Bartolomeo Cattaneo

Grosio, 1883-San Paolo del Brasile, 1949

The Records

The first Italian to obtain a civilian pilot’s licence on a Blériot (January 1910). Previously, he had already participated in many races and won various prizes in Reims, Lille, Blackpool and Lanhort. In 1910 he wins other aviation competitions and in Verona he breaks the altitude record by climbing up to 1,670 m with a Blériot monoplane. In honour of Jorge Chavez, an aviation pioneer who died in an air crash, he goes to Argentina where he completes a large number of feats and flies over the Rio de La Plata. In 1914 he enlists voluntarily and serves as a lieutenant instructor (1915-1918). After the war, he continues flying as a civilian pilot in Italy and especially in Brazil.