Milo is a

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

, located 4 km southeast of

city on the slopes of

Monte Erice Monte Erice, or ancient Greek Mount Eryx, is a mountain of Sicily, in the province of Trapani. Location The mountain is to the east of Trapani and encompasses an area of 18.3 km2. The Lenzi River has its source on the mountain. The city ...

on the west coast of Sicily in Italy.

History

Milo was the site of an important airport during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, called the

Trapani–Milo Airport Trapani–Milo Airport is a closed airport located at Milo, which was the first airport to serve the Sicilian city of Trapani, in Italy. Today it is used by the Italian Space Agency. History The airport was built during the 1930s and became the ...

, which was used to transport people and supplies, for protecting convoys and as an airbase. The area around the old military airport covers an area of over 90 hectares on the edge of the town and is home to the

Italian Space Agency The Italian Space Agency (; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entities who are active in aerospac ...

's ''Base di lancio palloni stratosferici'' (Launch base for stratospheric balloons), which was established in 1975 and renamed in honour of

Luigi Broglio Luigi Broglio (11 November 1911 – 14 January 2001), was an Italian aerospace engineer, airforce lieutenant colonel and dean of the school of aeronautical engineering at the University of Rome La Sapienza. Known as "the Italian von Braun", he i ...

in July 2001. It is one of the view sites in the world capable of making transmeditteranean and transatlantic balloon launches, which are of fundamental importance for astrophysics and astronomical research. However, it has not been used for the latter type of launch since 1977. It has also been used recently for launching drones.

External links

Base of the Italian Space Agency in Milo
Official site

History and table of launches from Trapani-Milo {{authority control Municipalities of the Province of Trapani