Curated Itinerary
The Route of the Decennial Air Cruise — Orbetello, Chicago, New York (1933)
Three surviving sites of the Atlantic formation flights of 1930–1933, from the Tuscan lagoon where the fleets trained and departed […]
Three surviving sites of the Atlantic formation flights of 1930–1933, from the Tuscan lagoon where the fleets trained and departed to the contested Roman column on the Chicago lakefront and official Italy’s showcase on Fifth Avenue. Read the full story in the dedicated article The Atlantic Squadrons: Orbetello, Rio, Chicago and the Formation Flights of 1930–1933.
Step by step
Idroscalo di Orbetello — Base of the Atlantic Squadrons
The Tuscan lagoon base from which Balbo's formations left for Rio in 1930 and Chicago in 1933. Wrecked in 1944 with Nervi's hangars, it survives as the Parco delle Crociere and its memorial esplanade.
Balbo Column, Burnham Park, Chicago
An ancient Roman column from Ostia on Chicago's lakefront, sent by Mussolini's government in 1934 to commemorate the 1933 formation flight. Still standing, and still debated.
Palazzo d’Italia, Rockefeller Center, New York
The Italian wing of Rockefeller Center (1935): Piccirilli's fascist-flavoured glass panel was boarded over days after Pearl Harbor and replaced in 1965 by Giacomo Manzu's bronzes. A New York City landmark since 1985.
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