The inauguration ceremony of the Museum of Ancient Ships of Pisa will take place on Sunday 16 June, in the presence of the Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities: 4700 square meters of exhibition area and 47 sections divided into 8 thematic areas in which they will be exhibited seven boats from the Roman period, datable between the 3rd century BC and the 7th century AD and about 8 thousand exhibits.

 

The appointment is at 6 pm at the Arsenali Medicei, in Lungarno Ranieri Simonelli, 16. From 9.00 pm to 11.00 pm, on the occasion of the Luminara di San Ranieri, it will be possible to visit the museum for free while, from the following day, the exhibition will be open to the public (for information info@navidipisa.it 0508057880). The concession of the museum is entrusted to Cooperativa Archeologia, which in recent years has followed the archaeological excavation and restoration of ships and finds, under the scientific direction of Andrea Camilli, project manager for the Superintendency of Pisa and Livorno.

 

The announcement of the expected inauguration is Andrea Muzzi, Archeology superintendent, fine arts and landscape of Pisa and Livorno, together with the mayor of Pisa Michele Conti. This is a fundamental stage for a journey begun in 1998, the year in which the remains of the first ship came to light near the San Rossore railway station. Thus was born the great excavation and restoration site realized thanks to the important and constant commitment of the Mibact and of a rich and heterogeneous group of professional archaeologists and restorers.

 

The Museum, set up within the Medici Arsenals on the Pisan Lungarno, exhibits Roman ships and the relics found in the Ancient Ships construction site and restored at the Wet Wood Restoration Center. The adjacent complex of San Vito will soon host the Center for Restoration of Wet Wood, a structure of international importance in the restoration of organic substances, currently temporarily housed at the excavation site.

 

The excavation and restoration project of the ancient ships of Pisa represents one of the most interesting and rich excavation and research sites in recent years. The particular condition of conservation of the finds enclosed in layers of clay and sand has required a considerable economic effort (around 16 million euros financed by the Mibact), organizational and technological, making available to the research laboratories, warehouses, cutting-edge equipment and devolved logistics to the recovery of over thirty wrecks identified and the materials associated with them. The shipyard of the Ancient Ships has therefore become a center equipped with laboratories, warehouses and instrumentation which has seen the collaboration of dozens of Italian and foreign university and research institutions. Given the expected attendance at the event, accesses will be staggered into groups.