Milan, the transatlantic Conte Biancamano turns 100, the appeal of the Museum of Science: « A sponsor for restyling »

Families of the upper bourgeoisie, who in the 1920s granted themselves one Luxury cruise. Or businessmen, directed in the United States to meet partners and customers. Then during the war, Italian and American soldiers and prisoners. And, nEl 1940, the 316 shipwrecked of « Horace »ship set out off the coast of Tolone.

Hundreds of thousands of lives passed through the bridges and cabins of the Transatlantic « Conte Biancamano », exhibited at the Museum of Science. Retracing its history is a journey into the lost world of the majestic « floating city » that dominated the seas, when they were still The only means of transport capable of connecting distant continents and to reach the most remote places. Exactly A century ago, on April 23, 1925, the navigation company Lloyd Sabaudo, the luxurious steamer varying, able to bring 1750 passengers and 459 crew members. In November of that year he made his inaugural journey on the line Genoa – Naples – New Yorkto then range, in the decades to come, between Africa, South America and the Middle East. The era of the transatlantics set between the 60s and 70s, with the advent of air transport. The « Augustus », the « Tuscany », the « Rome », the « Christopher Columbus »: the giants of the Italian sea have all been demolished.

All except the « Conte Biancamano», Who was not lost thanks to the engineer Guido Ucelli of Nemi, The founder of the Museum of Science. Between 1960 and 1961, he managed to acquire a large portion of the transatlantic: The bridge with the control dashboard (16 meters high and heavy a thousand tons, with the nautical room and the radio room), The Lance Bridge with some first -class cabins and the Ball roomOr, with the large stucco ceiling frieze, over 11 meters in diameter, which housed the bar and stage for the orchestra. The museum’s aeronaval pavilion was built on the basis of the monumental cubic water cubesso that it could contain it. And still today it is one of the most loved and photographed objects by visitors. Although, For years, bridges and cabins have been no longer visited.

The birthday gift that the museum would like to make to the « Biancamano » is just A restoration that would allow to reopen it. And you are looking for a patron who wants to help. «In the coming months the aeronaval pavilion that hosts it will be affected by important structural works that we will make thanks to contribution of the Municipality of Milanowner of the property in which the museum and supporter member is based – underlines The general manager, Fiorenzo Galli -. A new museological project will be created to make accessible and enhance the transatlantic: it is in fact necessary A restoration of the ballroom, first -class cabins, control board, radio room and upper bridges. We are looking for a generous partner who can support us, precisely in the face of the uniqueness of this great object: it is the only preserved part of a historical transatlantic in Italy « .

While waiting for someone to respond to the appeal, On weekends of 10, 11 and then 17 and 18 Maythanks to the contribution of the Lombardy Region, the museum will celebrate the 100 years of the transatlantic with Themed guided tours, workshops and other activities. An opportunity to retrace the glories and imagine going on board, to listen to the jazz of the orchestra, to shop in the well -stocked first -class boutiques, to have dinner in restaurants able to serve 60 thousand crossings, with caviar and lobster on the menu. And to walk between The sumptuous interiors designed by Adolfo Coppedèone of the most famous architects of the time, then redesigned for the post -war rearrangement in 1947, by Mario Sironi and Giò Ponti.

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