The origins of flight and photography are almost simultaneous, and their technological developments even more so. The first aerial photographs date back to the early balloons in 1855, when a system for photographing from a balloon was applied in Paris.

In 1896, the Military Aerophotographic Service was established in Italy, within the military sphere, subordinate to the Aerostatic Service of the Royal Army in Rome.

The combination of photography and flight had developments in the civil field with the mapping of the cities of Rome and Venice and the survey of the Tiber River, which led to a gold medal at the First International Photogrammetric Congress in Brussels. Subsequently, the use of photography found ample space in the field of war in the Great War. When the Regia Aeronautica was established as an autonomous Armed Force in 1923, it inherited expertise in the field of aerial photography and immediately included photographers in its cadres. The Regia Aeronautica immediately collaborated with the Istituto Geografico Militare for the aero-photogrammetry part and with the Istituto Luce for the ground and in-flight documentation part. The first real test was the campaign in Ethiopia, where without the support of the air force, for the mapping of the territory with the preparation of real maps in real time, the army on the ground would not have been able to advance in practically unexplored territories. The auspicious occasion came when, within the framework of the Open Skies Treaty, which allowed mutual reconnaissance in the Atlantic and Warsaw Pact territories (in the midst of the Cold War), the Photographic Service was asked to give a practical demonstration of its capabilities, the operation was a huge success with the demonstration that this Service had nevertheless maintained an efficient organisation.
Following the significant technical and professional downsizing after the end of the Second World War, the Photographic Service demonstrated its efficiency and capability during the “Open Skies” treaty, which allowed for mutual reconnaissance over the territories of the Atlantic Pact and the Warsaw Pact (in the midst of the Cold War).
Meanwhile, with the increase in tasks assigned to the Photocinematographic Laboratory and the demands of the news media, the Armed Force decided to create a Production Centre for Public Information Material (1976) under the Directorate of Documentation and Promotional Activities of the Air Force General Staff.