Photo courtesy and copyright - Lucia Simion.

The main Italian Antarctic Station is situated in the Ross Sea at Terra Nova Bay along the coast of the northern foothills south of Gerlache Inlet between the Campbell and Drygalski Glaciers. It is on a peninsula with a north south orientation providing access to the sea from both the east and the west. The Tethys Bay inlet provides hard pack ice suitable for aircraft operations including wheeled Hercules aircraft.

The Base was started in 1985 following the Italian Government passing a special law establishing the Programme.

Note: This Polarogramme shows the multi-national drilling project at Cape Roberts which the Italian Programme took part in. It shows the "Italica" doing preliminary work on the ice shelf.

The Polarogramme was carried by helicopter and posted through Scott Base using Italian stamps which have correctly been treated as Paquebot mail. The Postmark is the special Ross Paquebot postmark. The polarogramme has a Italian Cape Roberts cachet on its back.

Note: the above postcard was specially issued for the Cape Roberts drilling project. It has been autographed at top left by Fabio Florindo and Marco Taviani, two of the Italian Cape Roberts team.

Note: This Polarogramme has the special Italian Cape Roberts cachet at top middle.

Note: This polarogramme has a large Italian Antarctic Programme sticker on its back

Note: The above cover has the two cachets shown at left on its reverse.

The signatures are those of the Sea Ice Bilogy group, namely Olga Mangoni, Enzo Saggiomo and Guilio Catalano.

Note: Princess Anne made a short visit to the Italian Terra Nova Bay Base during a visit to historic sites in the Ross Dependency for the Antarctic Heritage Trust. She returned by RNZAF Hercules aircraft to Christchurch on 11th February 2002. The envelope bears the RNZAF squadron cachet on its back flap as shown at left.

Note: This envelope was brought back to Lyttelton from Terra Nova Bay on board the expedition ship "Italica"  and then posted through the Ross Dependency Agency in Christchurch as usual.

The photo at right shows the OASI astronomical observatory laboratories and dome which is part of the buildings situated at Terra Nova Bay.

In mid 2004 it was announced that the base was to be renamed "Statione Mario Zucchelli" in honour of Mario Zucchelli, the long standing and well known leader of the Italian Antarctic Programme who had died earlier in the year only months after relinquishing his leadership role.