Coltano, Pisa

IY5PIS

Coltano is a very small village a few kilometers south of Pisa, Italy where Guglielmo Marconi set up and operated one of the first intercontinental radio stations.

Marconi arrived in Coltano for the first time in 1903 and immediately realized that this flat and swampy area was close to optimal for his experiments in radio wave transmission. It was here that  he started the construction of a new radio station.

On 13th November 1910, Marconi succeeded in sending from Coltano the first radio message ever to reach Africa from Europe. One year later (1911) the radio station in Coltano was officially opened in the presence of King Vittorio Emanuele. On that occasion Marconi successfully contacted Massaua (Ethiopia) and Glace Bay (Canada).

The radio station was then improved during the years between 1919 and 1924 to become a truly intercontinental communication centre (the first in Italy, and the most powerful in Europe).  The antenna system was supported by 8 huge towers.    In April 1932, a shortwave message sent from Coltano successfully reached an Italian ship in the China Sea.

The station IY5PIS was set up in a tent alongside the ruins of the building where the original radio station was located. The huge antenna system installed here by Guglielmo Marconi (see photograph above) did not survive World War II.

One of the aims of the event was to attract public attention to the very poor status of conservation of this historical site. Hopefully, someday the building will be restored as it deserves, and turned into a museum.

Visit our Club Site for full information about this years IMD operations