The 50th Day of Aerophilately has concluded, achieving considerable success. As is customary, the Italian Aerophilately Association (AIDA) collaborated with a local philatelic circle deeply rooted in the community to organize this event. On this occasion, we decided to accept the gracious invitation extended by the Italian Philatelic-Numismatic Association “A. Diena” in Rome, one of the oldest national associations, with which the annual Roman Convention was also organized.
Both events—the AFI-AIDA Roman Convention and the 50th Day of Aerophilately—were dedicated to commemorating the Centennial of the Italian Air Force, documenting significant milestones in its development over a hundred years of history.
In addition to the mentioned associations, the National Association of Air Force Officers (ANUA) also joined, enabling the endorsement of the Italian Air Force. Thus, the Rome event, named “ALI DENTELLATE,” became part of the extensive list of activities held in 2023, dedicated to the 100 years of the Italian Air Force, starting with the inauguration in Rome at Piazza del Popolo on March 24, 2023.
The event, held in Rome on October 21 and 22, 2023, took place at an iconic site for the Air Force in the capital—the “Casa dell’Aviatore,” specifically in the prestigious “Francesco Baracca” hall.
The AFI-AIDA Roman Convention, featuring an extensive program of presentations on various milestones, including the philatelic and documentary exhibition, was inaugurated by General S.A. Basilio De Martino, Chief Inspector and President of the Centennial Committee of the Italian Air Force. This was followed by a warm greeting from the Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, General S.A. Luca Goretti.
All presentations have been compiled by AFI in a valuable publication titled “ATTI DEL CONVEGNO FILATELICO ROMANO AFI – AIDA 2023,” which is freely downloadable from the AFI website: http://www.afi-roma.it/.
Commemorative material was not lacking, with AIDA and AFI preparing two different cancellations and two special postcards. In particular, the AIDA postcard, which inspired the related special cancellation, is dedicated to the 50th Day of Aerophilately and depicts a “flying carpet” bearing all the dates of the previous editions of the “Day,” alongside the silhouette of the famous S.74 of Ala Littoria. In the 1930s, it operated on the prestigious Rome-Marseille-Lyon-Paris route, managed reciprocally with Air France.
The public turnout was significant, especially on the Saturday of the Convention. Nevertheless, there was also keen interest in the important collections exhibited, featuring highly rare material, and a significant collection of medals dedicated to the Italian Air Force, curated by Lt. Col. Riccardo Martina.
As usual, Poste Italiane participated with a detached post office, operational from 09:00 to 15:00 on Saturday, October 21, utilizing the two specially prepared cancellations. Alongsideù it were the detached post offices of the Vatican and the SMOM, the latter preparing a specific cancellation dedicated to the event, bringing the total of specially available cancellations to three that day.
Below is an illustration of the produced material and photographic documentation of the event.
