La Fenice Airfield

Economic and land-use change. The primary reason for the closure was the sale and redevelopment of the land. The site was chosen for the construction of the 'San Cesario di Lecce Photovoltaic Park', a large-scale solar farm. The value of the land for renewable energy generation surpassed its value as a private general aviation airfield, leading to its permanent conversion.

The site is no longer an airfield and is completely unrecognizable as one from the ground. It has been fully converted into the San Cesario di Lecce Photovoltaic Park, one of Italy's larger solar farms. Satellite imagery clearly shows the entire length of the former runway and adjacent areas covered by thousands of solar panels. The original layout of the runway is still faintly visible beneath the solar arrays, but the infrastructure is entirely dedicated to power generation. The site is non-operational for any form of aviation.

La Fenice Airfield was a private airfield, known in Italy as an 'aviosuperficie', which served as a vital hub for general aviation in the Salento region. Its operations were focused on:
- **Recreational Flying:** It was a base for private pilots and aviation enthusiasts in the area.
- **Flight Training:** The airfield hosted a flight school, providing training for private pilot licenses (PPL) and for ultralight aircraft (known in Italy as VDS - Volo da Diporto o Sportivo).
- **Ultralight Aircraft:** It was particularly popular with the ultralight aviation community.
While it held no major commercial or military significance, it was an important local facility that supported private aviation and fostered a community of pilots in an area with limited general aviation infrastructure.

Zero. The prospect of reopening La Fenice Airfield is non-existent. The site is occupied by a multi-million euro, permanent industrial installation (the solar farm). Removing this significant infrastructure to restore the airfield would be economically and logistically unfeasible. The land has been permanently and definitively repurposed for renewable energy production.