Idroscali Ancona

43°36'59"N 013°30'06"E

Runway: n/a - water

The Ancona seaplane base (It: Idroscalo Ancona or Idroscalo 'Sanzio Andreoli') was an airfield in Ancona, 210 kilometers north-northeast of Rome. The seaplane base was named for Sanzio Andreoli, a naval officer who had died during World War I.
Construction of the seaplane base began in 1923 and was completed in February 1924. Two years later the Italian Air Ministry granted licences to operate from the base to the top 5 commercial airlines to operate from the base. It took, however, until 1928 before the first commercial service was inaugurated, between Zara (todays Zadar in Croatia) and Ancona. It was not really a new line, but rather an extension of an already existing service between Trieste, Venice, Ancona, Zara and Trieste. The whole line was known as the Periplus of the Northern Adriatic. It was operated by SISA with single engine Cant-10 seaplanes for the Trieste-Venice-Ancona route, while Tri-engined Cant-22s were flown on the Ancona-Zara-Trieste route. The line was so successful that the 3 times weekly schedule soon became a daily service.


Cant 22 I-ALFA of SISA in the port of Ancona in the late 1920s (AnconaNostra.com).

In 1933 the station hosted the Reparto Alta Velocita (high speed division) of the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Italian Air Force) based at Desenzano del Gardahe. They attempted to set two record times along the Adriatic coast with Macchi MC72 seaplanes.
The following year all private airlines were merged into a single entity, the public capital comapny Ala Littoria. Immediately the elderly Cant seaplanes were replaced with more modern and comfortable Macchi MC94, seating 10 passengers. When Italy went to join World War II in June 1940, the airline services were suspended. Ala Littoria was militarised and from May 1941 the services were resumed, albeit as a state service. Ancona and Zara (Zadar) were connected again until the fall of facism in July 1943.


Macchi MC72 of the Regia Aeronautica on the dock in Ancona, 1933 (Aeronautica Militare, via aviazionemarche.org).


Macchi C94 I-LIRI of Ala Littoria in the port of Ancona in the 1930s (AnconaNostra.com).

Ancona was heavily bombed by Allied bombers in 1944. Durnig the bombardments the seaplane base was completely destroyed. It was never rebuilt after the war.

In 2000 and 2001 the cities of Ancona and Zadar commemorated the services with special events. Today, nothing remains of the former idroscalo. The area is now part of the port of Ancona.


The port of Ancona today, with the location of the Idroscalo marked in red (Google Earth)