AT THE ORIGINS OF MODERN FLIGHT: A JOURNEY FROM ITALY TO THE USA.

On the occasion of the 2025 Flight Festival in Caulonia (RC), we rediscover a story that foreshadowed the future of flight and paramotoring.

Flying is one of those dreams that has accompanied humanity since the beginning of time. Since antiquity, humans have looked to the sky with longing and wonder, imagining a day when they could lift off the ground and soar through the air. And if today we can live that dream, it’s thanks in part to those who dared to believe when it still seemed impossible.

Vincenzo Raschellà was one of those pioneers. Born in Caulonia in 1863, he began experimenting with kites as a young boy, but his passion soon took him much higher. After years of study and attempts, he built an extraordinarily complex flying device for the time, 13 meters long, with a cigar-shaped balloon, adjustable wings, a seat, pulleys, pedals, and propellers. He named it Il Falco (The Falcon). In 1889, he finally managed to fly it autonomously for about 200 meters. He later designed a flying machine powered by an engine, but was never able to build it due to a lack of resources.

Today, looking at his drawings, it’s impossible not to think of the modern paramotor. The vision was already all there, driven by the same passion that still fuels those who love to fly. It’s that same passion, made of dreams, ingenuity, and a desire to push beyond limits, that drives us at Vittorazi Motors every day, in the development of technologies that make flight accessible, safe, and exciting for everyone.

Raschellà’s story is not just that of an inventor: it’s also the story of a bond between two countries. Disappointed by the lack of support for his ideas from Italian institutions, he emigrated to the United States in 1899. It was there, many years later, that Science and Invention magazine celebrated him as a true aviation pioneer.

His journey is a symbol of how flight can connect cultures, ideas, and passions across the ocean. Today, that same dynamic is reflected in the world of paramotoring: an international community that transcends geographic borders, forming a global network built on passion, expertise, and collaboration.

And it is precisely with this spirit that the “Vincenzo Raschellà” Flight Festival returns to Caulonia (RC), taking place from May 31 to June 2, 2025. The event is a celebration dedicated to this extraordinary aviation trailblazer, organized by the associations Mattanusa and La Memoria Ritrovata, in collaboration with Studio 54 Network and under the patronage of the City of Caulonia and the Calabria Region Council. It will be a unique opportunity to remember those who dreamed before us, and to keep dreaming together, with our eyes turned to the sky.

Let’s rock the sky!