The building that houses the Jonathan Collection Flying Museum and Foundation – Historic Aircraft is located in Nervesa della Battaglia, where the Piave valley opens onto the Veneto plain. In this particular location at the foot of Montello, there is an airfield whose existence is deeply intertwined with the history of the surrounding area, which was the scene of bloody air battles during the First World War.
Fondazione Jonathan Collection
Via Frà Giocondo, 8a
31040 Nervesa della Battaglia (TV)
https://www.jonathanaereistorici.it
+39 340 3998101
Saturday, Sunday 10:00 -12:30 and 14:30 -18:00
Admission Fee
Aircraft collection
| I-AGOS I-PONI I-ZANA (I-GATO) DE193 MM6264/6 I-LYNC – (I-MUST) 93004/J-05 (I-IOIA) P I-SCOR (I-DGMC) B2494/S (I-JONA) S2445 – | Avionautica Rio M-100S Blériot XI-2M (replica) Caproni Ca.33Z (replica) De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth Fiat G91 PAN Fokker DR.1 (replica) Fokker Eindecker (replica) Jurca MJ-77 Mustang Gnatsum (replica) Replica Plans SE.5A (replica) Rotorway Scorpion Sopwith Camel F.1 (replica) Spad XIII R (replica) Wright Flyer 1-1903M (replica) |
The Flying Memory of the Piave
On the green plains of Nervesa della Battaglia, where the Piave River once marked the frontline of fierce World War I battles, there is a place where the past still takes flight.
Here stands the Fondazione Jonathan Collection, more than a museum – it is a living story of aviation. Its founder, Giancarlo Zanardo, a passionate aviator, dreamed not only of preserving aircraft but of giving them back their wings. Instead of resting as silent relics, many of the planes here still rumble, glide, and soar across the Venetian skies.
The heart of the collection lies inside an original Bessonneau hangar – a wooden and canvas shelter used by pilots during the Great War. Stepping inside feels like walking a century back in time. Wooden frames, linen-covered wings, the faint smell of oil and fabric glue – it’s as though mechanics and pilots have just stepped out for a moment.
The fleet is extraordinary. A Wright Flyer replica, painstakingly built, evokes the very dawn of human flight. A Blériot XI recalls the daring spirit of crossing the English Channel. On the field, a crimson Fokker Dr.I triplane reminds visitors of the Red Baron, while the SPAD S.XIII honors Italy’s own ace, Francesco Baracca, whose symbol – the prancing horse – would later inspire Enzo Ferrari.
But perhaps the most ambitious dream is the recreation of the Caproni Ca.3, the great Italian WWI bomber – a giant of wood, canvas, and courage. Piece by piece, artisans rebuild it, preparing one day to see it fly again.
The Jonathan Collection is not just about machines; it’s about keeping memory alive through motion. On weekends, the grassy runway comes alive. Visitors watch these delicate yet defiant aircraft rise into the air, engines sputtering, wings trembling as they climb into the same skies once filled with war. Now, instead of destruction, they bring awe and wonder.
Children run to the fences, eyes wide as the planes loop and glide. Veterans and enthusiasts stand quietly, some with tears in their eyes, remembering stories told by fathers and grandfathers.
And as the sun sets behind the Montello hills, the planes return to their hangar, their wooden ribs glowing gold in the evening light. The airfield falls silent again, but the spirit of flight – and of history – lingers in the twilight.
The Fondazione Jonathan Collection is more than a museum.
It is a flying memory, where history doesn’t just live in books or displays, but breathes in the wind and roars in the sky.
