Pisa’s Ship Museum

The Museo delle Navi Antiche in Pisa (Museum of Ancient Ships) is one of the largest naval shipwreck exhibits in Italy. It is hosted in the wonderful location of the Arsenali Medicei, on Lungarno Ranieri Simonelli.
The halls and spans welcome the narration in micro-chapters and of course the large restored ships.
Boats and ships that were found starting in 1998, when the Ferrovie (Italian Railways) began excavation works for the construction of a control centre for the Rome-Genoa line.
Extraordinary wooden objects emerged immediately. Six meters deep, an incredible series of excellently preserved shipwrecks, with loads of commercial products still on board.
The greatness of the entire discovery can be understood with the birth of the Shipyard of Roman Ships in Pisa, which gives us back 30 Roman-era boats, ceramic fragments, glass, metals, elements in organic material.

The Museo delle Navi Romane di Pisa (Museum of Roman Ships) is divided into eight sections:

• ‘The city between the two rivers’;
• ‘Earth and waters’;
• ‘The fury of the waters’;
• ‘Navalia’;
• ‘Ships’;
• ‘Trades’;
• ‘Navigation’;
• ‘Life on board’.

The sections give us a path through which we can learn about the history of the city of Pisa, the relationship of the city with water, the series of floods that have affected it over the centuries. And of course, we observe the work in the ancient shipyards, we admire the boats themselves rebuilt and exhibited, the navigation methods, and life on board. Finally, we discover the objects that were sold through ships.

A free visit to the Museo delle Navi Antiche in Pisa takes about 90 minutes.

Here are the days and opening hours of the museum:

• Wednesday: from 2.30 pm to 6.30 pm all year round;
• Friday: from 10.30 am to 6.30 pm all year round;
• Saturday and Sunday (summer time – from July to September): from 10.30 am to 8.30 pm;
• Saturday and Sunday (winter time – from October to June): from 10.30 am to 6.30 pm.

Every Sunday there are free thematic visits lasting 45 minutes, at 11.00 am and 12.00 pm.

Closing days:

• Every Monday;
• 25 December;
• l31 December;
• Easter;
• 25 April;
• 1 May;
• 15 August.