Museo Delle Navi - Pisa

The history of the Museum of Ancient Ships in Pisa is very interesting. In 1998, work near Pisa San Rossore station uncovered an impressive array of shipwrecks, in exceptionally well-preserved condition, with their cargo of trade products and evidence of life on board.

The Roman Shipyard
From that discovery emerged the Roman shipyard in Pisa, completed in 2016, one of the most interesting and richest excavation and research sites of recent years.

As of June 2019, the Arsenali Medicei on the Longarni will display the Roman-era ships and artefacts found in that shipyard and eventually restored.

The exhibition at the Arsenali Medicei
Housed in the beautiful halls and bays of the Arsenali Medicei, the museum is divided into eight sections that illustrate the city's history between archeology and legend, from the Etruscans through the Romans to the Middle Ages.

The exhibition reconstructs the relationship of the city with water: the floods, the territory divided between canals and centuriazioni, the port of Pisa, the ceramics workshops, fishing, agriculture, wood, and how this intense production activity affected the territory , which disturbed the hydrogeological balance already in antiquity.

There is also a section about life on board, which was certainly not very comfortable. Many objects describe the life of sailors: clothing, luggage, lighting, how they cooked and ate, cults and superstitions, and games to pass the time during long crossings.
The adjacent San Vito complex will house the Wet Wood Restoration Center, an internationally renowned organics restoration facility, which will be temporarily housed at the excavation site.

Willem Vandenameele