Atlas Obscura
Idroscalo di Pavia in Pavia, Italy
It is not widely remembered today, but Italy was an important player in the development of long-distance air travel in the 1920s. In that era, seaplanes were preferred for transoceanic flight because if the aircraft couldn't fly, it could still float. That idea reassured nervous passengers. In the mid 1920s, Societá Italiana Servizi Aerei (SISA, or Italian Air Services Company) established a ro…