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From Motor Boats 1993, no. 3, April, pp. 30-38.
Journey through Italy to discover the museums that tell the glorious history of seafaring. An idea for your free time, a plunge into the past by retracing the stages of yachting’s evolution.
Ten models of ships from the seventeenth and seventeenth centuries and a collection of ancient nautical charts are kept in the museum of the University of Bologna; in Venice, artifacts of historic boats and galleys, models of ships, Chinese junks, and the motorboat of the Royal Family; in Trieste, six hundred models of ships from the 1600s, at the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan the brig Ebe from the Picchiotti shipyard, the only sailing ship preserved ashore in Italy, and the bridge deck of the ocean liner Conte Biancamano, at rest after many ocean crossings and a world war. There is an air of Cape Horn and of great voyages in Imperia, where memories and memorabilia of great seafarers of the high seas are housed in a museum that is unique in Italy and undoubtedly one of the most impressive. On the shores of Lake Como, meanwhile, is a private collection of more than 300 vintage boats, some restored and sailing, and an interesting collection of marine engines to trace the evolution of propulsion systems. Then again, in Genoa, Villa Doria holds one of the most comprehensive collections in Europe on Italian and European seafaring, as well as ship portraits, or portraits of ships, paintings commissioned by captains and shipowners from the most famous painters in the field. Paintings of sailing ships, letters and objects that belonged to Garibaldi in Camogli, while everything related to the Navy is kept in La Spezia and Livorno. All the mentioned museums are nationally known as silent custodians of naval and maritime culture and trace the history of mankind. And soon, for now it is only a project, we will have another place dedicated to the history of navigation and the sea to visit: the association Voglia di Vivere of Turin , in fact, intends to set up an International Yachting Museum, where in addition to boats of all ages and classes of historical interest, kept in perfect condition and used for maritime activities, a permanent exhibition on yachting and sea-related activities will be set up, as well as a data bank that will collect and catalog documents, drawings and publications of the sector. In addition to the already lofty cultural goal, the association intends to use the management of the museum’s activities to implement psychological support programs for the benefit of people with a negative attitude toward life and with socialization problems. First initiative “Operation Stint,” an exhibition on the history and restoration, at the hands of the Mestron shipyard of Varazze, of the eight-meter S.I. 1906 Adriaco, formerly Grete, formerly Stint – a boat designed and built in 1911 for Karl F. von Siemens by Max Oertz, the brilliant designer, among others, of Meteor IV for Kaiser Wilhelm II – which, it is rumored, belonged to the mythical Red Baron during World War I.
A vast documentation of Venetian seamanship, models of galleys, plastic relief vessels of the Venetian fortifications scattered on the beaten ports for traffic to the East, relics and authentic parts of historic ships and galleys, veterans of the battles fought in the Peloponnese, such as the very famous Battle of Lepanto, are housed at the Naval History Museum of Venice. An exceptionally interesting collection from the set of models and memorabilia collected in the Venice Arsenal in the late 1600s in addition to later donations, other private and state collections and archives make up the material on display in this large museum recently expanded with a new room in the former shed of the Arsenal itself, which can house authentic vessels and is called the Ships Pavilion. Weapons and in particular antique cannons, including some pieces signed by the famous Alberghetti, bombards and pushers welcome the visitor right from the entrance. A period model of the last Bucintoro flanks in one room the throne where the Doge sat for the ceremony of the Marriage of Venice with the Sea, and some gold rings, which were symbolically thrown into the sea during the procession of bissons and parade gondolas that followed the Doge’s ship, at the ‘mouth of the lagoon, are also preserved there. Of course, to this base of Venetian material, artifacts and relics from Italian navies have been added over time. Recently, a room was opened to exhibit the bequest of a French citizen, who wished to tie to Venice his collection of models of Chinese ships and junks, collected during years of living there and studying oriental seafaring. The bequest is motivated by the memory of and respect for Marco Polo and his city. Of course, a section is devoted to typical lagoon seafaring, with gondolas, sandals and construction models of the various types of boats developed over the centuries in such a particular environment as the lagoon, enclosed between the Lidi and the mainland. Fishing systems, tools of minor shipbuilding are illustrated. The upper (third) floor displays a collection related to Italian merchant shipping, with a large collection of models of steamships and ocean liners. In the adjacent Ships’ Pavilion, original ships and boats can be admired, including two fishing bragozzi, some gondolas, diver boats, a motor torpedo boat of the Italian Navy, the machines of Guglielmo Marconi’s yacht Elettra, on which the great inventor experimented for many years with his inventions in the field of radio technology, tugs and motorboats including the one used by the Royal Family for visits to Venice and the Lagoon. ( Venice Naval Historical Museum and Ships Pavilion: hours, prices and information: click here).
In 1904 the Fisheries and Fishing Society of Trieste established a museum of fishing, consisting of a permanent exhibition with models of fishing boats, models and dioramas of various fishing systems, memorabilia and more concerning the subject. In 1910 Professor Antonio de Beden of the Nautical Institute of Trieste collected the school’s old teaching materials, forming the first nucleus of the nautical section of the future museum of the sea. The collected material, together with that of various donations from institutions and private individuals, could only be brought together in 1968 in new premises that the municipal administration had prepared for the Civic Museum of the Sea. Prologue to the ‘itinerary of a visit to the Trieste Museum is the room dedicated to Josef Ludwig Frantisek (1793/1857), who is probably considered the first experimenter of propeller propulsion applied to steam navigation. The museum features a remarkable collection of models, illustrating the history of navigation, from prehistoric times to the present day, and in different parts of the planet. Numerous nautical instruments are on display, from those of ancient times to those of modern technologies. Astrolabes, crossbows, compasses, solcoms, and others, some of Trieste make. Also visited is a Marconi Hall, dedicated to the great scientist, and various radio-technical applications. The cutaway model of a frigate and the pirofrigate Novara of the Imperial-Real Austro-Hungarian Navy, and those of Christopher Columbus’ ships, and the figurehead of the French frigate Danae, which blew up in Trieste harbor in 1812, complete the documentation of Trieste’s maritime traditions. A comprehensive museum covering a variety of maritime topics, from fishing to shipbuilding, from sailing to steam, war and trading vessels. ( Trieste Sea Museum: hours, prices and information: click here)
At the old Lanterna in the Port of Trieste a private institution, established with the aim of popularizing maritime culture, keeps a large collection of ship models (nearly 600) arranged in large showcases. These are pre-eminently typical Adriatic vessels, warships and merchant ships from various eras. There is also considerable documentation of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, including the model of the battleship Viribus Units and the wheeled steamer Archduke Lodovico of the Austrian Lloyd (1837). The museum has an extensive historical-technical archive, and a library, which can be used by the public. ( Aldebaran Maritime Association: hours, prices and information: click here)
The Museum of Science and Technology in Milan includes in its articulated structure formed by no less than three buildings (ed., recently renovated) a section dedicated to maritime and air transport, which occupies an entire and modern building, designed to also include an entire and authentic sailing ship of no less than 53 meters in length. In fact, there you can admire the brig-goletta Ebe and the bridge of the liner Conte Biancamano. The ship Ebe is one of the last brig-goletta built in Viareggio by the Picchiotti Shipyard in 1921. After sailing to traffic under the name San Giorgio, she was purchased by the Navy in 1952 to be used as a school ship for trainee helmsmen, and renamed Ebe. To adapt her to her new use, the interior was transformed, the large cargo hold was used as a dormitory for students, and an auxiliary engine was fitted. In 1958 she was laid up, and replaced by the sailing ship Palinuro, still in service as a school ship. The Ebe was given to the Museum of Science and Technology, at which point the serious problem arose of transporting the entire hull-sailing complex to Milan. The ship is 51.50 meters long overall and 9.50 meters wide. The only possible solution was to disassemble her into as many as 25 parts, which, transported by as many trucks, were then reassembled in Milan in the new pavilion. It is currently the only salvaged and earth-preserved sailing ship in existence in Italy. It is displayed complete with mast, rigging and sails, and the details of the rigging can be seen from the balconies of the upper floors, which surround the ship, placed in the center of the pavilion. Very interesting is the command bridge of the liner Conte Biancamano, which is on display and can be visited next to the Ebe. Problems had to be faced with its transfer to Milan for this important artifact as well, and the Conte Biancamano suffered the same fate as the brigantine: it was sectioned, while undergoing demolition, brought to Milan by truck and then reassembled on site. It contains the original wheelhouse, and all the instrumentation and furnishings, bearing witness to the technologies of the years between the two world wars. The liner was launched in 1925, and was the typical luxurious craft favored by the elite of the time for their transfers to the United States. Belonging to Lloyd Sabaudo, it later passed to Navigazione Generale Italiana in 1932 and was employed on the South American routes. Following the regrouping of various companies into Navigazione Italia, it was, at the outbreak of World War II requisitioned in Cristobal, by the United States, which, under the name Hermitage used it to transport troops. At the end of the war, it was returned to Italy, and was the first Italian transatlantic ship to resume service in 1948 on the lines of North and South America. The reassembled part of the ship in the museum is 25 meters long, 16 meters high and 21 meters wide. The three stories include the bridge and counterplank, some first-class cabins, the boys’ playroom, and the party room. Surrounding these important two pieces, the Ebe and the Count Biancamano, is a section devoted to naval weapons, from a reconstruction of part of the battery deck of a 16thlI century English vessel, to gradually more modern artillery, and the assault craft of our navy during World War II. Similar pieces can also be seen in the naval museums of Venice and La Spezia. About 200 models of ships including merchant and warships, equipment for divers, divers and others complete the exhibition. ( Museum of Science and Technology: hours, prices and information: click here)
In the heart of old Milan is based (ed. note, was based. Now the material can be seen at the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in Milan) the Ugo Mursia Museum. This museum is dedicated to the memory of the publisher Ugo Mursia, who was passionate about things of the sea and founder, within his publishing house, of series of books on maritime history and literature. He was also an avid collector of objects pertaining to the sea and navigation. Upon his death, his widow, Mrs. Giancarla, acted on his wishes, safeguarding the integrity of the collection and making it available to the public. The rich library contains more than a thousand books, some rare and valuable, concerning the history of navigation, particularly that of the great period of nineteenth-century sailing; more than three hundred titles published by the Mursia publishing house. In addition to this collection, there are several hundred volumes taken from the bibliographic funds of the City of Milan. Also on display is the collection of objects and testimonies of the past collected over many years by Ugo Mursia, including that of seven figureheads of ancient sailing ships, wooden sculptures of extreme interest and beauty, as well as nautical instruments, metals, compass binnacles, and many scrimshaw, whale bones and walrus teeth engraved and worked, in use being performed by Nordic sailors and whalers. ( Museum of Science and Technology: hours, prices and information: click here)
In 1976 a group of enthusiasts began collecting, on the shores of Lake Como, boats and memorabilia from the lake’s traditions. The abundant material collected and deposited in makeshift rooms was in 1982 brought together in a disused spinning mill made available on the lakeshore by the Municipality of Pianello. The Collection, while retaining its name, has become a museum, most interesting for the quality and number of things collected by the group: more than 300 boats, of the most varied types, rowing, sailing and motor, some restored and even sailing, others left in the state in which they were found, crowd the large rooms of the museum, to which is adjacent a storage room housing a number of boats, which are gradually being found and saved from an inexorable end. Among the collections on display is a large collection of marine engines and outboards, from the dawn of nautical motorization to recent times. Rare pieces, such as some gondolas, similar to those of Venice, made for the rich owners of the villas by Venetian craftsmen specially brought in from the lagoon city. Some of these settled in the area, practicing their art, and giving rise to numerous artisan shipyards, names that in time became famous in nautical history. There is no shortage, of course, of the famous Lucie, the typical Como boats, with their characteristic wooden hoops for spreading canvas shelter for the occupants and the boatman, immortalized by Alessandro Manzoni in his Promessi Sposi. Fishing boats, barges for transporting livestock, sailing cargo boats, which took advantage, with a large square sail, of the alternation of the lake’s two prevailing winds, the Breva and the Tivano, to move up and down from one end of the long, narrow basin to the other. Noteworthy are two British movable-drift cutters from the years around 1890, with bamboo masts and equipped with furling jibs, one complete with sails, various types of lances and dinghies, and the famous Star Merope, with which Tino Straulino and Nico Rode won an Olympic gold medal and the world championship of the class. Completing this collection are various racing motorboats, some of which are historic for the victories and records won with them by famous names in powerboating. ( Barca Lariana Museum: hours, prices and information: click here)
The museum at Villa Doria is one of the most comprehensive and interesting in Europe. In the many rooms, material concerning Genoese and Ligurian seafaring, from the Middle Ages to the present day, is on display, as well as considerable documentation of Italian and European seafaring. On the ground floor, extensive documentation on the port of Genoa, its history and development. On the upper floors, there are reconstructions of Christopher Columbus’ three caravels, made under the supervision of Captain Enrico d’Albertis, a famous navigator, writer and historian, exactly one hundred years ago, on the previous fourth centenary of the Columbus discovery, 1892. Antique nautical charts are displayed on the walls, along with a portrait of the great navigator, attributed to Ghirlandaio. As one travels through the many rooms, the Museum presents models and memorabilia, paintings, prints and portraits, in the succession of ages. From the classic Genoese Pinco Genovese, to models of sailing vessels from the 16th to the 20th century, and then more models, drawings, and prints of the period, not only of Genoese origin but also from all over Europe and America. Portraits of ships, ship portraits, as they are called, paintings in tempera, watercolor and oil, paper or wood, that were commissioned from painters now passed into legend, by captains and shipowners, accurate in every detail, are countless in this museum: names such as those of Nicola Camillieri, Domenico Gavarrone, the Roux, father and son, the Renaults, Luzzo, Arpe, Papaluca, are all present with their very fine works, an invaluable source of information on 19th-century technique, as well as nostalgic fascination with sailing, from that golden age. Notable is a collection of paintings of historic naval battles, axis of expeditions from the conquest of Tunis, the Battle of Lepanto, the conquest of the fortresses of Navarino, to the siege of Corone. Engravings relating to various European fleets. Ancient nautical instruments and a section on the development of steam navigation complete the museum’s collection. ( Civic Villa Doria Museum: hours, prices and information: click here)
Singular and specialized, the Museum of Port Technology in Genoa (ed., now part of the Galata – Museum of the Sea) illustrates the techniques through time of technologies for the construction of ports, piers and docks, as well as port equipment. Founded in 1982, it is mainly dedicated to the Port of Genoa. It illustrates the evolution, after the fall of the Republic of Genoa, and the post-medieval traffic crisis, of the rebirth and growth of the port between 1800 and 1874, with donations from the Duke of Galliera, Raffaele de Ferrari, the construction of the protective dykes at the old port, and the founding of the Autonomous Consortium of the Port of Genoa, with models, documents, models and photographs. Models of particular interest: that of the dredge Il Mondo Nuovo in use in the port in the 18th century until the early 19th century, the original drawings of which are in the municipal historical archives; the pole brig Etiopia, the three-masted schooner Aquila, the turbo-ship Esperia, and more. ( Galata – Museum of the Sea: hours, prices and information: click here)
The Roman Naval Museum in Albenga was founded in 1950 to collect material recovered in the waters of Gallinara Island from a Roman honorary shipwreck. The wreck had been discovered years earlier about a mile from the mouth of the Centa River, just to the east of the aforementioned islet. A number of wine amphorae, sunk in sediment slime, were recovered. In 1959 and 1961, using more refined techniques, the Navy’s Daino ship, with the advice of the Centro di Archeologia Sottomarina, founded by Lamboglia, carried out a complete survey of the wreck, and many artifacts were still recovered from the bottom. The museum housed in the halls of Palazzo Cepolla, exhibits what has been found so far: about a hundred intact amphorae, wooden and metal remains of the hull, leftover cargo, lead logs of anchors, and remains of the nailing of the structures. Also on display is a model, made by Antonio Giuliani, of a Roman oneraria ship of the type, it is assumed, might have been the one whose wreck was found. ( Albenga Roman Naval Museum: hours, prices and information: click here)
The International Museum of Imperia offers extensive documentation on the navy of the Western Riviera, especially the seafaring industry. It is divided into as many as 14 sections, covering as many subjects: from the documentary, where one can consult hundreds of writings, patents, logbooks, cargo documents, leases and shipbuilding contracts, diplomas, etc., to the library, where seafaring books are kept. A collection of evocative ex-voto paintings, some by well-known marine painters, such as Gavarrone, Arpe, the two Roux, well known to enthusiasts of this hitherto unknown art, a source, because of the accuracy of the details of the ships portrayed, of valuable inexhaustible information, is arranged on the walls of the central hall. Another room is devoted to shipbuilding in western Liguria, once among the best in the Mediterranean, with extensive collections of tools and typical irons of the trade from shipwrights. One room is devoted to the sailors and ships that plied the stormy waters of Cape Horn. Many were Ponentine sailors, and many relics from those distant sailing voyages are present, a reminder of the courage and hard life of those daring and tenacious men. Various models of ships, both sail and motor, are on display in the various rooms, the often ingenuous work of old sailors, reminders of long sailings in all the seas of the globe. Uniforms, flags, and personal mementos are collected and add to the charm of this unique museum, which continues to increase its exhibits thanks to Commander Serafini’s patient research work among the people of an area that has given so many sailors to the tradition of the sea and thanks to new acquisitions and donations. ( International Naval Museum of Western Liguria: hours, prices and information: click here)
In Camogli, once the capital of Italian seafaring, memorabilia, models of ships, and paintings depicting sailing ships almost all from the Camogli armament of the golden age of sailing are collected from donations from the families of shipowners and captains. Nautical instruments and tools from local shipbuilding enrich the collection. Many watercolors, sketches and drawings. The oldest painting depicts a Pinco, a typical cargo ship in use between the late 18th century and mid-19th century, and dates from 1790. A number of documents complete the museum: the original manuscript of the Statute of the Camogliese Mutual Maritime Insurance Company, founded in 1853, and a large number of navigation booklets, pilot books, ship’s rolls, and nautical manuals. A separate section houses relics from the Risorgimento era; letters and objects that belonged to Giuseppe Garibaldi, the hero of the Two Worlds, who was also a long-distance captain in command of ocean-going sailing ships, and two Garibaldini natives of Camogli, Schiaffino and Ansaldo. ( Camogli Maritime Museum: hours, prices and information: click here)
The museum, by its very nature, is mainly dedicated to the history of the Italian Navy, from the time of the unification of the nation, to the present day. An important collection of figureheads (bow figures), belonging to warships of the last century, the early 20th century corvette S. Giovanni, the 1843 Ercole, the 1846 transport Cambia, the frigate Italia, former Neapolitan Farnese and La Minerva, also Neapolitan, aboard which Admiral Francesco Caracciolo was hanged on Nelson’s orders, is placed to adorn a room where naval weapons from ancient times to the most modern can be admired. Notable is the model of the frigate S. Michele of 1841, which participated in the defense of Venice in 1848, and later used as a school ship for the students of the Naval School of Genoa. There are numerous relics of the assault craft, a specialty of our Navy, with which Italian sailors performed memorable and heroic feats, from the raid on Pola in 1918 to the exploits of the pigs and assault boats that breached enemy bases in Suda, Malta, Alexandria and Gibraltar in the last war. Numerous documentation, with accurate models, of Italian Navy warships, updated up to the most modern units. Many relics of the polar expedition of the Duke of the Abruzzi and Commander Umberto Cagni: parts of the ship Stella Polare, the galley that served for the punt to the Pole with sleds pulled by dogs, the compass. The Nobile expedition to the Pole with the airship Italia is also commemorated, and the makeshift radio recovered by marcher Giuseppe Biagi, of the Navy, which allowed the first contacts that led to the recovery of the castaways after 48 days on the wandering pack ice, is preserved. Also preserved in the courtyard is the wreck of the recently recovered submarine Scire, a submarine that served as a base for various strike craft operations, which sank on the coast of the Middle East during a war effort. The museum exhibits hundreds of pieces that testify to the history, technological progress and feats of war and peace of which our Navy has a right to be proud. ( La Spezia Naval Technical Museum: hours, prices and information: click here)
A small museum, located in three halls of the Livorno Naval Academy, holds evocative memorabilia reflecting the history of the Italian Navy and the Academy itself. The provenance of the collections is varied. In the first room several flags from the pre-unification navies: the Republic of Venice, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Kingdom of Sardinia and Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Also from the pre-unification period are various relics and mementos from the Royal Naval School of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which operated in Genoa from 1815 to 1861, and the Royal Naval Academy of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which operated in Naples from 1780 to 1861. Uniforms and models of ships, and registers on which appear the portraits of all the students who attended the Academy’s courses, and the swords of numerous officers and admirals who have, over time, attended the courses, are displayed in the following rooms. Famous names from the history of our navy recur, such as those of Admirals Jachino and Mimbelli, Commander Cigala Fulgosi, and, further back in the years, Admiral Riboty, who was Minister of the Navy in the last century, and gave the great renewing impulse to the new Unified Italian Navy. Also on display is the insignia of Admiral Bergamini, who perished on the battleship Roma, which was hit by a German airplane bomb in the days of the Armistice of 1943. Very interesting are the models, donated by the L. Orlando Shipyard, of the armored cruisers Francesco Ferruccio and Pisa and the torpedo bomber Etna. Other interesting memorabilia include the flags of the torpedo boats Sagittario and Lupo and Admiral Mimbelli’s medallion box. Completing the collection material are nautical instruments, naval chrons, and models of the two school ships Amerigo Vespucci and Christopher Columbus. In the sub-portico of the inner yard, a portion of sheet metal from the glorious Regia Nave Formidabile, which took part in the naval clash at Lissa (1866), cannot escape one’s gaze. ( Livorno Naval Academy: hours, prices and information: click here)
The Museum of Ships, the best known of the Italian university museums, is located in the central university building in the city of Bologna. It preserves a collection of ten antique models of ships from the 17th and 18th centuries that belonged to the Geography and Nautical Chamber of the Institute of Sciences, the academy founded in 1711 in the same building. It also houses an ‘important collection of ancient nautical and geographical charts. The museum is considered one of the most important, despite its limited size, among those in Europe. This is because of the integrity and antiquity of the material it contains, exceptional historical and technical documentation for scholars. ( Museum of Ships: hours, prices and information: click here)
Established in 1961, on the occasion of the First Centenary of the Navy, the Museum preserves the flags of the Italian Armed Forces. The Navy sector displays 228 flags of naval units, commands, etc. Many of these are combat flags, kept in caskets of exquisite artistic value. Some display cases contain banners that were partly destroyed by war events, kept by officers or sailors, and returned after the conflict. Some ancient banners, such as two flags and a banner of the Royal Sardinian Navy, the marine insignia of the Dukes of Savoy, have particular historical value. Also preserved are various relics from the Navy’s past such as, for example, Commander Luigi Rizzo’s Mas 15, the Beffa di Buccari, one of the pigs employed by our assault craft during the last world conflict, and parts of the recently recovered submarine Sciré, from which underwater missions of the assault craft departed to enemy ports. The museum is located in the grandiose Monument to the Unknown Soldier, with entrance from Via dei Fori Imperiali. ( Flag Shrine Museum: hours, prices and information: click here)
At Fiumicino International Airport, in the area corresponding to the ‘mouth of the ancient port of Claudius, stands the Museum, inaugurated in 1979 and dependent on the Archaeological Superintendence of Ostia of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. On display in its halls are the remarkable remains of five Roman-era ships, fragments relating to the sides of two other ships. The valuable finds, covered by a siltation several meters thick, came to light in the late 1950s during construction work on the airport. It took about two decades of study and work, thanks mainly to archaeologist Valnea Scrinari and her collaborators, to reach the current exhibition stage. The five vessels, dating from the middle to the late imperial age are: a fishing boat with nursery in the central part of the hull: two large hulls, preserved for most of the living work, of the Oneraria Maggiore type, two smaller hulls, called Oneraria Minore. These are rare and valuable wrecks that allow a study of naval architecture in Roman times. It is possible that the sand still hides others. ( Fiumicino Museum of Ships: hours, prices and information: click here
The wreck of a Punic ship was accidentally discovered in 1969, and investigated by British archaeologist Miss Honor Frost in the same year. The wreck was dissected and brought to the surface, with work that lasted for four years, from 1971 to 1974. The recovered parts consisted of 10 meters of the keel, the stern wreck, 27 mizzenmasters and three warheads, also part of the planking and part of the gunwale, and other parts of the stern framework. The precious fragments were necessarily subjected to a lengthy chemical treatment to consolidate the wood that had remained on the seabed for two millennia. After that the wreck was reassembled, and completed in part by reconstructed components, it was placed in a room maintained in conditions of humidity and temperature suitable for its preservation. Paleographic examination, indicated the construction of the ship to a period between 300 and 260 BC. Pottery and weapons, iron and bronze nails were found around the wreck. No cargo remains were found, which suggests, and, given also the shallow draft, the slender line, that it was a ship for war use, at least 35 meters long and six meters wide, with a displacement of about 155 tons, including ballast. This discovery, thousands of years later, of a Phoenician ship, most likely Carthaginian, constitutes an exceptional fact of extreme interest for the knowledge of the construction art of that people of navigators. ( Marsala Regional Archaeological Museum: hours, prices and information: click here)
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