Joseph Heller's absurdist novel Catch-22 is set on a U.S. Army Air Corps bomber squadron base on Pianosa during World War II, but Heller conceded that he took literary license in making Pianosa big enough for a major military complex. Heller's island also has a small community of Italian villagers, unlike the real island.
Heller's bomber squadron, the 488th Bombardment Squadron, was based for a time in the Foggia Airfield Complex on the Adriatic coast. Although the larger Tuscan Pianosa is best placed for the missions described in the novel, such as those to Avignon and Bologna, it is likely that Heller first heard the name in connection with the smaller island
