The traditional “Day of Aerophilatelia”, which reached its 41st edition in 2009, was held on June 7th, in Torino. The choice of the subalpine city was motivated by the celebration of the centenary of the first flight of an Italian plane, made by Mario Faccioli on January 13rd, 1909, on the fields of Venaria Reale and the concomitance of the “World Air Games” which were held between June 6th and June 14th, again in Torino and in other locations in Piemonte, whose the imprints of cancellations used on the occasion are reproduced below (see more specifically the detailed information sheet of this event, on the “Exhibitions and Events” page) .
For organizational reasons, the headquarters of the “Day” was not close to the places where the air show took place, so not all the public who came to see the acrobatic figures had the opportunity to fully appreciate the collections on display. However, there was a fair amount of attendance in the exhibition premises and the participation of our members was not less than in previous years, as can also be seen from the consistent and qualified number of collections presented by the members themselves.
Here is the list of exhibitors:
• Ernesto AJMAR: “Flights to and from Torino”
• Andrea AMOROSO: “The Gordon-Bennet Cup”
• Giorgio BARBERIS: “ALITALIA: birth, splendor … torments”
• Celeste BARDUCCI: “Wings on the world”
• Bernardino BERGAMASCHI: “Remembrance of the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise 1929”
• Romano BINI: “Reproductions of aeronautical wall posters”
• Raimondo CATTANEI: “Flights between Italy and Switzerland”
• Bruna CORSARI: “Manifestini launched from the sky”
• Vittorio CROSA: “Frecce Tricolori”
• Alberto FREDA: “Air vehicles: not just passengers and goods”
• Costantino GIRONI: “The pioneering period of aviation in Lombardy”
• Roberto GOTTARDI: “If such a dream became reality”
• Lino LENSI: “Aviation pioneers in Italy”
• Roberto MAIOLO: “Riccione Scout 1969-Mail by helicopter”
• Giovanni MERELLI: “3rd selection of suggestive air postage during the Kingdom period”
• Carlo MILANESI: “The parachute and the post”
• Emanuele MONTAGNA: “Transatlantic passenger planes”
• Vittorio NEGRO: “Light wings”
• Bruno REITER: “Airlines from 4 continents”
• Flavio RICCITELLI: “On the wings of the swallow (1926-1934): Transadriatica and SAM- Prelude to ALA LITTORIA”
• Riccardo VIGO: “Days of Aerophilatelia”
An informal meeting of the Members present was also held on the morning of June 7th, during which the President Gironi had the opportunity to thank all the members present and to take stock of the situation of the association which, thanks also to the renewed graphics of the magazine “AIDA Flash”, the number of members was growing. Also present at the meeting was the Regional Delegate of the Federation, Silvano Di Vita, who brought the President of the Federation, Piero Macrelli, a greeting to the President and the agreed members.
After, during the lunch, the “Day” had its happy conclusion, with the delivery of the awards to the exhibitors and the conferral to Giovanni MERELLI of the title of “Honorary President” of our Association. Recognition, the latter, unanimously decided by the AIDA Board, which also received the seal of all the members present, who did not fail to express their appreciation to the person concerned. Merelli, in fact, has always been a “special” member, distinguished not only for his disinterested generosity but also for being a source of teachings, always suggested with a smile on his lips but for this very effective (see more specifically the card to him dedicated, on the page “The memory of those who left us”).
As per tradition of the association, on June 7th, a detached post office worked in the premises of the Exhibition, to obliterate the special postcard (see images below) published for the occasion and specifically dedicated to the “centenary first flight of an Italian aircraft ”, with the specific cancellation prepared by Poste Italiane on the initiative of AIDA.
It was the biplane designed by Aristide Faccioli, already commemorated with a 220 lire aerogram, issued by Poste Italiane in 1979, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary.
