TODAY WE’RE FLYING

Sport conquers the sky
The flight performed by the Wright brothers (1903) was the start of an infinite competition to build the best aircraft, to stay in the air the longest and at the most unusual altitudes, or to fly over the highest natural obstacles (canals, rivers, mountain ranges, oceans and continents). The men competed for the ‘sportive’ conquest of the sky while leaving the collective imagination with its mouth open. In the early 20th century world, aeronautical endeavours abounded, involving Italian aviators too. In the early post-war period, Fascism took up the modern and knightly image of the daring aviator and used their ‘deeds’ for propaganda purposes (the Transatlantic flights), exploiting their victories to exalt itself and bend air sports to the needs of successful politics that only appeared to be strong.