A vertiport for the vertical take-off of large electric drones — therefore zero emissions — used for the transport of people. Real flying taxis with which up to 10 million people could travel in Italy by 2030. It is the project that nurtures Giorgio Balzarini, administrator of Siab, the company that owns the land in via Ghislandi where Areu will build the future HEMS base for the 118 helicopter rescue service.
A project that would put Brescia in step with other large cities, given that around twenty vertiports are already being planned in the country. The first should come into operation in Rome Fiumicino, on the occasion of the 2025 Jubilee. Milan also aims to have two ready for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Not only. According to an Enac document that Il Corriere wrote about in October 2022, the reorganization of the airports with the new advanced area mobility sees the desire to open vertiports in Turin, Venice, Bari, Cortina, but also in Padua, Udine, Verona, Reggio Emilia, Palermo, Alessandria, Trento, Cremona, Como, Arezzo, Modena.
And in Brescia? For now the Loggia has said no to Balzarini’s request, presented in the form of an observation in the approval process of the 118 heliport, approved by the city council on April 30th. A question that has created a strong dialectic between the opposition and the majority but also within the majority itself. Fabrizio Benzoni (Action) in fact agreed with the minority leader, Fabio Rolfi, in maintaining that the second city of Lombardy should not miss the opportunity to have a vertiport. Dem Andrea Curcio of the Democratic Party has a completely different opinion: «We are working hard to improve air quality and we need a bit of coherence. Private helicopters pollute » he said in council. Words that made Balzarini jump in his chair when he read them: «I want to remind you that ours is a vertiport project, not a heliport and we do not envisage the use of motorized aircraft but only electric drones. Zero emissions. So they don’t pollute.” The Brescia entrepreneur’s project would not be a leap into the void given that it would be developed with UrbanV, a leading company in the sector, with four projects under development (Rome, Venice, Bologna, French Riviera). In Brescia, air taxis could transport businessmen and tourists to the nearest airports (Bergamo, Linate, Verona) or to Lake Garda.
The observation presented by Siab to the Municipality, to plan the vertiport in the 24 thousand square meters next to the future helicopter rescue base (of identical size) however, it was rejected. «The observation could not be approved because it refers to an area not subject to a variation to the PGT» clarified in the city council the councilor for Urban Planning Michela Tiboni, who in the previous commission had shown herself to be open to the possibility of inserting the futuristic infrastructure in the next Pgt. The problem, as has already happened with other urban planning hubs, is timing. Also because the remaining area is still “strategic agricultural” for the provincial territorial coordination plan. And a new process must be opened.
The Lodge has promised to draft a new Pgt (the previous one dates back to 2012, which was followed by four variations) but it will take at least three years. And by 2027, it is likely that other vertiports will have already opened in nearby cities. «When we responded to Areu’s expression of interest, we asked to be able to use the entire 48 thousand m2 area, placing the vertiport alongside the 118 heliport» specifies Balzarini who now trusts in Castelletti’s vision of a future city. And in decision-making times worthy of the Lioness.
