“CAVALIERI DELL’ARIA”
1923-2023: 100 YEARS OF THE ITALIAN AIR FORCE

“Cavalieri dell’Aria” (Knights of the Air) is a photographic project developed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Italian Air Force (1923-2023). Commissioned by the Aeronautica Militare, the project documents the activities of the operational units on the ground and in the air, with particular attention to the human dimension and the charm of the colours and the Italian landscape. The photographs illustrate the official Centenary celebration book (“La Difesa viene da cielo” - Giunti Editore); a selection of the photos were on show at the Leica Gallery in Rome in March 2023.

Who knows what lights up in the mind of a human being facing a first great challenge, one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, to cite Neil Armstrong as he stepped onto the Moon. From fire to the radio, mankind has unceasingly investigated the unknown, broken the mould and refused to accept limits. In other words, we have never given up in the face of a challenge, indeed we go out to find them: this is why flight has always been one of our highest aspirations. And so, the perfect photo of the Flyer which, on 17 December 1903, flew for the first time over a field in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (USA), could only have been the plane piloted by Orville Wright, his brother Wilbur watching from the ground. The Flyer is the star of the picture, but the two brothers - one on the ground and one in the air - are the story.

Many years ago, this was the vision I had when approaching aviation photography for the first time: the airplane is an extraordinary vehicle, as it is able to put wings on mankind, yet it is first and foremost the result of our own genius. This is the real miracle. And so when I was asked to document the Italian Air Force units to celebrate their 100th anniversary, I instantly imagined that the story had to be told through the impressions that could be triggered by the presence of the airplane in contact with the Italian landscape, and with the men and women who animate this world, the natural heirs of the ‘Knights of the Air”, who on 28 March 1923 founded this Force. These are the fundamental elements for understanding and telling of the many facets of the Air Force and its activities. For example, the Eurofighters and their crews are always ready to move in and defend the skies; the F35s and the fifth-generation pilots immersed in what is defined as the net-centric dimension; the great twin-engine and four-engine cargo planes that support our population and those around the world when needed every day; the air rescue crews, angels that descend from their helicopters to save shipwreck victims and stranded persons. And then there are the schools where - to use a metaphor - the trainee pilots take flight, transformed from ungainly penguins into elegant eagles. Finally, the Frecce Tricolori, whose mix of tradition and ritual keep the ancient art of aerial acrobatics alive, representing the good Italian way of doing things: their "behind the scenes” is another story in the story.

A.B.