It was July 31, 1944, when Antoine Marie de Saint-Exupéry embarked on one of his aerial reconnaissance missions over the Mediterranean and his beloved southern France, aboard a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, in the F-5 version, where cameras were installed in the nose instead of weapons.
This was his final mission, as nothing more would be known about him, and for decades, the most varied and imaginative theories circulated until 2008 when a French fisherman between Corsica and the southern coast of France recovered the pilot’s bracelet and some remains of the plane.
At that time, Saint-Exupéry had already moved with his companions to Borgo, in Corsica, but in the months immediately preceding, he had been in Alghero, where he arrived on May 10, 1944. The stay in Alghero, though brief (two months and 10 days), was of particular significance in the author’s life, a period during which he published a famous article titled “Letter to an American” and worked at night on his last novel, “The Citadel,” which remained unfinished.
In the early months of 1944, Alghero was still devastated by the bombings of May 14 and 17, 1943. The city had been severely hit, suffering 110 civilian casualties and many houses destroyed or seriously damaged. The island was completely cut off during those months, and Alghero, particularly the Fertilia airfield, became the main hub for air traffic in northwestern Sardinia. This airfield, inaugurated in 1938, gradually replaced the seaplane base at Porto Conte, which between 1937 and 1943 was a transit point for Ala Littoria seaplanes. The runway was built during World War II and later expanded by the Allies. Today, Alghero commemorates all this with a beautiful and original museum located in the Porto Conte Park, near the San Giacomo Tower, dedicated to and named after our protagonist, the MASE – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Museum, curated by artistic director Massimiliano Fois. Our association has established a partnership with this museum, and every member can find all the information about it by consulting the Links page (Historical Memory).
To commemorate the eighty years since the disappearance of the French pilot, a temporary post office of Poste Italiane will be set up near the museum (in front of the San Giacomo Tower) from 6:15 PM to 8:00 PM to handle correspondence with a special postmark created for the occasion. The event organizers have also printed a special postcard, designed by Claudia Piras, depicting “Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Alghero” also known by the nickname “Pizzicaluna a l’Alguer.” Pizzicaluna, meaning someone who always looks towards the sky.
But that’s not all. For the occasion, a sculpture dedicated to the unforgettable writer will also be inaugurated and placed in front of the museum. The work, titled “The Encounter,” is by Master Mario Nieddu and represents the writer, the Little Prince, and his friend the Fox. In addition to the attending authorities and the President of the Porto Conte Regional Natural Park Raimondo Tilloca and Director Mariano Mariani, there will be two special guests: Pierre Ezéar Latécoère, President of the “Latécoère” Foundation, and Jean-Marc Probst, President of the “Petit Prince Collection” Foundation. The entire event will be coordinated by MASE artistic director Massimiliano Fois.