First World War pilot claimed 19 victories
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| Luigi Olivari was only 25 when he was killed in a crash near Udine |
Olivari became a proficient aerial duellist, claiming to
have downed 19 enemy aircraft as Italian planes took on Austro-Hungarian
opponents after Italy had joined the war on the side of the Triple Entente of
Britain, France and Russia.
Only eight of these were confirmed, yet Olivari was awarded
four silver and two bronze medals for valour by the Italian government, as well
as the French Croix de guerre and the Serbian Order of the Star of Karadorde.
The last of his silver medals was awarded posthumously after
he was killed on October 13, 1917 when his Spad VII aircraft stalled and
crashed during take-off at the Santa Caterina airfield just outside Udine in
northwest Italy.
Born to middle-class parents in La Spezia, as a boy he moved
with his family to Turin.
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| A Spad VII similar to the one flown by Luigi Olivari |
In May 1915, the week before Italy entered the war, Olivari
applied for military pilot's training. He qualified in June and in January 2016
was assigned to fly in the 1a Squadriglia (later redesignated as 70a
Squadriglia).
He scored his first confirmed aerial victory on April 7 -
only the second success in the air for Italy – having claimed an earlier
success that went unconfirmed.
In September 1916, Olivari was commissioned as a
Sottotenente - sub-lieutenant. By April 1917, he was specifically assigned two aircraft—a Spad
VII and a Nieuport 17 ser. no. 3127.
In May 1917, he was transferred to the newly formed fighter
squadron 91a Squadriglia and than loaned to 77a Squadriglia for about a month.
He was subsequently promoted to Tenente and assigned as an Ansaldo SVA.5 test
pilot for the Technical Directorate.
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| Olivari won many awards for valour and claimed to have shot down 19 enemy aircraft |
The Ghedi Air Force base, near Brescia, home of the Regia Aeronautica 6th
Stormo (6th Wing) was named in his memory after the war.
There are streets named after Luigi Olivari in San Maurizio
Canavese, near Turin’s airport, and in the Ligurian city of Genoa.
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| Piazza Garibaldi in La Spezia |
Overshadowed by its chic neighbours in the Cinque Terre, the
port town of La Spezia, home to Italy's largest naval base, tends to be
overlooked as a travel destination but offers an affordable alternative base
for touring the area, although it is worth inclusion anyway. Nowadays, it is
one of Italy’s busiest ports, yet the narrow streets of the old city are deeply
atmospheric and have plenty to interest visitors, with a wealth of good
restaurants showing off the best Ligurian cuisine.
Travel tip:
Santa Caterina near Udine is best known as the original site
of one of the oldest fairs in Italy, which began in 1380 to honour Saint
Catherine of Alexandria, who was supposedly beheaded by the Romans for not sacrificing
animals to the gods. Since 1485 the fair has
been held within the city walls, in Piazza I Maggio in the municipality of
Pasian di Prato. It is held every year
from around November 25 with an array of stalls, although the fairground rides that
accompanied it from the mid-1980s have now been moved to the Friuli stadium.