The article draws attention to the extraordinary, by African standards, respect in Eritrea for the soldiers of the Italian colonial troops, the Ascari, and even for some of their Italian officers, such as Amedeo Guillet. The author reveals the reason for this respect, which was not present in another former Italian colony Libya. After studying the materials on the number and combat path of the Ascari, colonial Libya, Eritrea, and Italy’s policy in it, the author came to the conclusion that Italian colonialism from a clean slate formed an anti-Ethiopian identity in Eritrea.