IL MUSEO <-> AMBIENTE

GALATA - THE AMBIENT OF THE MUSEUM

THE HISTORY AND GENERAL CHARACHTERS OF THE STRUCTURE

The Galata Maritime and Navigation Museum of Genoa is an expression of the experience that the Municipal Administration has gained, following successes achieved by The Sea and Navigation Pavilion with the support of Promoters of the Maritime Museum Association. These facts led the City Council to think deeply about the town of Genoa's maritime history and consequently to conceive the realization, within the activities of Genoa 2004 European Capital of Culture and with the financial support of the European Project of Economical and Social Regeneration "Urban 2" financed by an ERDF - European Regional Development Fund - one of the most important and innovative structural recoveries. This is one of the finest examples representing the characteristics of development during the time of Genoa and of its People and its relations that link them to the sea: The Galata Building Area. In addition, the recovery of the Galata Building, is part of a wider project that foresees the creation of a Maritime Museum Pole that will include apart from the Galata itself, the Pegli Naval Museum, The Prè Commenda and The D'Albertis Castle, that is now effective and managed by an Institution, the first in Italy for a maritime museum.
The Galata represents continuity with the past and is in fact, the eldest building remaining in the Genoa Dockyard, where buildings took the names of districts of historical colonies - Caffa, Metellino, Tabarca, Cembalo - and it has a direct remembrance to the Genoa Republic Arsenal where 16th- century, it was built and launched its fleet.
The beginning of its history dates back to 1590 when the Government of the Genoa Republic decided to enlarge the Arsenal in order to increase the number of shipbuilding and refurbishing of gallies . As it was not possible to build new roofed launchings on the shore due to the fact that it was already full of buildings, a platform parallel to the shore itself was made. Over the years, the new launching was equipped with a vaulted roof, becoming a true and proper "tunnel". These launchings were active for the whole of the 17th-century, but most of them, in the 18th-century, suffered the change of use and were used as a depot for the Arsenal to stock materials and artillery pieces.
At the end of the Napoleonic wars the buildings that nowadays make the Galata, were emptied of artillery, suits of armour and equipment that had been kept for centuries and the Sabauda Administration restructured them by building two new vaulted floors on top, making it the biggest and most impressive of the Genoa Maritime Arsenal, remaining active until it was moved to La Spezia.
After 1870, the old Arsenal passed to the Genoa Municipality, where several modern commercial docks based on the London model were made. They stayed as such until the years following the second world war, when the slow economic decline started.
The Galata Building is structured on four floors and was built over different ages, covering four centuries of history following the development of the harbour and the history of the town. Over all these years, many have passed under these fascinating vaults - German, Corsican and Spanish soldiers, sailors and Genoese carpenters, barbarian slaves - who had their own cult place, the mosque, and an imam, called by the Genoese the "papasso" - and sentenced from many other part of Italy. To them, in 19th- century, followed galley slave of Sardinian Marine prison and then shipowners and traders that represented the backbone of the organization of the Dockyard between the end of 19th- century and the beginning of 20th- century.

THE NEW DRESS

OUTSIDE

THE ENTRANCE

In 1999, Architect Guillermo Vasquez Consuegra won the European competition for the planning of the conservative recovery of the Galata Building and the motivation was :"...the project expresses a strong and communicative approach to museum reality that contains and is structured on an innovative and suggestive tour... The judges appointed the winner of this project as the one that mostly responded to innovation and public oriented needs of the new Maritime structure, and at the same time protecting an ancient building strongly characterized by genoese maritime history".
To the ancient heart Consuegra has placed a transparent "skin" that makes a play of lights between open and closed volumes that characterize the magic of the Galata..
Through this transparent skin you can see the 'eighteenhundred century part of the front side with the clock and griffons that makes the hall and the columns holding the arcades supporting the original nature of launching places with "vaulted" ceilings.
The argument on efficiency of natural and artificial light is also extended to the superior part of the roof where, through a particular skylight that reaches the lower floors, illuminating the stairs which have been left in their original stone.

THE SCIENTIFIC / EXIBITING TOUR

The Galata maritime Museum, with an overall surface of about 10.000 sq. meter, shows the evolution of shipping and Genoese maritime culture starting from High Middle Age and makes it clear what the sea has meant for the town of Genoa. It also adopts a multimedial and interactive approach..
The scientific/tour of the exhibit displays the history of shipping and of the town in an innovative and attractive way. It is a trip in the time involving the visitor in the discovery of ambients of Genoa Marinara and of its representatives.
The display goes over the history of the sea and of navigation starting from the oar to the sail and then to steam vessel in chronological order in an imaginary ascent towards the present that culminates in the panoramic roof "Mirador." Here you can see Genoa as it is today from a privileged point of view.
The Galata Maritime Museum is a scientific reality that wants to continue to grow and to communicate and review the past through advanced technologies like the "the tour effect tour" that completes the various surroundings. The sound effects has been defined after complex acoustic trials in Arsenal site.
In such a way the visitor is accompanied in his visit, in accordance to the section, by various sounds, noises and music, particular vocalities and significant text that will help him to better enter into the spirit of the environment in which he is. In the first hall, he can hear sounds dedicated to harbour jobs, the noise of shovelling mud from the bottom of the sea, alternated with loud voices of the town criers who threatened severe punishment to anyone who dare throw "zetto" little stones into the harbour water.
In the hall of the tempest the visitor is in front of an interactive and multimedial 3D system, that recreates in real time the rough sea when Captain Drake passes at large of Cape Horn. Sound and images are generated by a virtual reality engine that simulate the sea, the motion of the waves and the atmospherical events; the visitor sitted on a boat can steer it away from rocks.
This evolution is only possible by a progressive renewal and a correct communication that the role of the Assocaition, careful to this factors, is important guarantee of its realization.
Some picture with description (click on image to enlarge - pictures made by www.studioboscariol.it) offer some advices on staging, making in evidence the original nature of the rooms and of the exhibited works.

GROUND FLOOR - OAR AGE

THE GALLEY

At Room 4 is visible the reconstructuction of a galley of the sixhundred century - 40 meters long and 9 meters high at stern - rebuilt on the base of an historic research study that lasted three years. The galley represent one of the most spectacular exhibits of the tour and is placed on the original launching and it is possible admire at the same time the outside and the inside, including some interior parts survived to shipwreck, like a lantern and artillery pieces and at stern a figure-head. The galley was either a military either a merchantile ship with mixed propulsion sail and oar with a crew up to 250 persons on board; the use of arms was given to a soldiers department whilst slaves, forced and goodwill men made the rowing part. The galley was adopted to transport precious goods like the silver, fine silks and spices.

ARMOURY

At room 3 the tour cross the armoury of Arsenal and it seems that the time is stopped. Helmets, suits of armour, sidearms are still displaced on racks and protected by with two "galley soldiers" watching over behind a wooden/iron gate.

FIRST FLOOR - SAIL AGE

ANDREA DORIA AND THE ARRIVAL OF SILVER

At room 7 is shown the stage dressing of the arrival of silver. It is the age of Andrea Doria, central figure of Genoese history and admiral servicing the very powerful Charles' the fifth Spain. The years of war against Turkish coincide with an extraordinary phase of enrichment to Genoese people. The sceene subject is the arrival of Spanish cash in the Genoa's harbour. Silver loads that custom officers were intercepting when its was still on ships coming from Amercica and that they diverted to Genoa as payment to exchange letters.

GEOGRAPHERS AND CARTOGRAPHERS

Room 8 is dominated by a couple of precious globes, celestial and terrestrial of V. M. Coronelli, of large dimensions - 1,2 m of diameter - They represent what in the fivehundred and sixhundred century were the geographical discovers, that opened new horizons on faraway lands and seas. An extraordinary cartographic collection of atlas are shown in show cases. It is possible leaf through electronically the atlas, obtaining a virtual vision of nautical maps and find out new territories and courses, and decode ancient notes.

SECOND FLOOR - SAIL AGE

SHIP VESSELS

Going up at the second floor the visitor enter room 10, in the section dedicated to Revolution's Age. At the end of the Republic Age and after the Napoleonic short period, Genoa lives the Sabaudian domination with the birth of the Sardinian Kingdom first and Italian State then. A great relief model, built in Genoa in that period, shows some big vessels sailing and at the anchorage.

THE BRIG

At room 13 a stage dressing shows a deck reconstruction of a brig - schooner where it is possible come on board. It is a merchantile boat type sailing either in the Mediterranean either in the Atlantic Sea, carring the most various loads. Original pieces to be seen: at bow a winch anchor weigh and a bridge-house in use as petty officer dormitory as ship galley. At deck center there are the goods holds and on board animals cages. At stearn there is the captain's cabin in use as lodging as mapping room; then the pilot house completed by the sailing compass.

THE SHIPYARD

At room 14 the shipyard stage dressing ends the permanent exibiting. The visitor can walk through offices trace room, carpentry and the mechanical workroom, settled with original parts and working as per the eighthundred century modality.
A manikin representing carpenter Matteo Trapani working to build a "16 meters leudo" tipical Ligurian coasting trade boat. The processing starts from original design drawing to show manufacturing tecniques of that time boats and the operations activities of caulkers.

THIRD FLOOR - STEAM VESSEL AGE

ITALIAN TRANSATLANTIC - from the unity of Italy to second world war

The third froor is dedicated to italian liners, a series of films and interactive stage dressings tell about the voyage from the departure to the arrival.
The exhibit starts from the ships of Florio's and Rubattino's steamship-companies that started with the vessel Vincenzo Florio a continuative line between Italy and New York Harbour. The two companies merged in the eighties of nine hundred century, originating the known N.G.I.-Italian General Navigation of which it is exhibited the model of Re Vittorio, the most luxury italian ship of the beginning of the century.
Special attention to firtst great italian liners like Duilio, built in the Gio. Ansaldo Shipyard in Sestri, or the twin Giulio Cesare made in England on same construction plan.
The exhibit documents even of smaller ships by showing ship models of non considered ships like the beautifull Siena o the Garibaldi.
So we arrive to years '30 ships, where the funds of T/steamship Roma are exhibited, the bell of the Rex and reconstruction of the story of Hales Trophy for the winner of "Blue Riband" and of his tragic sinking. Luky ships, like Conte Biancamano that sailed for about fourty years, and unluky ships, like the Orazio that burned and sinked in the Provence sea waters.

MIRADOR - OPEN AIR ROOM

.	*A NON COMPARABLE VIEW OF THE TOWN AND OF THE HARBOUR* The last room that ends the visit of Galata Maritime Museum is "open air". A breath away view where we can appreciate in an unique and special manner the nowaday Genoa with its roofs and the harbour.