The M.A.S.E. - Museum of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Alghero 0 Comments

The M.A.S.E. - Museum of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Alghero

Antoine De Saint-Exupéry (Lyon, June 29, 1900 - Riou Island, July 31, 1944) arrived in Alghero on the morning of May 10, 1944, landing at the military airport of Fertilia, a 2000 inhabitants community under Alghero’s municipality - Sardinia.

He lived for two months in Alghero, in a villa located on a slight rise in front of the New Tower, in Porto Conte Bay, until July of the same year when he tragically died when his plane crashed. Here, he wrote a large part of the novel "The Citadel" and his latest text entitled "Letter to an American".

The M.A.S.E. - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Alghero Museum, is organised inside the Torre Nuova where the adventurous life of the aviator and writer, author of "The Little Prince" is delineated, including details of his brief but significant relation with the city ​​of Alghero. Set up with attention and class, the museum also increased the value of the 16th-century Torre Nuova, which had previously been closed and abandoned. It is located at 152 km approximately two hours by car from Gabbiano Azzurro Hotel & Suites.

The rooms and display cases collect vintage documents, memorabilia and works of art, detailed information panels and photos taken in Alghero by John Phillips in 1944, the internationally renowned photojournalist of the famous American magazine Life, who produced a photo shoot on the writer immortalising the last moments of his life.

While Saint-Exupéry's life was fascinating and adventurous, death was also "mysterious". He died on July 31, 1944, shot down by a German fighter during an aerial reconnaissance map mission. While the aircraft’s wreck was found in 2004, off the coast of Marseille, 60 meters deep, east of the island of Riou, his body was never found, adding mystery to the myth about Saint-Exupéry. In one of his novels, he had the Little Prince say: “I'll look as if I'm dead, and that won't be true”, a phrase that was considered predictive.

With “Saint-Exupéry. The last flight”, Hugo Pratt pays tribute to Saint-Exupéry. He makes him fly, in the skies of the world, avoiding the machine guns of enemy planes, going from Saigon to Guatemala, from Buenos Aires to the Libyan desert; strolling among the clouds and walking towards the legend.

In 1987 song singer-writer Francesco De Gregori, also wanted to celebrate the aviator Saint-Exupéry dedicating him the song "War pilot”: "Beyond the clouds, - or if possible, a minute afar, - with this night down under my feet, - blacker and darker seeing it from here, - but one day the daylight will come back."

And at night you will look up at the stars. My star will just be one of the stars, for you. And so, you will love to watch all the stars in the heavens...they will all be your friends." (Antoine De Saint-Exupéry)

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Written by Daniela Toti

In the photo: the Mase as seen on shmag.it

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