Inside the stand created by the Defence General Staff, the Italian Air Force exhibition point On Thursday 16 May, the 26th International Book Fair opened its doors, and this year too the Ministry of Defence is present with an institutional exhibition stand where the Italian Army, the Italian Navy, the Italian Air Force and the Carabinieri present their latest publishing releases and offer visitors an opportunity for informative meetings and cultural exchange on various topics concerning the military world. At the Italian Air Force exhibition point, the Armed Force's most recent publishing proposals are presented. The texts, published by the Historical Office and the Rivista Aeronautica, allow the visitor to retrace the fundamental milestones of the Italian aviation adventure.
During the course of yesterday morning, a delegation of students from Piedmont, as part of the “Immagina... la Difesa” project—which aims to introduce students to the reality of Defence through a gallery of commented and commentable images—connected via satellite with Air Force personnel on duty at the Task Force Air in Al Bateen, United Arab Emirates.
Colonel Fabrizio Borgonovi, Commander of the Air Task Force, was able to illustrate to the students the unit's activity aimed at ensuring the maintenance of an advance station for the transit of personnel and equipment to operational theatres.
Numerous figures visited the stand, including the President of the Piedmont Region Roberto Cota, the Minister for Cultural Heritage and Tourism Massimo Bray, the Minister for Constitutional Reforms Gaetano Quagliariello and Professor Vittorio Sgarbi.
Among the publishing proposals submitted on 17 May is the work “Vicini a una terra lontana. Sulle strade dell’Afghanistan con il contingente italiano” edited by Air Force General Settimo Caputo, Chief of Staff of the Joint Operations Headquarters (COI), and the journalist and Army Captain Elena Croci. The book presented is a photographic volume aimed at the general public who do not know Afghanistan, seeking to show and help people understand in greater detail what the Italian military does and has done since the beginning of the mission.
Numerous publishing works by the Italian Air Force will be presented today, 18 May:
-“History of aircraft and their technical development within the framework of world events. From 1903 to the eve of the Second World War” presented by retired General Ferdinando Sguerri, with a speech by General Basilio Di Martino.
-“Italian aviation and aerial bombardment in the Great War” and following,
– “90 years of history in 90 pages – 1923-2013” presented by General Basilio Di Martino with speeches by Lieutenant Colonel Alessandro Cornacchini, Director of Rivista Aeronautica, and Lieutenant Colonel Stefano Cosci, Deputy Director of Rivista Aeronautica. The publishing schedule planned for Sunday 19 May is packed, once again featuring the Italian Air Force:
- at 11:00 the presentation of the book “Avidi di Orizzonti – Le trasvolate di Italo Balbo e degli atlantici nell’80° anniversario della crociera aerea decennale” presented by Professor Lucia Collarile, General Basilio Di Martino and Lieutenant Colonel Stefano Cosci.
- at 16:30 the presentation of the book “Chi Vola Vale. L’immagine della Regia Aeronautica nell’archivio del generale Cagna” edited by the SMA – Historical Office;
- At 17:15 the presentation of the book “Vicende e memorie dell’Aeronautica italiana attraverso le carte di Mario Ajmone-Cat” edited by the SMA – Historical Office.
On Monday 20 May, the programme continues with a series of satellite links, the presentation of the fairy tale “Il mago delle lacrime” as part of the project “Una fiaba per volare con te”, and demonstrations of the “Anti-sabotage robot”.
