In Naples on the Triennale delle Terre Italiane d’Oltremare (1939-40), Enrico Del Debbio had designed, commissioned by Bruno Mussolini, the L.A.T.I. (Linee Aeree Transcontinentali Italiane) stand, wanted by the fascist regime. Set up on a plinth with a small artificial lake representing the Atlantic Ocean and, on the bottom, a large, curved wing with the company’s symbol and also drew lines connecting Italy and Latin America. In this exhibition space, a catwalk connected Rome - via Lisbon - arriving in Brazil and highlighted a point in the middle of the Ocean: Capo Verde Islands. Why so much Italian interest in this island that belonged to Portugal? Capo Verde represented the last stopover point on European soil before crossing the Atlantic, necessary for aerial technical refueling. Beginning in 1935, with a disputed and contentious “war for the air” between Salazar and Mussolini, but also between their respective Aviation Ministries, the Portuguese government decided to provide the Ilha do Sal (Capo Verde) for use by the Littoria Air Force in 1939. This research investigates the construction of the airport in Ilha do Sal, located in Espargos and the politic relations between Italy and Portugal. This “little stone ship” (Ilha do Sal) became an “Aeronautical City” by Italian engineers in only six months and due to the airport, the infrastructure of the island, and a new non-planned urbanization, the island in 1940 moved from a desert land to a population of seven hundred people. With the beginning of the II World War, a “diplomatic war” broke off the relations between Italy and Portugal (and also Brazil) over the island. But this “early” Italian urbanization of the Ilha do Sal was totally ignored by Portuguese historiography of the time. Nevertheless, after the war, the airport became a starting point of peace, allowing Cape Verdeans to emigrate to Europe.
The War for the air : Ilha do Sal airport, between Fascism and Estado Novo
Pegorin, Elisa
2023-01-01
Abstract
In Naples on the Triennale delle Terre Italiane d’Oltremare (1939-40), Enrico Del Debbio had designed, commissioned by Bruno Mussolini, the L.A.T.I. (Linee Aeree Transcontinentali Italiane) stand, wanted by the fascist regime. Set up on a plinth with a small artificial lake representing the Atlantic Ocean and, on the bottom, a large, curved wing with the company’s symbol and also drew lines connecting Italy and Latin America. In this exhibition space, a catwalk connected Rome - via Lisbon - arriving in Brazil and highlighted a point in the middle of the Ocean: Capo Verde Islands. Why so much Italian interest in this island that belonged to Portugal? Capo Verde represented the last stopover point on European soil before crossing the Atlantic, necessary for aerial technical refueling. Beginning in 1935, with a disputed and contentious “war for the air” between Salazar and Mussolini, but also between their respective Aviation Ministries, the Portuguese government decided to provide the Ilha do Sal (Capo Verde) for use by the Littoria Air Force in 1939. This research investigates the construction of the airport in Ilha do Sal, located in Espargos and the politic relations between Italy and Portugal. This “little stone ship” (Ilha do Sal) became an “Aeronautical City” by Italian engineers in only six months and due to the airport, the infrastructure of the island, and a new non-planned urbanization, the island in 1940 moved from a desert land to a population of seven hundred people. With the beginning of the II World War, a “diplomatic war” broke off the relations between Italy and Portugal (and also Brazil) over the island. But this “early” Italian urbanization of the Ilha do Sal was totally ignored by Portuguese historiography of the time. Nevertheless, after the war, the airport became a starting point of peace, allowing Cape Verdeans to emigrate to Europe.
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