On 22 May 1917 at 11:19 a.m, a little more than a hundred years ago, a "PC1" biplane took off from the Pomilio company airfield on corso Francia in Turin, with destination Rome. On the plane, together with the pilot Mario De Bernardi, flying expert of Francesco Baracca's squadron, there were also 200 kg of mail franked with the 1903 espresso 25-cent specially overprinted for the occasion with “Esperimento posta aerea/Maggio 1917/Torino-Roma – Roma-Torino” (Airmail test/ May 1917/Turin-Rome – Rome-Turin"). Hence, the first airmail stamp in the world appeared in Italy.

It was a milestone in one of the largest and most popular chapters of philately, and to recall this historic record, the flight was repeated in 1967 on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary. This time, the captain of the vintage aircraft was Fiorenza De Bernardi, Mario's daughter and the first woman to receive a pilot's licence for commercial flights. She was selected to convey continuity with the illustrious past. Another important Italian record is attributed to Mario De Bernardi, born in Venosa (Potenza) in 1893, during his long career as a pilot. He already stood out during World War 1 when he received two medals of bravery; he was also an extremely talented flight tester, establishing many speed records with seaplanes and piloting the first jet aircraft in Italy (second in the world) in 1941 aboard the "Caproni – Campini n.1" on the Milan – Guidonia flight.

Another anniversary was celebrated in 2017: ninety years since the legendary raid from Europe to the two Americas by Neapolitan Marquis Francesco De Pinedo. He was born in Naples in 1890, entered the Naval Academy in 1908 and received his military pilot's licence in 1917, in just two months. At the same time, his career advanced quickly, becoming The Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force in 1924. Beginning on 13 February 1927 in Cagliari, the flight experienced unexpected accidents: the seaplane caught fire and was replaced by a new "Savoia–Marchetti S55" sent from Italy by sea to continue the flight, which stopped over at Cape Verde, Latin America, Cuba, The United States and Terranova. Here a black 60-cent local stamp was overprinted during the stopover to remember the enterprise. It was used for little more than 200 aerogrammes carried by the aviator during his return flight to Europe which landed successfully in Rome on 16 June of the same year. Among the rarest, most illustrious and sought-after stamps of worldwide aerophilately, both the 60-cent Terranova and the related stamped aerogrammes have always found their rightful placement, because of the protagonists' nationality (together with the Neapolitan noble man, there were also Major Del Prete and flight engineer Zacchetti) and the means of transport used during the enterprise.

After the Sesto Calende – Melbourne – Tokyo – Rome raid in 1925 and the one of the two Americas in 1927, Francesco De Pinedo attended the transatlantic flight of the Western Mediterranean the next year. He died tragically on 2 September 1933, at the Floyd Bennett airfield in New York, when an aircraft caught fire during take-off.

The upcoming Bolaffi auction that will take place on 14 and 15 March 2019 will display an important collection of Italian airmail, including philatelic testimony of numerous flights. Among them, there is an aerogramme of De Pinedo's flight starting at 4,000 euros, and cover by the "Caproni – Campini n.1" during Mario De Bernardi's jet aircraft flight, starting at 1,500 euros. (by Alberto Ponti)

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