METAMORPHOSIS: From Liners to Cruise Ships (Part 5, the final one)

Sunday 1st October 2017 (contd.)
Leaving Monfalcone and visiting Venice

After many photographs were taken, we had to head back to the hire car and take to the road again, this time to the fabled city of Venice. We waved farewell to the shipyard, to the eye-catching water tower that somehow managed to survive war damage, the MuCa Museum with its details of the great entrepreneurial Cosulich family, and this delightful part of the Italian coast.

We headed south-west from Monfalcone on the motorway and were soon checking into rooms in a small hotel near Venice Airport; tomorrow we had early flights back to the UK. Once in Venice we bought tickets for the vaporettos,

Venice water routes


and I remembered once being asked if they ran on vapour (that amused me). The blue sky of the morning had clouded over, and things began to look slightly grey and the water more ruffled. Ah well, we were in Venice and that couldn't spoil its charm.

Our destination

Our first vaporetto arriving

Along the route

Metamauco

Carinthia VII (built in 2002)

On the opposite bank

San Giorgio Maggiore far ahead


We sailed along the Guidecca Canal and noticed the Societa Adriatica per Azioni di Navigazione name above one building.

Detail

View ahead to our next stop

Zattere stop

We turned and crossed the water and headed for San Giorgio Maggiore


We stopped frequently along the waterborne route and disembarked at San Giorgio Maggiore, designed by Palladio and built from 1566 to 1610. This is on one of the small islands on the south side of the main island of Venice, with good views of the cruise ships and other local vessels heading out near and far.

This was the view immediately opposite us

So was this bridge

Just a little further along across the water, to our left, was St. Mark's Square and the Campanile


I had time to remember my two days staying in the Cannaregio area of Venice back in September 2015 (see 'More Ferrying in 2015, Part 7'), which was such an enjoyable experience. By coincidence that was the time I took photos from the same places as those taken by my Father when he visited Venice in 1930.

He joined Blue Star Line's NORMANSTAR (travelling to and from the River Plate) in September 1929 as 5th Engineer, worked his way up to 4th Engineer, and then in September 1930 was appointed an Assistant Engineer on the Blue Star Line cruise ship ARANDORA STAR. One of his photographs, also shown on the blog here, he simply called 'Starboard side, Arandora Star Engine Room'.

Yet again I realised I was still Following in Father's Footsteps as I like to call it. The biggest coincidence now is that Father took some photos on 30th September 1930 (I treasure his photograph album and small notebook from his days at sea) but others were taken exactly 87 years ago today, on 1st October 1930, and here I am in Venice on 1st October 2017 taking photographs.

St Mark's Square and the Campanile, viewed by Assistant Engineer Harry Williams on 1st October 1930

Another view by Assistant Engineer Harry Williams on 1st October 1930

Starboard side, Arandora Star Engine Room, by Assistant Engineer Harry Williams


We knew we had a little time before the cruise ships would appear, and luckily there was a small cafe near where we were standing in front of S. Giorgio, so we enjoyed coffee and delicious chocolate cake. Back outside, windproof clothing took care of the outer body and cake and coffee had taken care of the inner and mental well-being. We had seen lots of local vaporettos heading back and forth, saw CARINTHIA VII, APOLLO, tugs at each end of the cruise ships, all with an antique background of the buildings of Venice. St. Mark's Square was just across the water from where we were standing, and we enjoyed seeing the nearby S. Giorgio Orientale lighthouse, one of two on this little island. Its size made for an often interesting comparison with the passing vessels.

Back in the present we could see the huge top of a cruise ship heading along the Canal towards us. The cloud cover overhead became lower and lower, and there was the hint of light rain in the air. MSC MUSICA headed towards, with a tug at bow and stern, and she seemed enormous when viewed against the Venice skyline. She disappeared from sight around the S. Giorgio Orientale lighthouse and we prepared for the next cruise ship to appear.

The next ship was COSTA DELIZIOSA and of course she too looked enormous in these surroundings. The sight of her reminded me of a very short trip made on her in December 2011 (see 'Costa Deliziosa 18th December 2011') when we sailed out of Savona in Italy, and then headed for dry dock in Marseille - an amazing and amusing experience.

The third and final cruise ship of the day was NORWEGIAN STAR, again aided by tugs. Once we had seen her pass the Lighthouse we headed back to the car park on our second vaporetto of the day, ready to drive away from this little gem of a city. We found a local restaurant which was warm and welcoming, and an excellent end to our day.

Ships seen:

In Monfalcone: MSC Seaside, MSC Sea View, Spes of Grimaldi, Grande Detroit of Grimaldi,

In Venice: Metamauco, Carinthia VII, MSC Musica, Costa Deliziosa, Norwegian Star, 2 vaporettos, other local vessels

Monday 2nd October 2017
Today meant an early alarm call. We drove back to Venice Airport to return the hire car, and checked in for flights home to the UK. Again I was treated to a visit to the BA Guest Lounge by my travelling companion, which was much appreciated.

The weekend had been fascinating and full of comparisons. The visit to the Fincantieri Shipyard in Monfalcone was an unexpected treat thanks to Maurizio Eliseo. The Metamorphosis Exhibition in Monfalcone was interesting and well worth visiting. There we saw the various books on sale including Maurizio's latest publication about Cunard's QUEEN ELIZABETH; we learned that his next book would be the story of the Cosulich family's greatest ships: SATURNIA and VULCANIA. Again, this is being translated into English by the maritime author Anthony Cooke. The short visit to the old Fish Market in Trieste and experiencing the virtual reality headset was fun.

The next day we visited the MuCa exhibition, which included models, and a memorable crane simulator; there was time after that to find good locations to take photographs of MSC SEASIDE and MSC SEA VIEW in the shipyard. Then it was off to Venice to try and photograph the cruise ships as they left the port in the ancient city. I found it nostalgic to remember my previous visits to the little city, and that feeling of 'Following in Father's Footsteps' as I photographed similar views to those he had photographed way back in 1930. It is stranger still to think that he photographed sights on 1st October 1930 in Venice and I was photographing sights on 1st October 2017.

I feel very fortunate in what I have been able to do. Once again I like to think I took the opportunity to SEAS THE DAY.

METAMORPHOSIS: From Liners to Cruise Ships (Part 4)

Sunday 1st October 2017, Monfalcone
After that visit to the MuCa, we headed for local viewing areas so we could take photographs of the two new MSC ships in the Fincantieri shipyard. Finding somewhere with public access proved slightly difficult but eventually we found a small creek with a short boardwalk. I remembered the tune from The Drifters song (Under the Boardwalk) and, although it wasn't strictly accurate, I amused myself by walking along and humming it.

The views across this part of Panzano Bay to the Fincantieri shipyard were rewarding and we could see MSC SEASIDE and just the stern part of MSC SEA VIEW over the water. We could also see a couple of Grimaldi vehicle carriers, SPES and GRANDE DETROIT, although they were partly hidden by trees.

View from the boardwalk

The bow on MSC Seaside

MSC Seaside and MSC Sea View stern

View across Panzano Bay from the creek

Two more ships could be seen

Grimaldi vehicle carrier Spes, built in 1993

MSC Seaside

Grimaldi vehicle carrier Grande Detroit, built in 2005

Last view of MSC Seaside

Ancient & Modern perhaps


From the boardwalk I could see the remains of what looked like an old boat on a nearby grassy bank, in complete contrast with the nearly completed MSC SEASIDE in the shipyard - Ancient & Modern personified perhaps.

After many photographs were taken, we had to head back to the hire car and take to the road again, this time to the fabled city of Venice. We waved farewell to the shipyard, to the eye-catching water tower that somehow managed to survive war damage, the MuCa Museum with its details of the great entrepreneurial Cosulich family, and this delightful part of the Italian coast.


To be concluded...

METAMORPHOSIS: From Liners to Cruise Ships (Part 2)

Saturday 30th September 2017 (continued)
We were finally taken back to the shipyard entrance, handed in our hard hats, and thanked our guides for a wonderful afternoon.

Maurizio drove us back to town where we parked and then walked along to the Metamorphosis Exhibition.

The Monfalcone Exhibition

The banner


There were lots of people around and many were going into the Galleria. We followed them into the venue.

Booklet

Another view

Inside the booklet

Where's Wallis? booklet


Immediately we could see model ships, pictures of ships, a video playing on a large screen at the other end of the hall, books for sale, leaflets about the Exhibition, and lots of exhibits that immediately attracted our attention. One of them was the good ship OCEANIC, which Home Lines (founded by the Cosulich family) had originally intended to be a liner, but later became the first modern passenger ship to be intended exclusively for cruising. She was launched in 1963.

Michelangelo

Photograph by Ted Scull

Michelangelo photographed by Ted Scull

Michelangelo again

Model of Michelangelo

Model of Oceanic

Oceanic being fitted out

Monfalcone site in 1963

The latest Italian Navy ship built at the yard

View into the Galleria


Over an hour later we said our goodbyes and left the wonderful Galleria. It had been a fascinating experience to visit the Exhibition and follow the explanations of the Metamorphosis of the Company and Shipyard from Liners to Cruise Ships.

Maurizio drove us back to our hotel for a chance to drop off various souvenirs and quickly prepare to go out again, this time to drive the short distance around the bay to Trieste for dinner. We parked and walked along part of the promenade, familiar to me from my first visit here in November 2014 before sailing on COSTA DIADEMA on her maiden voyage. (See blog piece with more details.) She was built by Fincantieri and now I have experienced their Monfalcone shipyard at very close quarters.

Trieste's old Fish Market


One of the brightly lit buildings was the old Fish Market and we made a quick detour inside; Maurizio is to lecture there in a few days time, and he wanted to show us the inside of this converted building. Inside we were introduced to a Mrs Cosulich, and then to her husband, and she mentioned that she was involved with the arrangements for the annual boat festival of Trieste - the Barcolana. This is an historic international sailing regatta taking place each year in the Gulf of Trieste, with the highlight being the event held on the second Sunday of October. It must be an extraordinary sight, to see so many little sailing vessels in the Gulf. I've read that about 25,000 sailors take part (www.barcolana.it) during the weeks of the Regatta.

There were huge advertising pictures showing on the screen in the vast hall, and then I was offered a Virtual Reality experience for 3 minutes! I sat and had a headpiece placed on me, and suddenly I was sitting on one of the racing boats with a 360⁰ view of everything going on around me on the water! It's one thing to know about new technology, but even more fun to experience it.

We left the Fish Market reluctantly but had to get to a local side street restaurant for a dinner booking. We all enjoyed a freshly cooked and presented meal, as we discussed the events of the day. We had done many interesting things and were so glad to have made arrangements to visit the Metamorphosis Exhibition - which turned into many more events.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the Museo Cantieristica Monfalcone whilst it is open in the morning, take photographs of the MSC ships in the Fincantieri shipyard from local viewpoints in Monfalcone and then head to Venice to see what we can see.


To be continued...

METAMORPHOSIS: From Liners to Cruise Ships (Part 1)

METAMORPHOSIS: FROM LINERS TO CRUISE SHIPS

This is the title of a wonderful exhibition presented by the Fondazione Fincantieri of Italy from 30th September to 17th October 2017, in the Galleria Comunale di Arte Contemporanea in Monfalcone (www.metamorfosi.italianliners.com). Many of us will have heard of the famous Italian shipbuilders (https://www.fincantieri.com/en). The Exhibition is curated by Maurizio Eliseo and Nicolo Capus.

Maurizio Eliseo is a freelance lecturer in the technology of maritime outfitting at Italian and foreign universities and works for some of the principal shipping companies in the world as a consultant in the design, construction, maintenance and management of cruise ships. The author of fourteen books, his maritime archive is one of the biggest in the world. A recognised photographer, graphic designer and model maker, he also co-ordinated the fitting out of the public rooms of Cunard's QUEEN MARY 2 when she was being built in 2003. He is the recipient of the Mitchell Award in 2001 and the Silver Riband Award in 2010.

He has now curated this Exhibition , with Nicolo Capus, which recalls the events leading up to the creation on 29th December 1959 of the Fincantieri company.

The English Dictionary defines metamorphosis as a complete change of form or substance, and maritime author Anthony Cooke translates part of Maurizio Eliseo's Italian text as follows.

"The Exhibition recalls the time when the 'Sixties closed the age of the legendary ocean liners but initiated that of the modern cruise ships and the famous shipyard at Monfalcone was one the participants in the process. Nicolo Costanzi had designed the MICHELANGELO and the RAFFAELLO, which were intended to replace the SATURNIA and VULCANIA which had been built at Monfalcone". Anthony Cooke continues: "In 1959 when it was decided to proceed with the construction of the two liners, the Monfalcone yard had an extraordinary load of work already in hand and did not have two slipways available. It was decided that MICHELANGELO would be built at the shipyard at Genova Sestri and that RAFFAELLO would be built at Monfalcone. For the first time, two identical passenger ships of huge tonnage would be built in different shipyards at a great distance from each other."

Anthony Cooke's translation of Maurizio Eliseo's text continues: "To make this possible, on 29th December 1959 the Fincantieri company was formed in Rome and, with it, the extraordinarily successful system of construction which came to be known as 'platforms' and which made it possible to this day for Fincantieri to build sister ships simultaneously at their various yards along the length of the Italian peninsula. This was also when computers were introduced into the world of ship construction."

"Monfalcone was completing the two final passenger liners of the Lloyd Triestino company, the GALILEO GALILEI (1962) and the GUGLIELMO MARCONI (1963) and at the same time was building the first modern passenger ship to be intended exclusively for cruising - the OCEANIC. She belonged to the Home Lines, a company founded in the early post-war years by the Cosulich family in association with Greek and Swedish ship-owners. Egone Missio was appointed consultant to Home Lines for this construction; engineer Nicolo Costanzi and architect Nino Zoncada worked together on this difficult but thrilling project."

I've travelled on liners, cruise ships, ferries, little excursion boats and of course Mailships and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them over the years. When I heard about this Exhibition being curated by Maurizio Eliseo and Nicolo Capus I decided to make plans to travel to Italy for a long weekend, together with another ship enthusiast and good friend. Having met Maurizio several times over the years I wrote to let him know when we would be visiting the Exhibition and received a very happy and welcoming reply.

Saturday 30th September 2017
We flew from London Gatwick Airport at 7.30 a.m. heading for Venice in Italy. A treat at the airport had been an invitation to the BA (British Airways) Lounge from my travelling companion, where I happily enjoyed coffee whilst watching the aircraft movements.

As we flew into Venice I could see six cruise ships in the port, and I am looking forward to having some time there tomorrow. Today the blue sky was cloudless and the sun warm as we located the car hire company and started our journey northeast towards Monfalcone. Once we were on the motorway the first satnav instruction was to 'drive 90 kilometres on this road'! Well, that was straightforward enough and, despite a short diversion for road works, all was well. I could then let Maurizio know of our estimated arrival time at the hotel where he would meet us.

The plan had been to visit the Exhibition but he had arranged a great surprise for us first, which was to visit the vast shipyard of Fincantieri in Monfalcone.

We drove straight to our hotel in Via Cosulich, which seemed an appropriate name, and checked into our rooms; Maurizio met and welcomed us to Italy and to Monfalcone. He then took us into the attractive small town for tea before driving to the huge shipyard that is Fincantieri.

The Fincantieri site in 1963

Near the start of our tour


We were introduced to the Chief of Security at the Monfalcone shipyard, who promptly handed out hard hats to be worn during our visit. We then met the Fincantieri Foundation Guide for Monfalcone, and both men accompanied us during our tour as we were driven around much of the huge site. The Monfalcone shipyard has an area of 724,000 square metres, of which 227,000 are covered. It was founded in 1908 by the Cosulich family.

During each 'walkabout' we saw where the various components arrived on site, where they started to be engineered and put together, where they started to look like ships and components for ships, where they went into dry dock, and finally where they entered water for the first time. During our tour we had also been introduced to the Fincantieri Foundation Director, and the Director of the whole Monfalcone Shipyard, who had each stopped their cars to come and say hello.

Something else being built

A workshop

Another view

Pity the poor crane driver going to work...

A water tower back in the town

Some components being built upside down

No longer in use


All the while we had been aware of two huge vessels far ahead of us, in the water, with white-painted hulls gleaming in the sunshine of this September afternoon. Finally we were driven close to these two new cruise ships, and could walk around and take more photographs.

We could see the work in progress on MSC SEA VIEW and MSC SEASIDE, although there was no sign of human activity.

MSC Sea View being completed

MSC Seaside being completed



Maurizio told us that this morning there had been about 9,500 people working in the shipyard and on these two ships. Now, mid-afternoon, probably 2,200 shipyard workers would be on board the ships and working hard on the internal fittings, but none were visible to us. We felt extremely privileged to be in the Fincantieri shipyard here at Monfalcone.


Ships seen: cruise ships in the port of Venice as we flew over, incomplete MSC Sea View and MSC Seaside, in Fincantieri's Monfalcone shipyard


To be continued...