Fabrizio Di Michele, The Consul General of New York, hosted an exclusive event on August 12 at La Devozione in the iconic Chelsea Market welcoming The Fecce Tricolori “Tricolor Arrows”, during their North American Tour, NAT 24. The Italian Air Force, embarked on an epic mission aboard the MB-339 PAN journeying through Canada and the United States marking its return to New York after 32 years.
In a GIA exclusive we spoke with Colonel Stefano Pietropaoli who shares “Our main objective to be here in the United States and Canada is to say thank you to all the Italians that are living here. It was really impressive to meet all the Americans, all the Canadians but most of all, all the Italian residents living here giving us a huge lesson on how to take a tradition from Italy, how to love Italy and how to love the Italian flag; that for us was one of the best lessons we had from this tour.”
Captain Simone Fanfarillo shares it takes an impressive 10 minutes to fly between Philadelphia and New York. Full of pride in himself and his team he takes formation as Pony 5, the 2nd Right Wingman, one of ten pilots which together make up the Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale, National Aerobatic Team, (PAN). PAN was created in 1961 at the Rivolto Air Base in the Province of Udine.
Lieutenant Colonel Salvatore Massimilano, Commander of the Frecce Tricolor, reminisced on the days mission. “We just landed a few hours ago from our flyby over New York. It was a really an important day for us because after almost two months that we left Italy, now we are in New York. This morning we had a chance to fly in such an iconic city like New York. We saw some picture of the previous tour of the Frecce Tricolori 32 years ago and now living this emotion live for us is a real unforgettable day. We are ambassadors of our nation, we are ambassadors of our airforce, Auonautica Militaire, and thats the way we do it. We just bring our green white and red smokes around the world
Jennifer Adriana LaDelfa
Published in Giornale Italo Americano, The Italian American Journal in New York on August 22, 2024.
Photo 1
Counsel General of Italy in New York, Fabrizio DiMichele, welcomes The Italian Airforce Army, Frecce Tricolori, during their NAT24 Mission at an exclusive reception at La Devozione in the iconic Chelsea Market on August 12, 2024.
Photo Credit, Jennifer Adriana LaDelfa
Photo 2
Frecce Tricolore, “Tricolor Arrows” promotes “Roots Tourism” showcasing Italian excellence of the Made in Italy label flying along the Statue of Liberty making New York history on August 12, 2024.
Photo Courtesy, Jennifer Adriana LaDelfa
Photo Courtesy, Jennifer Adriana LaDelfa
Photo 3
The Italian Airforce Army, Frecce Tricolori, paints the skies green, white, and red flying over the New York Skyline during its NAT24 mission on August 12
Photo Credit, Aeronautica Militare
Photo Credit, Aeronautica Militare
