January 2018 FLYPAST 87N
estling in the Lazio region
of Italy, 19 miles northwest
of Rome, the ancient town
of Bracciano is worth seeing in
its own right. Picturesque and
peaceful, it’s a popular tourist
attraction with many coming to
see its historic castle, soak up
the slow-paced atmosphere of its
streets, or just bask by the shores
of Lake Bracciano, a stone’s throw
away. Others, however, come
to explore Il Museo Storico dell’
Aeronautica Militare di Vigna di
Valle, which loosely translates to
the Italian Air Force Museum.
My guide for the day is Lt Col
Adelio Roviti, a native of the
town, who proudly took over the
reins of the museum in July 2016.
Covering 42,650sq ft (13,000sq
m) and divided among four large
hangars containing exhibits
dedicated to Italian military
aviation history, the site itself is
brimming with history.
Aviation arrived at Lake
Bracciano in 1904 when Mario
Maurizio Moris of the Corps of
Engineers began to conduct
experiments using hot air balloons
on the shore at Vigna di Valle.
He was closely followed by two
engineers, Gaetano Crocco and
Ottavio Ricaldoni, who started
working on hydroplanes. The first
military base was established
there in 1908 when the Italian
semi-rigid airship N1, flown by
Crocco, lifted off on October
31 on a flight to Rome. The
base was initially used as an
experimental station by the army,
and was added to in 1918 with
the construction of the Troster
Hangar. The latter was taken from
Austria as part of war reparations
and reassembled in front of the
lake, and is now the oldest facility
of its type in Italy. Following the
foundation of the Italian Air Force
in 1923 a scaled-up version ofthe existing building was created
during the 1930s for use by
seaplanes, and is now known as
the Badoni Hangar.
Vigna di Valle was selected as
the prospective museum site in
1975, with the construction of
additional buildings beginning
in 1976. On May 24, 1977 the
hangars officially opened to the
public, and have been a popular
visitor attraction ever since.
When the base was redeveloped
in 1976 a centre section, the Velo
Hangar, was added to connect
the two older structures. A fourth
exhibition space, the Skema
Hangar, was added in 1986, and
expanded in 2009.Starting at the
beginning
Tours of the museum start,
fittingly, in the original Troster
Hangar just off the main entrance
hall. This section focuses on theolder exhibits, with the most
elderly being balloon pioneer
Colonel André-Jacques Garnerin’s
unmanned hot air balloon, dating
from 1804. The story behind this
is fascinating; it was launched
from the cathedral of Notre-
Dame in Paris on December 16
as part of the festivities to mark
the coronation of the French
Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
Unfortunately, the balloon (which
took off lit up with thousands of
torches on board) encountered a
strong gust of wind, which blew
out all the torches, and carried the
balloon rapidly out of sight. After
a remarkable 22 hours adrift,
it reached Rome, where – in a
deflated condition – it crashed at
Tomba di Nerone, said to be the
tomb of the Roman Emperor Nero.
This caused a large ornamental
crown to fall off the balloon’s
basket, and relieved of this weight
it ascended once more, makingwaterfront
The Italian Air Force museum at Vigna di Valle is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2017.
Chris Gilson paid a visit to this wonderful collection, which is a must-see for every aviation enthusiast.
On the