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Lighter than the air of Libya

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     The main role envisioned by the Italians for the lighter-than-air aircraft in the 1911-1912 Libyan War was reconnaissance.  More suggestions were expected from the upcoming experience, to get a clearer idea of the matter; but the  headquarters was above all concerned about getting more information about the enemy. T he primitive airplanes of the Italian Air Arm in Libya could not penetrate in the desert very much.      Would the airships be more effective? That was the question circulating among the high command and the observers, betraying some anxiety.  The Crocco Ricaldoni P.1 in Bengasi, Libya      The following is a translation of an excerpt from a 1951 document from the Ufficio Storico dell'Aeronautica Militare (the Italian Air Force History Bureau):  I primi voli di guerra del mondo – Libia MCMXI” (Libya 1912 - The First Air War Operations in the World).      I omitted the part about the Draken ...

Le chiese abbandonate di Sai Kung

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E i sacerdoti missionari italiani fra gli hakka. Di Stuart Heaver (Tradotto da L. Pavese). Una volta, in quell’area che è oggi è diventata il Sai Kung Country Park, i sacerdoti italiani che camminavano col loro passo pesante fra i vari villaggi Hakka, provvedendo ai bisogni spirituali di un gregge molto entusiasta, erano una visione molto frequente. Rimangono però scarse tracce di quei missionari, fatta eccezione per un gruppetto di chiesette, alcune abbandonate, nascoste negli angolini più remoti della campagna. Per più di un secolo, devoti giovani provenienti dal Seminario delle Missioni Estere di Milano (ora chiamato PIME) si fecero chilometro dopo chilometro sui sentieri di campagna per celebrare la Messa, un funerale o un matrimonio. Tutto cominciò circa 150 anni fa, la domenica di Pentecoste del 1866, quando Padre Gaetano Origo battezzò i primi abitanti della zona a Sai Kung; dove al posto di quella che è oggi la cittadina vi era solo un piccolo paese fuori man...

Green of Fear at 0 g

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Robert McCall Green of Fear at 0 g. By Roberto Dal Bosco  (Translated from Italian by L. Pavese)   There is a great motion picture in the theaters: Gravity . Just for once, at the top of the box office there is a work of absolute great quality. Gravity is one of the most emotionally stirring movies of recent times. The story tells of the feats of two astronauts who, shipwrecked in orbital space, try in some way to get back to Earth. We should not reveal anything more, to avoid spoiling a movie that deserves to be seen. Although this is a motion picture with a budget of US$ 100 million, the movie --- which is a sort of cosmic chamber play --- features only two actors, George Clooney (very well cast in the role of the gung-ho self sacrificing American) and Sandra Bullock, who, these days, is a little marred by plastic surgery and too much physical exercise but is still able to move the audience as only great actresses can do. The director is Alfonso Cuarón, who...