The Fiat G-55 Centauro on display in the ‘museo Vigna della Valle’. The museum is as good as it sounds!
The folks at the museum made an exception, and allowed me to take place in the cockpit!
Take it from me: happy as a kid!
Another rare bird: a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79
“The plan”
Seeing is believing
“This can get even more crazy...” That was what I thought a few years ago, when cycling from my appartment to my parent’s home started to get too easy. It was a 140 km round-trip in 2 days. Main reason was that I did not have a laundry-machine, so hauling all my dirty clothes home was the obvious thing to do. It saved me a train-ticket, and it gave my mother the feeling I was still a bit dependent on her. Know thy mother! ;)
Ahh yes, those warm summer evenings, with just the humming noise of your chain and nothing on your mind while on your way home for a hot bath. Those were the days, never to return. Good sweet memories. On one of those evenings, I was so fortunate to experience the 'second breath'. Wicked!
Anyway. At first, reaching the Italian border was a perfectly satisfying goal, but it would change in the future as will appear later on.
It came to my attention that in Turin, a WWII plane (Fiat G-55 'Centauro') was being
restored.
It happened to be a plane I found (and find) a 'sight for sore eyes'. THAT would be my goal which justified those 2200 km's in 3,5 weeks.
So, the decision was taken overnight to cycle to Turin. A glance at the map learned that it would be quite a distance.
Nevertheless the restoration-manager was contacted via e-mail, and he confirmed the fact that the ‘Centauro’ was in their work-shop,
being meticulously overhauled. I was more than welcome.
Alrighty then...
But... A few months later, he informed me about the fact that the plane would be put on display,
once it was fully restored, in a museum situated north of Rome. Euhhh...oops. I had to change my final destination once more.
Just HAD to see that plane with my own eyes. A couple of 100 km‘s extra! But, the end justifies the means. Well,
I must say that I also regard the trip as an exercise in patience; taking things as they are (patience is a virtue after all).
And that was that. The museum had been located in the meantime
(museo Vigna della Valle) and the mental preparation had begun.
