The Ancient Ships of Pisa

Twenty years have passed since in the outskirts of Pisa, in a construction site of the State Railways, one of the richest and most complex archaeological sites of the century was discovered. Along a river bed that has now disappeared, over thirty wrecks of ancient boats overlapped, overwhelmed by various floods in about a thousand years of history (from the 3rd century BC to the 7th century AD), as well as thousands of finds in an extraordinary state of conservation. Laborious excavations and complex restorations have finally found a conclusion in a new museum exhibition: The Ancient Ships of Pisa, inaugurated to the public last June 16 at the Arsenali Medicei.

The exhibition, in almost 5000 square meters divided into eight thematic rooms, tells the story of the city of Pisa from the Etruscan and Roman phase, up to the arrival of the Lombards. The focus is dedicated to the relationship of the city with water and to catastrophic floods; two bays of the arsenals are occupied by the full display of the ships, in particular the Alkedo , a pleasure rowing ship from the Augustan age, to deepen with the sections dedicated to navigation techniques, life on board, clothing, luggage , up to eating habits, cults and superstitions.