San Nicolò: The Origins (1915-1918)
The French Squadron and Gabriele D’Annunzio

In 1915, when Italy entered the war against the Central Powers, Venice’s priceless artistic heritage was exposed to bombardment by Austrian airplanes. The French government was not indifferent to this threat, and offered to send a few fighter planes to protect the city. The offer was welcomed by the General Staff and on 13 August of that same year, 36 men under the command of the pilot Captain Michel de Chalonge departed Lyon for the city on the lagoon. The squadron comprised three pilot officers, three observers and ground personnel including a tailor and four cooks. The fighter planes were Nieuport 10s, as well as Spad S VIIs, fast biplanes that were affectionately called Bebé due to their small size (the plane weighed 480 kg on takeoff). Italy returned this favour two years later by sending the 18th Bombardment Group, consisting of three squadrons of Caproni Ca 3, to be deployed on the Front in Marne, where the group conducted 63 effective missions against strategic targets.

The initial deployment of the Nieuports at Bazzera airfield, near Mestre, proved to be unsuitable for quickly intercepting enemy planes before they reached the lagoon; therefore a new base had to be found. The Navy Commander, who was in charge of the Venetian stronghold, had the creative idea of turning the parade ground at Fort San Nicolò in Lido into an airfield. After enlarging the space by demolishing a few small buildings, the project’s feasibility became apparent and on the first of December, after three months of work, the French squadron was transferred to their new base; this marked the beginning of the existence of an airport in Lido, which is now Nicelli Airport.

It was a good choice. From this new station, the Nieuports could intercept enemy planes more rapidly and participate in missions carried out by the famous Italian seaplanes stationed on the neighbouring island of San Andrea. The commander and his pilots, who stayed in the Albergo Paradiso, were often the centre of social interest, encouraged by the excellent cuisine assured by the four cooks that accompanied them. The unit had illustrious visitors, including the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII), the writer Celine and an exceptional patroness, the fascinating Baroness Nicola Winspeare Guicciardi. Gabriele D’Annunzio became a regular guest, and the Venetian high aristocracy became increasingly welcoming to the French pilots. The presence in Lido of Gabriele d’Annunzio, who relocated from the famous Casetta Rossa at 24 Via Lepanto on the Grand Canal to participate in the dangerous Adriatic war, did not escape the attention of the French aviators, who had heard tales in their own country of the poet’s artistic and worldly successes. Unique proof of their admiration can be found in an image of a Spad airplane on the field at Lido emblazoned with the words “Forse che si forse che no”, the title of a famous work by the poet.

During D’Annunzio’s time in Lido, he demonstrated that his creative abilities also extended to the military realm by efficiently and ingeniously initiating a daring and cunning type of guerrilla warfare conducted at sea and in the air, which Tahon di Revel himself later advocated.
D’Annunzio’s presence at the Lido airfield, the current Nicelli Airport, was both assiduous and creative. As commander of a squadron of Caproni, he tested the use of torpedo bombers for the first time in Italy, until the war necessitated the unit’s full employment on the land front. The Torpedo Bomber Squadron, created to emulate in the air the legendary strikes carried out by the MAS fleet, therefore became a bomber unit reinforced by SIA 9B planes, and continued to be based at the Lido airport. In October, Captain D’Annunzio changed the name and the motto: the new name was San Marco, and the motto was changed from the Latin phrase “sufficit animus” to the Venetian “tu con nu nu con ti”.



Before tasting the joy of victory, Venice would suffer the ordeal of the Battle of Caporetto, in which the San Nicolò and San Andrea squadrons made their decisive contribution on the air front. It was in this context, a period of fundamental importance to the life of the city and the history of Italy, that the seeds of the current G. Nicelli Airport were planted; after the end of the war and the demobilization of the base, the airport was completely abandoned for more than six years. (B.D.)

Associazione Amici Dell'Aeroporto G. Nielli (The Friends of the G. Nicelli Airport Association) contributed historical information; Bruno Delisi and Franco Briganti wrote the text and selected the images. We would like to thank the Aerofan, Caproni, Briganti, Klinger, Morandi and OAN archives for their help with this project.