After renovations, the Museum of Vigna di Valle reopens with great news, which anticipate those that will be realized for the AM Centenary of 2023
From 31 October 2020 onMilitary Air Force Historical Museum returns to be open to the public after a period of redevelopment and adaptation of its exhibition facilities that will allow visitors to better appreciate the aircraft and relics that tell the story of military flight in Italy and that of the men and women who they have been protagonists.
Ideally, the doors of the Museum reopenedChief of Staff of the Air Force, Team Air Force General Alberto Rosso, during a sober ceremony held on the morning of October 27 in Vigna di Valle, in the presence of local authorities and a reduced representation of the Armed Force.
“Know the base, the concrete of our history, helps us to look at our future in the best and most professional way possible.When we see a piece of our history we not only see the material but the value it contains“. With these words, General Rosso wanted to underline the importance of keeping alive, today as in the past, the values that characterize the institutions and the Armed Forces, “committed to serving our country better, with passion, competence and community of purpose“.
“Reopen the Museum, despite all the limitations imposed by this difficult period – continued the Red General –it is even more important now that we are approaching a fundamental milestone of our Armed Force: the celebration of ourCentenary. The 2023 it seems far away but not so much. Today's is a small step to build a path that brings us ever closer to celebrating our hundred years“.
On the occasion, the last two aircraft of the Italian Air Force were unveiled and thus officially become part of the Museum's exhibition collection: l’F-16 Fighting Falcon and theBreguet 1150 Atlantic, two aircraft that have written important pages in the contemporary history of the Armed Force, respectively in the field of air defense - where theF-16 ensured its service between the F-104's service release, in 2004, and the entry of the Eurofighter, in 2012 - and as part of the anti-submarine air patrol, where the Atlantic has instead ensured the surveillance of the Mediterranean Sea over the course of ben 45 years of operational life, from 1972 to the 2017.
The very last example of Atlantic, in 2018, was the protagonist of a spectacular transfer from the Pratica di Mare airport to Vigna di Valle, carried out with a helicopter of the National Fire Brigade that transported the plane in flight thanks to a special harness.
The museum, which rises in Vigna di Valle, on the Bracciano lake, it will be open every dayfrom 31 October, from 10:00 to 16:00 (except on weekdays, on January 1st, on Easter day and 25 December), with free admission and regulated access in compliance with the regulations on the containment of COVID-19. Upon reservation, it will also be possible to take advantage of free guided tours for organized groups. Access to the museum will be allowed only through the military entrance located in Via Circumlacuale - Bracciano.
TheMilitary Air Force Historical Museum, inaugurated in 1977 by the President of the Republic Giovanni Leone, with his 13.000 square meters of covered exhibition area, it is one of the largest and most interesting museums of flight in the world. It has the task of collecting, restoration, keep, exhibit and enhance the aeronautical material of historical and documentary interest coming from discoveries or donations from private individuals. Through multiple internal and external activities, it is also a driving force of history and aeronautical culture both from a scientific and didactic and popular point of view. The Museum is arranged over four large exhibition pavilions and accommodates approximately 80 aircraft and a large collection of engines and aeronautical memorabilia of various kinds that tell, in chronological sequence, the history of military flight in Italy and that of the men and women who were protagonists. The route winds through the sectors dedicated to the pioneers, to airships, to the First World War, to the epic of the polar flights of General Nobile, to large mass cruises, Alla Coppa Schneider, to aircraft between the two Wars, to the Second World War and the big airplanes, to finish with the last pavilion illustrating the post-war rebirth of the Air Force.
Sources:
Photo: Air force
Text: Air Force - Public Information Office - Rome
