Association
Information
A.R.I.A. - Italian Makers of Aerostats Association, is a non-political
and non-profit organization, born with the aim to promote and develop the aerostatic
culture and increase the passionate builders' rank of hot-air balloons.
It earns its living thanks to its members' own work and care.
Established on 1994, has its seat in Civitella del Tronto (Teramo - Italy) and try
its best to retrieve cultural/historical tradition through research and graphic
and oral documentation of aerostatic art; to establish and keep contacts with
other analogous foreign organizations, in order to support the diffusion and
the culture of the so-called "paper balloons"; to catalogue various
techniques both constructive and operative, in order to enable the development
of methodologies, with the primary aim of operative safety; to file
publications, documents, pictures, patterns and other aerostatic material; to
support the knowledge of aerostatic art through didactic application in the
schools, referred both to technical/scientific and artistic (decoration of the
envelope) subjects.
Brief chronicle
The second country (after France) where aerostats flew is Italy.
Professor LANDRIANI realized his first tests, on 1783, in his
villa in Monza. The thought to realize a lighter-than-air machine to finally
crown the millenary human desire to fly in the unbounded skies, caused the very
quick development of the Italian aerostatic case.
A lot of people in Italy considered also the spectacularity,
thought to aerostats also for the bustle of festivities and, generally
speaking, recurrences. On the nineteenth century quite a lot of makers of
aerostats gladdened village festivals with the spectacular flight of little
hot-air balloons.
A considerable contribution came from the passion shown in many years by Barnabite Father RAFFAELE MARTINI,
whose posthumous publication (on 1906) of a manual on "The art to make the
paper balloons". That book gave a remarkable contribution to the art and
had the merit of a greater development all over the national territory.
The maximum development was reached between the twenties and the forties of
last century; then, chiefly because of many accidents, in many cases due to the
actions of careless people, and the potential obstacle to the air navigation,
authorities began to forbid such flights all over Italy.
Now, aerostatic art has survived and is still alive at CIVITELLA DEL TRONTO
(TE), VENTOTENE (LT), PACENTRO (AQ), SAN MARCELLO (PT), MONTEMERANO (GR),
CASTELPLANIO (AN), BLERA (VT), PAPIANO (PG), TURANIA (RI), CASTEL SANT'ELIA
(VT), ACQUAVIVA DELLE FONTI (BA) and in other villages, mostly in Apulia.
The ancestors of some of our members were among the first Italian makers of
aerostats.
In San Marcello, towards the end of eighteenth century, there have been
some contacts between a local family (owner of a paper-mill) and Montgolfier
brothers.
Since the distant 1848, in Acquaviva
delle Fonti, they have
been flying the traditional balloon dedicated to the patron saint Our Lady
of Costantinople.
The present
"Progettare, costruire e far volare le MONGOLFIERE DI CARTA" (The book of balloons) edited by "Hoepli
", written by our irreplaceable Vice-President Dr. Enrico Maddalena, has been the determining factor of the birth of A.R.I.A.. It describes in detail the design, the execution and the flight of these little paper balloons.It has been tried to shelve the old jealousy wrapping up this world and, for the common good, we have joined forces for the principal end of the growth and collective development. A.R.I.A. has the object of increasing and developing this rich in art, history and technique activity, a true artistic expression and an excellent cultural mean.
The purpose is to strengthen, in a serious and responsible way, the construction and the usage of little cubage montgolfiers during manifestations.
Now, the major aerostatics being returned very active in the Italian skies, the interest in construction and flight of smaller balloons is recovering; smaller balloons but, for this reason, not smaller will in making them, in the technique and safety usage.
Our no-manned hot-air balloons are frequently wrongly defined as "minor" even if, sometimes, they can reach the volume of 3000 m3.
Another very interesting angle for the future of our Association is the didactic application of this subject in the schools, referred both to technical/scientific and artistic subjects. A programme of cooperation and exchange with several public and private first and second degree Institutes has already started. Among our members we enumerate some professors and teachers and, in some cases, whole schoolchildren's.
The Association organizes courses, demonstrations and meetings; publishes on the periodic magazine "IL BOLLETTINO DELL'A.R.I.A." news, manifestations dates, technical articles with projects and suggestion, articles about local situations, letters, poems and much more; there are original colour photos, all members' address and phone number; and reports the list of available material for members: videos, photos, books, software, advertising T-shirts, etc..
A.R.I.A. is open to everybody and membership can be obtained by filling up a form and paying the annual social quota (clik here for adherence info).
The decoration Contest
Another very important initiative for our Society and, generally
speaking, for the whole Italian aerostatic world, is the INTERNATIONAL
CONTEST OF AEROSTATIC ART AND DECORATION - GIUSEPPE FORLINI - "Flying
Frescos". This year it reached the 6th edition 2000 and made a mighty jump
forward with the insertion of balloon decoration in the normal didactic
scheduling of public artistic schools.
Therefore, hot-air balloon proves itself as am
excellent means of artistic communication. The expressive powers of this
unusual stand are at artists and pupils' disposal, giving a chance to emerging
talents.
The introduction of the Contest in the scholastic structure is fir for learning
the decorative technique on a spherical support in decomposed execution.
The Contest has been dedicated to the memory of GIUSEPPE FORLINI (1893-1975), a
famous constructor of balloons, who operated in Civitella
del Tronto and all over the province of Teramo between 1931 and 1972.
He was well known with the nickname of "SPACCHITT"; a lot of
people (especially seniors) remember him only with such nickname. Over thousand
balloons is the estimated number of balloons he realized during his life…
In the present society, as we can see, the use of the hot-air balloon takes in
the most various fields: artistic, sporting, commercial. The use of inflatable
advertising balloons is also very diffused.
In the present era, a trade world that pays attention to mass media couldn't
ignore the expressive powers of balloons. The present rediscovery of aerostatic
art and culture urge us to consider the development to come, and the diffusion,
the improvement and the preservation of the tradition of this magic world.