WORLD SHIP SOCIETY

Zooming in from Miami Beach, Wolfsonian chief curator Silvia Barisione will discuss the Italian Line collections from both The Wolfsonian–Florida International University in Miami Beach, Florida, and The Wolfsoniana–Palazzo Ducale Fondazione per la Cultura in Genoa, Italy. Posters, brochures, design drawings, and furnishings will illustrate the history of the Italian Line which began in 1932 when Benito Mussolini merged the Genoa-based Navigazione Generale Italiana with Turin’s Lloyd Sabaudo and Trieste’s Cosulich line, founded in 1903 under the Austrian-Hungarian empire.

Featuring its two largest pre-war liners, the Rex and Conte di Savoia, the Italian Line carried out an extensive advertising campaign, drawing attention to technological innovation and luxurious interior décor, characterized by exuberant historicist furnishings. Notably, the Rex won the blue ribbon for a record westbound crossing of the Atlantic in 1933. The Conte di Savoia, aside from its neo-baroque Grand Hall modeled after Colonna Palace, was known for modern interiors by Trieste architect Gustavo Pulitzer Finali that harmonized with, rather than disavowed, the structure of the ship. Pulitzer Finali paved the way for the innovative and stylish design of the post-war passenger ships which became ambassadors for Italian creativity throughout the world.

(Image: Wolfsonian – FIU collection)