Aeronautica Sicula – Ducrot’s Seaplane Workshops at Zisa (1916)

Established in 1916 in Palermo as the Vittoria Aeronautica Ducrot, the enterprise represents one of the most remarkable industrial conversions in southern Italian history, transforming a master Art Nouveau furniture manufacture into a frontline naval seaplane production plant during the Great War.

From Art Nouveau Furniture to Naval Wings

Vittorio Ducrot, whose Studio Ducrot was celebrated across Europe for exquisite Liberty furniture and transatlantic liner interiors designed with architect Ernesto Basile, recognized the strategic necessity of aircraft production following Italy’s entry into the war. Partnering with the Florio entrepreneurial dynasty, Ducrot converted his expansive steam-powered woodworking workshops at the Zisa into an aircraft plant. The company built FBA Type H biplane reconnaissance seaplanes under Franco-British Aviation license for the Italian Royal Navy, executing flight tests across the sheltered waters of the Gulf of Mondello. In 1918, the works engineered the Ducrot SLD, a high-speed experimental fighter reaching 300 km/h.

Caproni Partnership and Industrial Archaeology

In the 1930s, the company formed an alliance with aviation pioneer Gianni Caproni, officially taking the name Aeronautica Sicula S.A. and expanding into maritime patrol bombers and aeronautical subassemblies until operational decommissioning in 1960. Rather than succumbing to urban abandonment, the historic factory pavilions on Via Paolo Gili were acquired by the Municipality of Palermo. Today, the expansive brick sheds, iron trusses, and former seaplane carpentry workshops have been revitalized as the Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa—a premier multi-arts hub hosting film archives, contemporary art galleries, and industrial design faculties.

Historic Site & Location