The Museo dell’Aeronautica Gianni Caproni, located in Trento, Italy, is one of the most important aviation museums in the country. Dedicated to the history of aviation and the pioneering work of Gianni Caproni, an Italian aeronautical engineer and aviation pioneer, the museum showcases the evolution of flight, from early aircraft designs to modern aviation achievements.
Museo dell’Aeronautica Gianni Caproni
+39 0461 944888
Fax +39 0461 944 900
Tuesday – Friday 10:00 – 13:00 and 14:00 – 18:00
Saturday – Sunday 10:00 – 18:00
Admission fee
Gift shop
Aircraft collection
| I-FLAM
MM80697 11777 I-AIAE I-ABCT I-CERM I-EMFG – – I-POLO MM56237/7 I-WEST I-FACT/MM553 – – MM194 I-AXAQ MM6609 I-AABO I-ACSN I-MANN MM52163/PST-10 MM24499 I-ELIO |
Agusta AB-47G Agusta/Bell AB205B Ansaldo SVA 5 Avia FL.3 Breda 19 Bücker Bü.131 Dornier Do27B-1 Caproni Ca.6 Caproni Ca.9 Caproni Ca.193 Caproni Ca.100 Hidro Caproncino Caproni Ca.163 Caproni Trento FL.5 Caproni Vizzola C-22J Caproni Bristol Fokker D.VIII Gabardini G.51bis Lockheed F-104G Starfighter Macchi M.20 Macchi MB.308 Manzolini Libellula-II Saiman 202M Savoia Marchetti S.79 Savoia Marchetti SM.80 Bis |
The Museo dell’Aeronautica Gianni Caproni is Italy’s oldest aviation museum, as well as the country’s oldest corporate museum. It was established in 1927 as the Museo Caproni by Italian aviation pioneer and aeronautical engineer, Giovanni Battista “Gianni” Caproni and his wife, Timina Guasti Caproni.
The Bristol-Coandă monoplane in the Museo dell’Aeronautica Gianni Caproni is the oldest surviving Bristol aircraft.
The Caproni Ca.6, the sixth airplane built by Gianni Caproni, was a pioneering biplane that featured an innovative variable-pitch propeller (the pitch of whose blades, however, could be adjusted only on the ground) and an unusual double-cambered airfoil. The latter was suggested to Caproni by his friend and colleague, Henri Coandă, but proved unsuccessful. The Caproni Ca.6 on display at the museum is the only aircraft of its type to have been produced, and it is also the oldest aircraft in the collection, dating back to 1911.
The Caproni Ca.9, whose design was strongly influenced by the success of the Blériot XI. The Caproni Ca.9 belonged to a series of monoplanes which Caproni built between 1911 and the outbreak of World War I. The Ca.9, of which only one prototype was built, is the only surviving aircraft of this series.
Besides the aircraft in the Museo dell’Aeronautica Gianni Caproni collection (some of which have survived with no damage or have been restored while others have only survived as components), the museum houses and displays many other artifacts of historical importance: engines, propellers, instruments and components of aircraft, airships and other flying machines as well as documents, medals, models, photographs and personal memorabilia.
The Gianni Caproni Museum of Aeronautics periodically hosts temporary exhibitions dealing with various aspects of aviation history.
Photos Ruud Boots