The Origins

The war events of the first world conflict with the related development needs of the Italian aviation led the Turin Military Technical Directorate to ask the Municipality of Fano the availability of an area suitable for the establishment of a “landing ground for planes “of the size of 400 x 120 meters. To this end, an area called Madonna del Ponte was identified, which in a few months was adapted to the required demands. So in the last months of 1917, the city of Fano was equipped with the first airport infrastructure, even if it was a field of fortune, practically a small field at the edge of the city, unlocked by obstacles and equipped with special signals to allow landing of aircraft. Being completely devoid of infrastructures such as aviorimesse or other services that characterize an airport, the prevailing use of the aviation field was probably related to the needs of aircraft traveling to the Austrian front. But the aviation expansion of that period had to proceed very quickly since already in 1919 it began to talk about the expansion of the landing field. This impetus intensified considerably during the fascist period of twenty years, when internal politics considered the strengthening of military structures as crucial. This climate was exploited by the imperial Raffaello Riccardi, Undersecretary of the Air Force (Minister Italo Balbo), wanted directly by Mussolini. At the end of long negotiations between the Commune of Fano and the Air Force, the Ministerial Decree was issued in the Official Gazette of January 29, 1930 for the establishment of the “Campo di fortuna di Fano in the province of Pesaro”.