Attaching Miraglia's name was an effective way to protect the project in a political system built around martial prestige. Cancelling a ship named for a famous young aviator would have sat awkwardly with Mussolini's cultivated image of heroic Italian modernity. The naming choice linked remembrance to bureaucratic survival and made the procurement decision harder to reverse. The completed ship visibly embodied aviation support, with its form organized around workshops, stores, and aircraft handling rather than conventional warship firepower. Commemoration and propaganda reinforced the naval acquisition case.
Notable Point · 37:37-39:19
A hero's name strengthens the ship's political case
Naming the new seaplane carrier for a celebrated aviator made cancellation politically awkward and tied naval procurement to Fascist Italy's heroic imagery.