Aerofototeca Nazionale

The Head of NCAP, Dr Allan Williams, recently visited Rome at the invitation of the Aerofototeca Nazionale, the Italian national collection of aerial photography. Established in 1958, the collection holds millions of aerial photographs of Italy. Discussions were held on collaborative working, and ways of making the aerial photography of Italy in both collections more accessible.

Among the more important collections held by the Aerofototeca are over 600,000 aerial photographs created by the Allies during the Second World War. These were mostly taken by British, American and South African photographic reconnaissance units based in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations.

The Aerofototeca Nazionale is part of the Central Institute for Cataloguing and Documentation, the government body responsible for the conservation and enhancement of Italian artistic and cultural heritage. 

NCAP has recently uploaded over 1,200 sortie plot finding aids created during the Second World War by the Mediterranean Allied Photo Reconnaissance Wing (MAPRW). These show the locations of thousands of aerial photographs held by NCAP and can be examined with a website subscription.