The Polarquest 2018 scientific expedition was conducted last summer beyond the Arctic Circle, retracing the route followed 90 years ago by Umberto Nobile with the dirigible Italia. As part of the celebrations aimed at commemorating the feat accomplished 90 years ago by Umberto Nobile with the dirigible Italia, the Historical Museum of Vigna di Valle hosted the second stage of an international two-day conference led by the National Research Council of Rome, the first part of which was held the day before at the institution’s headquarters.
The event, opened with the greetings of the Commander of the Historical and Sports Center, Colonel Giuseppe Lauriola, and the Director of the Museum, Lieutenant Colonel Adelio Roviti, had as its primary objective to make known the results of the Polarquest 2018 scientific expedition.
The expedition operated last summer in the archipelago of the Svalbard Islands (the northernmost part of Norway, as well as the most northerly inhabited land on the planet), circumnavigating on board a special sailing vessel, the Nanuq, specially equipped for the measurement of some of the most important cosmic, physical and environmental parameters.
Several other national and international scientific organizations also participated in the realization of this project, which provided their own contribution in various ways: CERN in Geneva, the Italian Geographical Society, the Enrico Fermi Research and Studies Center in Rome, the INFN Section (National Institute of Nuclear Physics) of the University of Bari, and the Ca Foscari University of Venice.
The conference speakers at this event were Dr. Paola Catalano from CERN (Polarquest 2018 Project Leader), Roberto Sparapani from CNR, Prof. Gianluca Casagrande from the Italian Geographic Society, Prof. Marcello Abbrescia from the Fermi Center and INFN Section of the University of Bari (who also delivered greetings from Prof. Massimo Inguscio, President of CNR), and Prof. Carlo Barbante from the Ca' Foscari University of Venice.
Among the territorial authorities present were Bruno Bruni, Mayor of Manziana, Claudia Maciucchi, Mayor of Trevignano, and Claudia Marini, Councilor for Culture of the Municipality of Bracciano. A significant number of students from the “Manziana” Comprehensive School were also present at the conference, demonstrating their attention and sensitivity towards the environmental issues discussed.
From the Svalbard Islands, Umberto Nobile set off ninety years earlier, aboard the airship Italia, towards the North Pole. The Polarquest 2018 expedition, in homage to that undertaking, deliberately retraced the same route followed by the airship in 1928, reaching the exact point where the shipwreck occurred (for this purpose, the geographical coordinates at the time, transmitted by radio from telegrapher Giuseppe Biagi, were taken as a reference).
A simple but meaningful ceremony was held on site in memory of the brave aviators who have passed away. A similar ceremony took place on the ground, at King’s Bay, in the presence of the monument dedicated to the protagonists of the unfortunate undertaking, as well as at the foot of the pillar that still stands, on which the airship Italia was moored before taking off for its polar flight.
To confer further exceptional character to the expedition, as well as its extremely high historical and symbolic significance, was the participation in the commemorations on land of some descendants of the aviators who took part in that undertaking: Giuseppe Biagi, grandson of the eponymous telegraphist on board, Sergio Alessandrini, grandson of Renato, pilot and equipment operator, Paola and Mattia De Grassi, grandsons of Adalberto Mariano, officer of the flight deck, Filippo Belloni, grandson of Filippo Zappi, officer of the flight deck, Michele Tomaselli, grandson of Francesco “Cesco” Tomaselli, journalist on board.
As for the scientific aspects, Polarquest 2018 allowed for surveys and measurements to be carried out at latitudes where they had never been done before. A detailed mapping of one of the islands of the archipelago was also carried out, in particular the island of the Alpini, so named precisely because it was ’discovered“ by an Alpine Corps officer, Gennaro Sora, during his journey of over a thousand kilometers in search of the survivors of the Italian airship ”Italia”. The island is now acquired in its topographic and altimetric data as never before. Similarly, although with different equipment and with the stated ambitious goal of attempting to find traces of the disappeared airship, a preliminary mapping of a limited part of the Arctic seabed adjacent to the Svalbard Islands was also carried out.
In absolute terms, this expedition marked the return, for the first time in ninety years, of a scientific laboratory to the Arctic. It was the first of a series of further scientific campaigns that will soon be conducted in those areas, as they represent a particularly significant field of study as well as a reliable and truthful indicator of the overall health of our planet.
Vigna di Valle is the headquarters of the Military Air Force Historical Museum, where the most significant aircraft ever supplied to the Armed Forces are kept, including those used in the period preceding its foundation. Vigna di Valle is also home to the Military Air Force Sports Centre, where athletes from the Armed Forces who compete in the most important world-class competitions are trained.
