. An asphalted road, the Strada Imperiale, was also constructed and intended to link Mogadishu to Addis Ababa.p. 41
In 1940, the Italo-Somali population numbered 22,000, accounting for over 44% of the city's population of 50,000 residents. Mogadishu remained the capital of Italian Somaliland throughout the latter polity's existence. In February 1941, during World War II it was captured by British forces.
After World War II Mogadishu was made the capital of the Trust Territory of Somaliland, an Italian administered fiduciary political entity under the ONU mandate, for ten years (1950–1960).