Museo Francesco Baracca

The Museo Francesco Baracca (Francesco Baracca Museum) in Lugo presents the history of Lugo-native First World War fighter ace Francesco Baracca, as well as local experiences with the First World War. Baracca was born in Lugo on May 9, 1888, and entered the Military Academy of Modena in 1907. He received his pilot’s license and joined the Italian Airforce at the outbreak of the First World War, ultimately serving as one of the top Allied fighter aces with 34 recorded aerial victories. Baracca was shot down by an Austro-Hungarian plane on June 19, 1918 in aerial combat near Monte Montelle, Treviso. 

The museum is located in Baracca’s house, and displays Baracca’s effects as well as material relating to the First World War in Lugo. It was first established as a public display of Baracca’s personal artifacts in 1926; the museum was expanded with donations from Baracca’s family, and was inaugurated in its current form on May 23, 2015. The Baracca house previously housed a municipal school and a local Museum of the Resistance: the latter presented the history of local resistance to German and fascist occupation from 1943-45, and its collections were incorporated into the expanded Francesco Baracca Museum.