The Accademia Aeronautica is the

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

Academy, the institute for the training of Air Force officers. It's located in

Pozzuoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα� ...

in the

province of Naples The Province of Naples ( it, Provincia di Napoli; nap, Pruvincia 'e Nàpule) was a province in the Campania region of southern Italy. In 2014/2015, the reform of local authorities (Law 142/1990 and Law 56/2014), replaced the Province of Naples ...

, in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region of

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

. Among the oldest aviation academies in the world, it was founded in 1923. In its academic programs, the Academy coordinates with the nearby

University of Naples Federico II The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...

. Admission to the Academy is subject to the passing of a test open to all Italian citizens between 17 and 22 years old, with a high school diploma. The selection process, which happens between February and September, includes an examination, a medical check, and written and oral tests.

History

The Italian air force was founded as an independent service by King Vittorio Emanuele III of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

(''Regno d'Italia'') on March 28, 1923. The air force was then known as the ''

Regia Aeronautica The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...

'' (Royal Air Force). The first commander of the academy was Ship-of-the-line captain Giulio Valli; the top student in the first graduating class in 1926 was the noted aviator Fausto Cecconi. By 1928 the officers' school was supported by separate schools for aircraft mechanics and meteorologists, then further specialized training for bomber pilots and fighter pilots. From 1926 through 1943 the academy was housed in the

Palace of Caserta The Royal Palace of Caserta ( it, Reggia di Caserta ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. It is the largest palace erected in Europe ...

, a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

royal palace of the 18th century, now a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. The 1942 film ''

The Three Pilots ''The Three Pilots'' ( it, I tre aquilotti) is a 1942 Italian war drama film directed by Mario Mattoli and starring Michela Belmonte, Leonardo Cortese and Alberto Sordi.Brunetta p.93 It was shot at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome and at the Acca ...

'' provides a glimpse of the palace as an aviation school. The Academy also trained international students, for instance a large group of Peruvian students who began the three-year course in 1939, acquiring "impressive expertise".Militarism and Politics in Latin America: Peru from Sánchez Cerro to Sendero ..., by Daniel M. Masterson, page 66 The battles of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

on Italian soil led to the

Italian Armistice The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

of September 3, 1943, which split the Air Force into the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force in the south aligned with the Allies, and the pro-Axis

Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana The National Republican Air Force ( it, Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, ANR) was the air force of the Italian Social Republic, a World War II German puppet state in Italy. Description This air force was tasked with defending the industria ...

in the north until the end of the war. In 1946 the re-constituted post-war

Aeronautica Militare Italiana , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

established the Academy on the island of

Nisida Nisida is a volcanic islet of the Flegrean Islands archipelago, in southern Italy. It lies at a very short distance from Cape Posillipo, just north of Naples; it is now connected to the mainland by a stone bridge. The islet is almost circular, wi ...

in the

Bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

. In December 1961 the Academy moved to its current purpose-built facility on a hilltop overlooking the bay.

References

External links

official website
{{authority control Air force academies Italian Air Force Military academies of Italy