History

The Rise of Italian Aviation

In March 1904, the Italian Aeronautical Society (S.A.I.) was founded in Milan with the aim of promoting and stimulating Italians’ interest in flight activities. The following year, in Paris on October 12, 1905, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (F.A.I.) was established, gathering a board of seven countries — Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and the USA — with the intention of "methodically catalogue the best performances achieved, so that they be known to everybody; to identify their distinguishing features so as to permit comparisons to be made". The aeronautical scene at that time was in great ferment and evolving rapidly through the formation of new associations.

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In 1909, the Società Aviazione Torino (S.A.T.) was founded in Turin, the Circolo Aeronautico Napoletano in Naples, and near Padua (in Bovolenta) the first Italian civil aerodrome was inaugurated.

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The Birth of the Aero Club d’Italia

The official date of the founding of the Aero Club d’Italia was set for November 22, 1911, and Prince Ludovico Potenziani took the chair, supported by a founding council of delegates from the Ministries of War and the Navy and representatives of the pre-existing associations.

Thus, the Aero Club d’Italia unified the exercise of national aeronautical sports authority, becoming Italy’s official representative within the F.A.I. Moreover, it immediately created several initiatives for the promotion of flight and contributed to the establishment of the Volunteer Corps of Aerostiers and Aviators in support of the country’s defense.

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