In December 1958 an advertisement appeared in the “Philatelic Bulletin” which, addressing the Italian air mail collectors, proposed the foundation of an association to which enthusiasts could join.
The idea of setting up an association among airmail collectors in Italy and aerofilatelic documents was by Rag. Giuseppe Schenone, since the early 1950s, when he started dealing with this specialty, and his was also the idea of the insertion in the “Philatelic Bulletin”.
As Schenone tells (some excerpts):
“I too, like all or most of us, was a stamp collector, more or less satisfied, more or less lucky. In philately, no one can expect to reach a specialization without first having had that elementary education, that school, let us say that learning, which are constituted by the initial generic and general collection of stamps. A collection that must, however, be the start, the departure for the achievement of research, study and satisfaction results that only specialized collections can give.”
“In many people, in many friends, the same intention of associating airmail collectors has certainly matured as I had. To unite them, that is, in an emotional and material bond that lasted over time and was in turn a starting point for further progress.”
They joined the Schenone initiative 31 people and on 11 December 1958, these 32 air mail enthusiasts, in person or by proxy, met in Milan and with a first circular communicated the establishment of Provisional Board as follows:
| Surname and name | Home town |
|---|---|
| CHERUBINI Rag. Cherubino | FIRENZE |
| GALL Prof. Dott. Piero | TRIESTE |
| GUARINO Sig. Luigi | MILANO |
| ONOFRI Rag. Mario | MILANO |
| POGLIANI Sig. Paolo | FIRENZE |
| SCHENONE Rag. Giuseppe | MILANO |
| TARAGNI Ing. Sandro | MILANO |
First president of the Provisional Board was appointed Rag. Mario Onofri, while, as first secretary-treasurer, the task was entrusted to Mr. Luigi Guarino.
The founding members’ assembly was thus called for the evening of December 27, 1958, in Milano, in a room of Caffè Biffi, in that Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which for more than a century has been the heart of the Lombard metropolis, where i defendants they found themselves participating not in a formal and tedious constituent assembly, but in a friendly gathering of aerophilathelia enthusiasts who in this joyful atmosphere gave birth to:
A I D A – Associazione Italiana of Aerofilatelia.
On that occasion, in addition to the company name, an activity program was drawn up which will then be implemented in the drafting of the bylaws.
At the beginning of January 1959, the following announcement appeared in the Corriere d’Informazione:
AEROFILATELIA – The Italian Association of Aerofilatelia was set up in Milan, which brings together collectors of stamps, aerograms and documents relating to air mail and all the material related to it in the history of flight.
Circular no. 3 of January 25, 1959 announced the Provisional Board had called for March 14, 1959 the general meeting of members where among the items on the agenda provided for the presentation of the draft statute and the election of the first board. The following circular on March 14, 1959, stated the approval of statute, as well as the appointment of the first President reconfirming the person of Rag. Mario Onofri.
On this page the reproduction of the original document showing the list of founding members with the cities of origin and the reproduction of the deed of incorporation with the operational program of the AIDA Association
Below is the reproduction of the original document showing the list of 32 founding members, including the member of Provisional Board with city of origin and the reproduction of the articles of association with the program operational of the A.I.D.A.
Over time there have been several presidents who have succeeded each other at the helm, each of them has given its own significant imprint to its mandate, throughout the over 60 years of life of our Association. Among all, as can be seen from the list below, the figure of Eng. Sandro Taragni, historian and collector from pioneers to the present day, whose mandate lasted for over thirty years and who has been a source of inspiration for many.
Presidents AIDA
| Mario ONOFRI | 1958 – 1964 |
| Sandro TARAGNI | 1964 – 1996 |
| Aldo ALONGE | 1996 – 1999 |
| Fernando CORSARI | 1999 – 2002 |
| Costantino GIRONI | 2002 – 2012 |
| Roberto GOTTARDI | 2013 – 2018 |
| Fiorenzo LONGHI | 2019 – 2022 |
| Fiorenzo LONGHI | 2023 – () |
But we cannot forget Mario Onofri, writer and Zeppelin collector, Aldo Alonge, writer and collector of Atlantic cruises and Fernando Corsari, author (with Ugo Desimoni) of the first catalog of modern aerophilathelia, writer and collector of interrupted flights who was for everyone “the Secretary”, a task he carried out with skill for many years, before becoming president.
We cannot forget that AIDA has had, on a couple of occasions, the figure of the Honorary President. The first was Sandro Taragni, who in 1996, after 32 years of presidency, was awarded this honorary post by the Board, as a sign of gratitude for the many years dedicated to AIDA, with the passing of the baton to Aldo Alonge, who he remained in office as president until 1999. 12 years will have to pass to see again the assignment of the honorary presidency, this time conferred to Giovanni Merelli, for the many initiatives he promoted in favor of the Association, with a unanimous vote by the Council on 7 June 2009; this position was also maintained until his death on January 18, 2013.
And then again it is necessary to remember the passion shown by the last presidents Costantino Gironi and Roberto Gottardi, who had to manage the many difficulties that in the lastyears, ours, as well as many other associations, have found themselves facing.
As mentioned, the first secretary-treasurer of the Provisional Board was Mr. Luigi Guarino. After, the secretariat was run by Giuseppe Schenone, then by Luigi Bassani, by Luigi Polo Friz, by Fernando Corsari, by Giorgio Barberis, again by Fernando Corsari, by Pierluigi Facchi, by Flavio Riccitelli and by Roberto Gottardi, who in recent years has shared the secretary with the presidency.
Going on to describe the last years of our associative life, we cannot fail to speak also of the difficult moments, in the last of which, at the end of 2018, the desire to put an end to this historic experience was even feared. And it is known history that, thanks to the commitmentby Dr. Fiorenzo Longhi, it was possible to avert this sad ending.
As everyone knows, the extraordinary meeting, which met regularly in Verona on November 24, 2018, unanimously voted against the dissolution of the Association, which was one of the items on the agenda. The goal was also achieved thanks to a tiring preparatory work by Fiorenzo Longhi and some willing members, carried out through a questionnaire sent to all members and also to a large number of non-members, so-called “potential members”, in which in addition to the fateful question about the dissolution of the association, they were also asked to express themselves on other important points, from which the guidelines that today are characterizing the relaunch and development of the association were drawn, those challenges that the new times they force us. Creating a website is one of them.
The current president is therefore Fiorenzo Longhi, the greatest expert in Italian aerial photography and one of the best known internationally, as well as philatelic expert of the Court and the Chamber of Commerce, part of the prestigious AIEP (Association Internationale des Experts en Philatelie), author of that wonderful work which is the Descriptive Historical Catalog of Italian Aerophilia, a chronicle of Italian civil aviation and air mail through postal and complementary documents and also author of numerous articles (over 50).
Today, the secretary and treasurer is once again Flavio Riccitelli, also a great expert in aerophilathelia and aeropostal history, author of numerous writings on the first airlines and transatlantic flights.