Inaugurated in Caserta on Friday 5th February in the presence of Undersecretary Cossiga, Gen. S.A. Tei and Gen. S.A. Gargini. The ceremony was presided over by the Undersecretary of State for Defence, Hon. Giuseppe Cossiga, in the presence of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Force General Daniele Tei, the Commander of Air Force Schools, Air Force General Giampiero Gargini, the Prefect and civil, military and religious authorities. The event marks the conclusion of the memorandum of understanding signed in June 2007 between the Ministry of Defence, the State Property Agency and the Municipality of Caserta, which aimed to satisfy the long-felt need to rationalise and optimise the use of the complex constituting the Royal Palace of Caserta and, in particular, the areas adjacent to it, through the relocation of the workshops of the Air Force Specialist School, located on the adjacent state-owned area known as Sirtori. In the new Multifunctional Centre, the School is concentrating a large part of the facilities and activities responsible for the training of cadets and attendees, which in 2009 numbered around 900; this will allow for the optimisation of space within the Royal Palace as well. The new complex consists of three buildings for classrooms and laboratories, a dormitory building with approximately 400 places, as well as a gymnasium and a recreation room for the cadets. The complex is completed by a 600-seat auditorium and a ‘control room’ for managing the technological systems. The handover of the new facilities reinforces the bond that has linked the history of the Specialist School and the Air Force to the City of Caserta for over 80 years. The inauguration ceremony was preceded, on the evening of 4th February, by a performance by the Band of the 3rd Air Region of Bari in the brand new auditorium.
