In 1889, Asmara became an Italian colony. It was made the capital of the country in 1897 and was called "Asmara italiana". The city was damaged during earthquakes in 1913 and 1915. During the 1930s, the Italians made many chances to how Asmara looked. Many new buildings were created during this time and the city was mainly populated by Italian colonists (in 1940 there were 57000 Italian residents on a total population of 98000).