La Spezia naval base
The naval base of La Spezia is after the naval base of Taranto , the most important stronghold of the Italian Navy . The base is located in the western part of the Gulf of La Spezia , not far from the Cinque Terre .
history
From 1857, the then Prime Minister and Minister of the Navy, Camillo Benso Count von Cavour, implemented Napoleon's earlier plans to build a large naval base in the Gulf of La Spezia and to move the fleet of the Kingdom of Sardinia and the later Kingdom of Italy, which was then based in Genoa, into the then rather tranquil, but to relocate the well-protected port of La Spezia . Domenico Chiodo , an engineer officer in the Navy, was entrusted with the planning. Work began in 1861 and initially ended in 1869. In the years that followed, the arsenal and the base were expanded again and again. Until 1940, La Spezia played an important role because of the Franco-Italian naval rivalry in the Mediterranean. In World War II Allied air attacks were directed at severe destruction that were fixed in the postwar period. Until recently, the naval arsenal was the most important base of the Italian navy from a technical point of view. Today, however, much of the work that was once done at the Arsenal is outsourced to private firms such as Fincantieri . Warships have not been built in the arsenal for a long time.
Traditionally, La Spezia and Taranto were the two most important naval bases of the Italian Navy. The naval formations stationed in La Spezia operated particularly until 1943 in the western Mediterranean, the units based in Taranto mainly in the eastern Mediterranean. In recent years, the operational focus of the Italian Navy has shifted to Taranto .
The naval base today
The base extends over an area of 165 hectares and is completely surrounded by a wall several meters high. Next to the main entrance (east side) there is a naval museum ( Museo tecnico navale ) . The base is used by various naval associations of the Italian Navy. This includes several larger units such as frigates, which one does not want to concentrate all in Taranto. There are also mine-hunting boats and smaller support units. Some of the training vehicles from the nearby Accademia Navale also have their home port in La Spezia. In the southwest of the base, near Porto Venere , is the Varignano fortress on a peninsula in the Gulf. This is where the Navy's special forces have their headquarters ( Comsubin ). In a broader sense, the naval base also includes the Luni naval aviation base .
See also
Web links
- Website of the naval arsenal
- Satellite Image - La Spezia Naval Base and Arsenal
- Satellite image - COMSUBIN combat swimmer base in Varignano (La Spezia)
- Satellite image - Luni Naval Air Base (La Spezia-Sarzana)
Coordinates: 44 ° 6 ′ 0 ″ N , 9 ° 49 ′ 0 ″ E
