by Nina Vaclavikova
Interviews: pilot commander Egidio Braicovich, founder of the MareCielo Gianni Widmer Association; Flavio Chianese – director and producer of the film No Flights on Monday
In the wood-paneled Sala del Consiglio Comunale on Friday morning, the city turned its attention skyward, honoring a figure long devoted to preserving its aviation heritage and introducing a new generation to its history.
The mayor, Roberto Dipiazza, presented a formal recognition to commander pilot Egidio Braicovich, founder of the cultural association MareCielo Gianni Widmer, praising his work in promoting local aviation history and civic memory.
Braicovich has been a prominent advocate for the documentation and dissemination of the region’s aeronautical tradition, with particular attention to Trieste’s role in early aviation development and its broader cultural significance along the Adriatic.
The ceremony was followed by a presentation hosted by the president of the city council, Francesco di Paola Panteca, who welcomed students from the I.S.I.S. Nautico “Tomaso Di Savoia–L. Galvani” in Trieste. The students attended an event titled “Il Friuli Venezia Giulia e l’Aviazione – Laboratorio di Storia e Progresso”, curated by professor Franco Padalino, which sought to connect regional history with technological and scientific progress.
The session brought together voices from civil and military aviation, including former Alitalia commander and Air Force pilot Attilio Colotti and Colonel Claudio Macrini, president of the regional chapter of Arma Aeronautica.
A highlight of the gathering was the exclusive screening of the 18-minute short film “No Flights on Monday,” set between Gorizia in the 1930s and Trieste in the 1980s. The film uses aviation as a narrative thread linking two distinct eras of regional transformation, reflecting both technological change and shifting social landscapes.
The event underscored a broader effort in Friuli Venezia Giulia to preserve and reinterpret aviation history not only as a technical discipline, but as a cultural archive shared between generations.
