Volandia “takes off”, the flight museum is real

Volandia can take flight at long last. After years of work to transform the warehouses of the former Caproni into an exhibition space, after a long phase of material gathering (we are talking about aeroplanes), and also a difficult search for funds to finance it, the inauguration has arrived. The first person who has shown his satisfaction is Marco Reguzzoni who has been the real host of this event. The new group leader of the Northern League  in the Italian Parliament has inaugurated it together with children and the mayors of the towns round Malpensa, and has guided about a thousand people; there have been guests and normal people, that were curious to take part in the opening of a new place of social relations, culture and history of man’s engineering.

 

The 60,000 square metres of the Museo del Volo in Vizzola Ticino has been opened like a box that has remained secret for a lot of people and for a long time, and that wished finally to receive visitors. The investment of over € 20,000,000 has created 5 thematic sections, 30 aeroplanes, a thousand models, a cinema area and a lot of technological material such as flight simulators, among those, one installed in a real helicopter. The collection contains all the aeronautical tradition of a territory that has marked the aviation history from the same Caproni, whose family offered the arrangement of the mythical warehouses, SIAI Marchetti, Macchi, Agusta and other enterprises.

 

Today, Marco Reguzzoni, who supported the project of this museum when he was the President of the Province, has outlined a balance: “We have worked hard for ten years to realise this dream, and I want to specify that it is the dream of a lot of people – not only mine – who have worked in this sector and who are still working here,” the deputy has stated. “Today, we all are delighted, from myself to the hundreds of voluntary workers, professionals and technicians, who have collaborated in this creation. In just a few metres we can reach the airport of Malpensa and here there is Volandia; the flight represents a real invaluable power for this territory and this link between present and past in Malpensa allows us to hope for a wonderful future.”

 

Also Dario Galli, the current President of the Province was enthusiastic: “Even now, we have the greatest Italian enterprises in this area. There is the history of the territory with these amazing restored warehouses, there are the photos of the workers who worked here and developed their sector and enterprises,” Galli repeated. “Thanks to Volandia, the province will be always an important point of reference for the national aviation, and we are glad to realise this first inauguration.”

 

The museum park of Volandia is open all days from today, except Monday, from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m. The ticket costs € 8 for adults and € 4 for children from three years old. There will be concessional prices for groups of 20 or more people. The guides tours are organised by the Association Amici di Volandia that can rel on 80 former workers of the Italian aeronautical enterprises. A lot of schools have already booked a visit of the museum for their pupils. For booking or information: tel. 0331230007 or info@volandia.it.