This morning, at the Historical Museum of the Italian Air Force in Vigna di Valle, on Lake Bracciano, in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Federal and Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali, and the Minister of Defense, the Hon. Guido Crosetto, within the broader framework of strengthening bilateral cooperative relations between the two countries, a significant ceremony was held in which it was officially handed over - after meticulous restoration work carried out by technical specialists from the Historical Museum itself. – the A VII “Ethiopia I” Tsehai aircraft, a unique example used by the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force in the early 30s for liaison and training flights.
Exhibited until 1941 in the rooms of the nascent Aeronautics Museum, at the time temporarily located in Caserta, the aircraft was then transferred to Historical Museum of the Italian Air Force of Vigna di Valle, where it has remained kept until today. The aircraft, with the technical-logistical support of the Air Force, will subsequently be transported to Ethiopia to be exhibited in a special museum area of the African country.
Precisely that of strengthening cooperation between the national museum networks of the two countries is one of the objectives of this initiative, which falls within the broader scope of cooperation and development projects which have been discussed since yesterday in Rome in the Italy - Africa promoted and organized by the Italian government. Projects, like this one, with repercussions not only in the economic and sustainable development fields, but - as also sanctioned by the Cultural Collaboration Agreement signed by Italy and Ethiopia in 1997 - also in the cultural field, for a continuous commitment to mutual knowledge and sharing of their respective national historical heritages.
The recovery, restoration and conservation of aircraft and historical aeronautical relics is one of the peculiar activities of the Historical Museum of the Italian Air Force, one of the oldest aeronautical museums in the world, which stands on the oldest Italian airport infrastructure, where the first Italian military airship was built and flew in 1908. The AM Historical Museum, on the occasion of the Centenary of the Armed Forces in 2023, has been completely renovated and modernized.
