During the first decades of the twentieth century, air flights, first military and later civilian, were largely carried out by seaplanes. For such activities, however, it was necessary to find surfaces with calm waters; this was the reason that led to the use of lagoons and lakes in different parts of Italy. Among the best-known locations evocative of events or exploits of considerable aeronautical value was the Elmas seaplane airport.
1925 saw the choice of the area on the shores of the Santa Gilla pond for the location of the important military installation, which witnessed, two years later, the memorable exploits of De Pinedo and Balbo. In the early 1930s, with the establishment of the Sardinian Aviation Command, it became necessary to draw up a master plan for the base and its planned development, drafted by engineer Giorgio Gandini, of Ferrara, who also constructed the most important buildings.
Upon entering the camp, visitors are immediately greeted by two large airplane wings that make up the canopy, supported by the volumes of the two sentry boxes that terminate on the summit in the stylization of futurist propeller elements, bearing the ribs that simulate an almost animated movement of propellers. The two buildings of the guardhouse constitute an interesting example of Italian rationalist architecture of the 1930s. The large airmen’s barracks is one of the most interesting buildings in the complex. Although it incorporates an earlier building with neo-Mannerist characteristics, it bears precise rationalist lines. The large atrium is overlooked by the most spectacular element of the entire building: the large helicoidal ramp for the ascent and descent of airmen deployed in marching order.
The two main airplane hangars are also of considerable interest. Built by the Savigliano workshops during the second half of the 1920s, based on the initial design of Midano, a student of Giuseppe Pagano, they are still used today for airplane maintenance.
