Aviano
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Aviano (Friulian Davian) is a town and comune of province of Pordenone at the foot of the Dolomites mountain range in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy.
History
Although Aviano has been inhabited only from the 10th century CE, evidence of a human presence dates to before the Romans entered the area in 186 BC. Most historians believe that Aviano developed with a commercial center located where present day Aviano is situated and a cultural and defensive center in the castle area. Aviano was a possession of the Patriarchate of Aquileia until 1420, when it came under the influence of the Venetian Republic. Aviano became a part of the Italian State in 1866.Main sights
- The remains of the Castle (first half of the 10th century), on a hill nearby the city, including two towers, the mastio and the walls. The latter include the Renaissance-style church of Santa Maria e Giuliana (1589), which houses a precious stone Pietà sculpture by masters from Salzburg.
- The Cathedral of San Zenone (Duomo), built between 1775 and 1832. It has paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries, one of which attributed to Paolo Veronese' school.
- The church of St. Gregory, in the frazione of Castello, with a precious fresco cycle of the Passion of Christ (late 16th century).
USAF Base
There has been an American presence at Aviano Air Base since the end of World War II. In 1954 the Italian and American governments signed a joint use agreement and by 1955, HQ United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) had moved its Italian operations from Udine to Aviano. The base went through a period of hosting rotational fighter squadrons. With the declining use of the Italian live fire range, the rotational squadrons became a thing of the past. Aviano became a war reserve material storage base and played a big part in Desert Storm. In 1992, HQ 16th Air Force and the 401st Fighter Wing moved from Torrejon Air Base, Spain to Aviano. The Wing became home to two F-16 fighter squadrons, the 510th FS and the 555th FS. Both squadrons relocated from Ramstein AB in 1994 and redesignated. The wing was redesignated from the 401st Fighter Wing to the 31st Fighter Wing in 1994 as Aviano took on permanently based aircraft for the first time in over 50 years.
Aviano Air Base is located in the northeastern part of Italy, at the base of the Italian Alps, about 15 km north of Pordenone. The layout of Aviano is unique because the community consists of seven areas, which include the administrative, community and support areas, the 16th Air Force command compound, the flight line area, a munitions storage area, a civil engineering complex, a recreational area and a decommissioned fuel railhead. Aviano Air Base is divided into nine areas stretched between the towns of Aviano and Pordenone, nine miles south of the base. The major areas are:
- Area A1 contains most of Aviano's support functions.
- Area A2 contains Billeting, the Fitness Centers, Dining Halls, Dormitories, Thrift Shop and Fire Department.
- Area C contains Civil Engineering activities.
- Area E, 16th Air Force Headquarters area, contains AFN, some communications functions (base operators) and K-9 facilities.
- Area F is the flightline area and contains operational and support units: 31st Fighter Wing Commander's Office, a portion of the Traffic Management Office, Air Mobility Command Passenger Terminal, Supply, Security Force Offices, flying squadrons, Recreational Area (ball parks, track, campground), Golf Course, Pass & Registration, and Drivers Testing.
There has been an airport facility in Aviano since 1911. The first airfields (there were two at Aviano) were used as training bases for Italian pilots and construction facilities for aircraft parts. The Aviano airfields and one located just outside Pordenone were over run by the Austro-German army during World War I. The Pordenone airfield was completely destroyed and never reused. Aviano was less damaged and reopened after the war. Between the two wars the airfields were again used as a training base. The Germans took over the airfield in 1943 and held it until it fell to the British and Americans in 1945. There has been an American presence in Aviano since 1945.
Water supply system
Serving a population of roughly 5,400, the water system features six potable wells and two emergency links to the municipal system. Treatment is minimal, usually chlorine injection at the wellheads. Water in one base well had excessive tetrachloroethene (PCE) in the fall of 1999. PCE is a solvent used to clean machinery, electronic parts and clothing. The well was immediately closed and the public notified. Follow-up sampling detected no further problems or threats to health. The average daily water production is 400,000 to 600,000 gallonsExternal links
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