The magnificent LEONARDO DA VINCI

Designed to replace the lost Italian Line's ANDREA DORIA in 1956, the LEONARDO DA VINCI of 1960 was probably the best looking of all modern classic post-WW2 passenger ships. As my friend Bill Miller wrote recently, "The Leonardo da Vinci was pure perfection. I think she was one of the most beautiful, stunningly handsome liners of her time. Everything about her exterior was perfect. She was a classic beauty."

I remember seeing the LEONARDO in her original black hull livery and she really looked superb. She visited Lisbon several times by the end of her short liner career, in 1975 to 1977 and as such I was able to photograph her several times in Lisbon. After a short spell of cruising from Florida to the Bahamas under the management of Costa Line, the LEONARDO was laid up in La Spezia, Italy, where she was lost by the most strange of ship fires. 

Conceived and built as a true flagship of state, an Italian prestige liner owned by the Government controlled Finmare Group, the LEONARDO DA VINCI was very expensive to run and always operated thanks to the generosity of Italian taxpayers until the scheme was discontinued in 1973-77. Although there was some interest to improve her for full time cruising, nothing happened and she was destroyed.

Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. Favor não piratear. Respeite o meu trabalho / No piracy, please. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

LEONARDO in New York

"Born in Hoboken, then lured to the banks of the Hudson and seeing those great ships just like me, Tony La Forgia remembered: In the 1950s, my father was a docker, working at Piers A, B and C in Hoboken, for the American Export Lines. This was my personal introduction. The waterfront became my favorite place and mostly to watch and follow the movements of the passenger ships that came and went with almost seven day-a-week regularity. As with Bill, the liners were like “friends”. They were familiar figures as well as creations of beauty, elegance, power. Each ship, it seemed, had a separate personality and some were great favorites, of course. For me, the Nieuw Amsterdam was absolute perfection. She was the perfect vision – with her light gray hull and two yellow, green & white funnels – as she was tied-up at the Fifth Street pier." 

All-star cast along the waterfront: I took this photo of the glorious lookingLeonardo da Vinci in March 1973, from the lower level of Pier 86. She was departing on a six-week-long Mediterranean cruise. I was experimenting and also having fun: I had just purchased a Telephoto Zoom lens for my ever-trusty Honeywell-Pentax camera.

Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright Bill Miller. Favor não piratear. Respeite o meu trabalho / No piracy, please. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

"LEONARDO DA VINCI" VAI SER POSTO A FLUTUAR

"A companhia holandesa Smit International ganhou o concurso para proceder à  reflutuação do famoso paquete italiano LEONARDO DA VINCI que se encontra afundado no porto de La Spezia. Esta operação de salvamento custará oito milhões de dólares, sendo provável que o navio seja vendido para a sucata.

O LEONARDO DA VINCI, de 33 340 toneladas, construído em 1960, encontrava-se inactivo no porto de La Spezia desde 23 de Setembro de 1978 após ter efectuado os últimos cruzeiros para a companhia Italia Crocieri International s.p.a. O navio estava à venda e encontrava-se praticamente vendido quando, a 3 de Julho de 1980, deflagrou um incêndio que o destruiu completamente. O navio virou-se, encontrando-se afundado em águas pouco profundas, assente no fundo, pelo lado de estibordo.

Notícia escrita por Luís Miguel Correia e publicada na página 27 da REVISTA DE MARINHA no. 100, de Abril de 1981, ilustrada com o postal oficial reproduzido acima. Triste fim o do magnifico LEONARDO DA VINCI que depois de reposto a flutuar foi desmantelado.

Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

The LEONARDO DA VINCI in Lisbon

Two views of the LEONARDO DA VINCI of 1960 in Lisbon waters. The first one in white hull livery in the mid sixties; the second on a Christmas cruise still in black hull.
A replacement for the ANDREA DORIA, the LEONARDO DA VINCI was the more handsome of all ITALIA post war ships. Whatever the angle we looked at her, she always looked perfect...
Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

T/N LEONARDO DA VINCI in Lisbon 1977

The beautiful LEONARDO DA VINCI on her final Italian Line liner voyage from New York to the Mediterranean in March 1977. It was also her final call in Lisbon.

Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

PÁTRIA EM CAPE TOWN

Quando viajei nele, em 1972, o PÁTRIA era o paquete mais antigo da Companhia Colonial de Navegação, tinha 25 anos, o que na época era muito para um navio. Construído na Escócia, o PÁTRIA foi o primeiro paquete do DESPACHO 100, entregue em Dezembro de 1947.
Fazia a carreira da África Oriental, saindo de Lisboa depois de fazer escala prévia em Leixões e escalava os portos seguintes: Funchal, São Tomé, Luanda, Lobito, Moçamedes, Cabo, Lourenço Marques, Beira, Moçambique, Nacala e Porto Amélia.
Era um navio sólido, muito confortável e de grande estabilidade e conforto, com uma tripulação excelente. Para além da linha de África, fez diversas viagens ao Brasil e uma à América Central. Foi vendido em 1973 e desmantelado na ilha Formosa.
A fotografia mostra o PÁTRIA a largar de Cape Town, vendo-se atracado ao fundo o navio italiano LEONARDO DA VINCI, que efectuava um grande cruzeiro com partida de Nova Iorque, em 1970. Os paquetes portugueses eram muito populares na África do Sul, sendo os camarotes deixados vagos pelos passageiros desembarcados em Angola ocupados por Sul Africanos que faziam a viagem a Moçambique e regresso como se de um cruzeiro se tratasse.

A nostalgic image of the Portuguese liner PÁTRIA of 1947 sailing from Cape Town with the Italian liner LEONARDO DA VINCI alongside on a cruise from New York.

The PÁTRIA was the first passenger liner newly built for Companhia Colonial de Navegação. She was delivered in December 1947 by John Brown, Clydebank, and operated on the East Africa mail service until sold to Taiwan breakers in 1973. Her regular schedule was a fantastic cruise by today standards: Lisbon, Madeira, São Tomé Island, Luanda, Lobito and Moçamedes, in Angola, Cape Town, Lourenço Marques, Beira, Moçambique Island, Nacla eand Porto Amélia, the complete round voyage taking about 50 days.

In the fifties the PÁTRIA also did several voyages to Brazil and one to Central America. She was also used for trooping. I had a wonderful voyage aboard the PÁTRIA in 1972.

Text and images copyright L.M.Correia, unless otherwise stated. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Thanks for your visit and comments. You are most welcome at any time - Luís Miguel Correia

LEONARDO DA VINCI in LISBON

The magnificent ITALIAN LIN passenger liner LEONARDO DA VINCI of 1960 photographed alongside Lisbon's Rocha Passenger Ship Terminal in April 1975 near the end of her short career. Another beauty can be seen at her stern, the Swedish American Line flagship KUNGSHOLM of 1966 on her final cruise call in Lisbon under the Swedish flag...
Copyright photo by Luís Miguel Correia - 31 January 2007