Centocelle

41°52'12"N 012°33'35"E

Runway: 05/23 - ...meters/...feet - unk

Centocelle air field (Italian: Aeroporto di Roma-Centocelle, ICAO : LIRC) was an airfield on the southeastern outskirts of Rome.
The airfield was built in 1908 as the first airfield in Italy. In April 1909 Wilbur Wright's 'Flyer' took off from the airfield, kicking off Italian aviation in the process. The following year, over 800 flights had been performed and 7 hangars had been erected. Many engineers and private owners had their civilian aircraft stationed at the airfield.
In 1910, Mario Calderara founded his flying school at the airfield. The same year, Italian parliament appropriated the then staggering amount of 10 million Lires for the purchase of aircraft, airships and airfields. 
In 1911 the War Department decided to move the first Italian Air Force school from Centocelle to Aviano, where it remains to this day.
In 1920 Arturo Ferrrarini took off from Centocello for his Rome-Tokyo flight between 14 February and 30 May.


A balloon drifts over Centocelle airfield in 1908 (romasparita.eu)


The first parade of the newly formed Regia Aeronautica (Royal Italian Air Force) was held on the first Italian airport, 'Francesco Baracca' Centocelle, on 4 November 1923. The flag, the symbol of the armed force, was kept at the airport until October 1931, the date of opening of the Palazzo Aeronautica (headquarters of the Air Ministry) then headed by Italo Balbo (romasparita.eu).

In the 1930s the area around the airfield was rapidly urbanised, in part because the people that worked at hte airfield wanted to llive nearby. During World War II the airfield was bombed by allied bombers a few times, in spite of the city (and the Holy See) declaring Rome an open city.


The airport in the early 1930s (photo, Italian Air Force via romasparita.eu)


Centocelle airport in 1943 (Google Earth)


Centocelle undergoing an Allied air strike in 1944 (photo, US Air Force via fortezza-bastiani)

Following World War II the airfield saw a decline in aviation activities. This was followed by a period of rapid construction near the airfield, leading to the outskirts of Rome creeping closer and closer. The airfield closed for fixed wing flying probably just before or along with the meteo-office (in September 1965).


Beechcraft C-45 at the airport in November 1949 (avia-it.com).


First contact with the world of aviation at Centocelle aerodrome in 1964. The aircraft, a SIAI S-82 'Marsupiale',
still shows the Remove-Before-Flight "caps" in front of the engines (Emilio Magnante on Flickr).


Map, believed to be from the 1980s, depicting the former airfield (centocelle.hochfeiler.it).

A helicopter landing site with the airfields ICAO-code remained active and does so until this day. The south side of the airfield was converted into the Command of the Air Force (It: Comando della Squadra Aerea (CSA)), which oversees the operation of all departments Italian Air Force. It currently (2012) also houses the Joint (Interservice) Defense Command, Joint Special Forces Operational Command and the Italian Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ-IT).
The north side of the former airfield lay abandoned for years, until it was converted into a park. Over the position of the old runway a mock asphalt half runway was laid out. It carries the (incorrect) runway number 27 and a large 'X'.


The original runway was still visible at the former airport in 2003 (Google Earth).


The original runway was replaced with a shorter layer of asphalt in 2006, the remaining part was dug up and removed. The runway carries the false marking '27' as well as a large 'X' indicating the runway is closed (Google Earth).


The situation at the former airport in 2012 (Google Earth).