The corset is a type of armour, lighter than ordinary armour and usually without shoulder straps or sides, which mainly protected the chest and stomach and was in use until the 17th century. Most of the pieces of armour preserved in Genoa's Maritime Museums were intended for the personal defence of soldiers on board the Republic's galleys. They had to be light and sturdy: they had to withstand the blow of an arquebus, the thrust of a spear or the arrow of a crossbow. The equipment was reduced to a minimum: the breastplate and backplate, fastened to the shoulders with leather straps and held together by a wide leather belt. The head was protected by a morion or burgonet. The corset has a scalloped bottom edge.