Club Volante #01 by Broken Window Theory, on FlickrIt was another hot day somewhere in the North of Italy when we had spotted this unique abandoned place from the highway. We didn't have any information about this site. But the property was obviously abandoned. And there were planes! Two good reasons to jump out of the car and start another exploration. We were excited because we hadn’t seen any abandoned planes from the inside before. The access to the aircrafts nearly seemed too easy. And the condition was really good as well because there were no graffiti at all. So what's the catch? Well... We triggered an alarm while trying to enter one plane.
But such an alarm can’t scare us off. After one or two minutes the siren became silent and we decided to stay and explore the remaining parts of the premises. Maybe you already guessed it: This, for many years neglected, property is a restaurant with a difference. This, let’s call it, small airport is just a few minutes drive away from the next bigger town. Here, next to a highway with heavy traffic, the dream of a visionary entrepreneur became reality.
Tower by Broken Window Theory, on FlickrAn Italian brewmaster is considered the creator of this fancy establishment. Beforehand, he was working as manager of retirement homes for ten years. Often he was watching passing aircrafts in the sky together with the seniors. While doing this, the elderly people told him they would have wished to be in such a plane in one point in their life. As a result, the master brewer was dedicating this restaurant to all the people who haven’t been able to see a plane from the inside. In order to do that, he connected two decommissioned airplanes with some kind of tower which was the kitchen. In addition to that, you can find pieces of art in nearly every corner under the wings. Many frescos and sculptures are based on the works of famous Renaissance masters. But all of these are just cheap replicas, of course. However, it’s an unusual ambience for a complex consisting of brewery, restaurant, club, bar and pool.
Old vs. New by Broken Window Theory, on FlickrIt was really tempting to see those aircrafts from the inside. But we didn’t want to set off the alarm again, so we’re looking for alternative ways in. But apparently, there’s no other open access point than the tower. And we actually found a way to outsmart the motion sensor! We were ducking under it, LOL!
Restaurant by Broken Window Theory, on FlickrFinally we made it inside an abandoned plane! Next to the sounds of passing cars on the highway, we mainly heard pigeons from in here. As it seems, they’re the last residents of this place. The outside temperature was at almost 30 degree Celsius. But in here it feelt like being inside a sauna.
Club Volante #13 by Broken Window Theory, on FlickrOur big highlight was for sure the amazing cockpit! If we’re right, this airplane is a Douglas DC-6. It’s still completely authentic. And despite it being partly stripped, the bulk of the displays and devices are still there. On this day a childhood dream was coming true. Even when it was just a few minutes, it was great to imagine being a pilot in such a cool aircraft.
Rusted by Broken Window Theory, on FlickrThis place was holding many surprises for us. There are plenty of buildings on the compound we hadn’t entered yet. But unfortunately, it turned out that most of them were locked tight. But with one structure we had more luck. It was the biggest building on the property and of course we needed to know what was hidden inside. But we didn’t expect that!
Chandelier by Broken Window Theory, on FlickrThis is the former bar and apparently it should remind of a Lord's house. Everywhere there are pictures with Christian symbols. But of course they’re all cheap replicas again. The whole place looks really clean and the condition of the building is mostly terrific. That’s actually the best preserved abandonment we came across on our whole Italy journey. But also here people have already looted. Obviously, we aren’t the first daredevils seeing this place after its closure. At the main entrance we were discovering another one of those alarms. But this one is only triggered when opening the door.
Organ by Broken Window Theory, on FlickrIn the year 2000, the place was opened. But only a few years later the site had to be closed again. Apparently, building permissions were violated and so, directly after the opening, a penalty of 280.000 Euros was imposed. A lawsuit was following which was dragging on for 14 years until the restaurateur lost and had to end his dream. But as it seems, this place was loved by visitors. On TripAdvisor huge pizzas, a fantastic atmosphere and fair prices were recommended regularly. The last review however is from 2016. This fits to the files we have found which were also dated to this year.
Club Volante #03 by Broken Window Theory, on FlickrThe second plane is a Tupolev TU-134. These crafts were produced in the former Soviet Union and still today they’re in use by several countries. Also for military purposes. But this one hasn’t been flying for decades anymore. Exactly like the one next door. These are dead remains of a once lovely dream. A bright mind wanted to show people something which they haven’t seen before in their entire life. They should be able to feel like passengers of a real airplane. And he wanted to make inspiring art of the greatest masters of all times accessible to the populace as well. He was fighting very long to live this dream. But in the end it was bureaucracy that crushed his ambitions. And all that remains of it now are those abandoned corpses next to the highway.
Cockpit by Broken Window Theory, on FlickrOh yeah, and there was the thing with the police. After we had already packed up and left the property, the military police, called Carabinieri, showed up... If you want to know what happened, make sure to check out our cinematic adventure report on YouTube:
