Naval Museum

Also known as “The City of Sailors”, the Imperia Naval Museum set up by ETT presents a modern exhibition in a space of 9,000 square meters. Each room is organized with in-depth spaces, points of physical and virtual interaction, moments of suggestion entrusted to immersive projections and scenographic and interactive reconstructions. The exhibited objects are integrated into a general direction that first leads the visitor through history to arrive at the present and the future of the relationship between man and sea. At the disposal of visitors there are also an educational laboratory (dedicated to schools), a library, books and publications of the research center on the history of the navy.

The museum’s aim is to give voice to the collection’s relics by combining a traditional narrative with a more modern communication supported by technology that prefers immersiveness to interactivity, reconstructing evocative scenarios and proposing multimedia stations to involve children and adults in a shared experience. The route was also conceived as an organic and exhaustive reality, but also dynamic and open to subsequent additions or implementations. The museum complex also includes a planetarium, an auditorium, large spaces dedicated to entertainment, a bookshop, a cafeteria, a restaurant and selected commercial activities.

The recovered buildings have retained a strong industrial identity to which ample space has been given precisely to enhance their nature closely linked to the activities of the port of Imperia. The Museum itself therefore becomes a symbol, on a local level, of the city’s seafaring tradition and the men who made it great, while on a national level it bears witness to the greatness of the Italian navy, both military and merchant, and of the shipping companies, also aiming to bring the public closer to the art of navigation and the instruments it uses.

THE SET UP

The museum’s itinerary has been designed so that it can be enjoyed independently by visitors, who are free to choose how to alternate playful moments, moments of in-depth study, or the suggestions of the reconstructions located in the different sections of the museum.

• 0.B/0.C – Entrance and Reception: several exhibition panels on the genesis of the project and its realisation welcome visitors.
• 0.G – Gallery: transit point for visitors, the gallery hosts signage panels.
• 0.D – Underwater archaeology: the spectacular dolia of the Albenga wreck welcomes visitors to this section, with projections of marine scenarios related to the theme of underwater recovery of archaeological finds.
• 0.E – Submarine recovery and robotics: the subject of underwater archaeology is closely linked to that of underwater recovery technologies. In this room, visitors will be able to admire the manoeuvres of an underwater robot inside a tank and understand its operation.
• 1.A – Maritime Tradition in Western Liguria: history will be the protagonist of this room in which the history of ancient navigation will be retraced from the first Phoenician navigators to 1600.
• 1.B – Great sailing: this section will take the visitor to experience sailing up to the beginning of the 20th century on all types of sailing ships with the support of interactive stations and in-depth historical-scientific information.
• 1.C – Nautical instruments and charts: in this room, topics related to the technical aspects of navigation will be addressed.
• 1.D – Calm wind: this room will be experienced by the visitor as a corner for rest and play within the museum itinerary.
• 1.E – The Cape Horn epic: In this room, visitors will delve into the story of the Cape Horn epic thanks to highly suggestive multimedia installations.
• 1.F – Scientific Explorations: Room F will be dedicated to the in-depth study of the history of the explorations and their scientific achievements through reconstructions, images of the time and videos.
• 1.G – Hydrography and maritime signals: the last room of the rectangular body of the complex will be dedicated to the study of the sea, hydrography and the signals used to regulate navigation.
• 1.G.2. – Gallery, signs and flags: the moment of transition from historical navigation to the modern world. The subject of the system of signals in use in the navy will also be analysed.
• 1.H – Work, submarine recoveries and diving: this room will mix the fascination of the narrated theme, submarine recoveries, with historical and interactive reconstructions aimed at understanding the work of the diver.
• 1.I – Steamships and carrette del mare: usually little known and celebrated, the freighters will find their rightful place in this room: thanks to the reconstruction of the Sestriere’s bridge with multimedia stations, the visitor will be able to learn more about the ‘carrette del mare’.
• 1.L – War, Assault Means and Military Diving: physically connected to the previous room, Room L will show the war aspect of the work of the stormtroopers through the suggestions offered by the uniforms, objects and tools they used during their missions.
• 1.M – The war, Italian navy and uniforms: the uniformology section will allow visitors to enjoy an extremely diverse sample of navy uniforms. It will also be possible for visitors to photograph themselves in uniform just like real seafarers.
• 1.N – War at sea and modelling: a playful-interactive installation welcomes visitors to the section celebrating the epic of the submarine Scirè. It will be possible to use a real working periscope and observe the surrounding landscape.
• 1.O – The journey, ocean liners and emigrants: this room introduces the theme of the great voyage and its main symbol, the ocean liner. A fundamental passage in the story of this type of ship is the tale of the clamorous sinking of the Andrea Doria, of which the funnel is reproduced.
• 1.P – The sailing gymnasium: the main element of this room will be the sailing simulator, designed to allow users to realistically experience the interaction between wind and sail through an electric rudder applied to a hull equipped with mast, sail, boom and various manoeuvres.
• 1.Q – Sea and Wind: this small room will tell the story of the various expressions of sea and wind with the support of a real wind station with a barometric station and a wind machine that will allow you to experience the intensity of the wind.
• 1.R – Study centre and specialised library: in this section you can consult books, publications and specialised iconographic material.
• 1.S – Yatching: in visual communication with Calata Anselmi, the venue for the Vintage Sails Rally, this section will tell and celebrate the history of the regattas.
• 1.T – Cetacean Sanctuary: this installation, at the centre of the pathway on the first floor, will feature large-format video projections with a background of sounds inspired by the marine environment.
• 0.T – Auditorium: the presence of this space within the museum will emphasise its willingness to be open to the planning of conferences or moments of study and discussion.
• 2.A – Planetarium: built on the basis of an examination of the most significant specimens in Europe, the planetarium will have a capacity of 86 spectators and will enable the museum to expand its range of services through the organisation of astronomical navigation courses with the use of the appropriate instruments.