Sharing in engineer Caproni's dream

At the "Gianni Caproni" Museum of Aeronautics in Trento

"In design, the important thing is good taste. Good taste anticipates epochs, and then technology follows”. These are the words of Trentino engineer Gianni Caproni, spoken in the memorable animated film ‘The Wind Rises' by Japanese director Miyazaki. And this is the thread that will guide you to admire the planes of the ‘Gianni Caproni’ Museum of Aeronautics in Trento. An aesthetic taste that transcends the centuries and makes these aircraft works of art with wings.

On the wings of history
From the flight over Vienna to the "Cursed Hunchback"
Caproni's dream
A museum with many activities to offer
Apps and flight simulators
An art-loving engineer
Arriving at the museum by bike

On the wings of history

The dawn of flight

To visit the Caproni Museum in Trento is to fly between different eras, from the beginnings of the 20th century to the 1970s, tracking the footsteps of a brilliant person who was a visionary engineer, an attentive craftsman, a bold entrepreneur and a lover of art and culture. Caproni was all this and more, going down in history as the founder, with his brother Federico, of one of the aircraft companies that made the history of flight.

A visit to the Caproni Museum begins with one of the earliest models, the Caproni Ca.6, built between 1910 and 1911. In those early days of aviation, the line between engineering and craftsmanship was thin, with those aircraft made of wood and canvas that risked coming down in a downpour. So, Federico Caproni, Gianni's brother, inspired by a recipe found in an ancient encyclopaedia, made a mixture to spread on the canvas of the aircraft to make it waterproof.

The wood was also chosen with care. It was so-called 'aircraft wood', known to have no defects or insect damage that could make it brittle. This was a detail that could not be overlooked when the aircraft jolted during landing. For his aircraft Caproni used wood from the hackberry tree, a plant typical of the Arco area and known for its extreme flexibility.

From the flight over Vienna to the ‘Cursed Hunchback’

The Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics in Trento has more than ten aircraft on display, including some priceless pieces such as the Ansaldo S.V.A. 5, a biplane that has gone down in history.

What you see in the museum is one of the planes that took part in the 'mad flight' on 9 August 1918, when a squadron of eight aeroplanes, with the Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio on board, flew over the skies of Vienna to drop thousands of tricolour flyers on the city calling on the Austrians to surrender.

The aircraft that attracts the most attention, however, is the Savoia Marchetti S.79, if only because of its size. This model of three-engine aircraft was used during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). It is also known by the nickname 'damned hunchback' because of the hump behind the cockpit that housed a machine gun, capable of catching opponents by surprise.

Very few of these models remain today; the one you see in the museum was later used by the Lebanese Air Force to transport passengers, as indicated by the cedar tree, the symbol of Lebanon, depicted on the tail.

Caproni's dream

Caproni's dream, however, was not to build military aircraft. Some of his planes were actually designed to take the wounded away from the front line to be rescued. His vision was to make aircraft a means of transport for civilians: flying ships, capable of crossing oceans.

This led, in the 1920s, to the birth of the Caproni Ca.60 Transaereo, an immense seaplane capable of carrying up to one hundred people. A dream that remained a dream. During its test flight in February 1921, the flying colossus, due to a series of unfortunate coincidences, crashed into Lake Maggiore. Only the pilot was on board, and he escaped unhurt, but Caproni's dream never saw the light again.

Bringing it back to life, but only on the big screen, was Japanese director Miyazaki who, in his film 'The Wind Rises', shows a Caproni Ca.60 full of passengers, flying through the clouds.

Today at the Caproni Museum in Trento you can admire a scale model of this plane.

A museum with many activities to offer

The Caproni is a living museum, which introduces various initiatives to welcome visitors, especially for children aged nine to fourteen who can participate in educational workshops and treasure hunts.

Such as 'Build your own plane', a treasure hunt where participants, by answering riddles, win a small piece of the plane. Once they have obtained all the pieces, they sit down at a table to glue them together and colour the livery of the newly formed aircraft.

For the older ones there are temporary exhibitions (link to article on museum news), meetings and reviews, such as the one entitled "Under the wings of history", which focuses on personalities linked to the museum, from the artists of the Caproni art collection to the Trentino pilots who made history. To be updated on these events, you can consult the Fondazione Museo Storico del Trentino's Facebook page (link).

In addition, the museum participates in events such as Festivolare, the Trentino Air Festival, and in the Palazzi aperti initiative, during which historic Trentino buildings are opened to the public. This event extends to the Caproni with the opening to the public of the hangar adjacent to the museum, where aircraft models that are not usually exhibited are kept.

Plus, there are the collaborations and exchanges with universities and research centres, or the space dedicated to those who support the museum by donating historical relics.

Apps and flight simulators

At the Caproni, antique aircraft are accompanied by innovations that make the visiting experience more enjoyable and engaging. On Saturday afternoons, for example, you can test your skills with flight simulators, which are realistic but also accessible to beginners. There are three of them, two SPADs (World War I aircraft) and a Cessna (tourist aircraft).

In addition, the museum is working on audio guides, usable with the MobyCult app, to allow visitors to tour the museum independently. The guides will be of two types, one aimed at an adult audience and one designed for children.

An art-loving engineer

If good taste anticipates the ages, surely a visionary engineer cannot remain indifferent to the beauty of art. Gianni Caproni was no exception and, with his wife Timina, made his residence in Lombardy a coterie for artists, writers and intellectuals.

The couple bought works of art by important artists of the time, from Sironi to Depero, from Alfredo Gauro Ambrosi to Benedetta Cappa Marinetti, wife of the father of futurism.

Prominent among them is Aereo nella notte (Airplane in the Night), a work by Trentino artist Luigi Bonazza. The painting depicts the Caproni Ca. 3 bomber flying over Busa di Arco, Caproni's home town. A work that recounts the genius of this great character and his love for Trentino, to which he always remained attached.

Arriving at the museum by bike

The Museo dell'Aereonautica is a 15 minutes' drive from the centre of Trento but reaching it by public transport is rather complicated.

Ideally, you should get there by bike, taking the lilac line or the green line of the Trento bicipolitana, a network of cycling paths that cross each other and allow you to reach your destination. The principle is the same as that of the classic metro, only in this case you have to follow the coloured arrows drawn on the cycling paths.

The walk to the Caproni Museum starts at the MUSE museum in Trento and travels along the banks of the Adige River, with a pleasant stop along the way at the Bicigrill, just enough time for an apple juice and then it's off to the museum.