193

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 59; Larghezza: 102

olio su tela

Naval battle between Russians and Swedes

During the Russo-Swedish War that broke out in 1788, two fleets from these nations faced each other off the coast of Hogland Island in the Gulf of Finland on 17 July. The two fleets were roughly equal in strength, with a total of about 50 ships and frigates.

The objective of King Gustav III of Sweden was to eliminate the Russian Baltic fleet, or at least block it in its ports of Reval (now Tallinn) and Kronstadt, while simultaneously launching a land attack to conquer St. Petersburg.

The Russians suffered the most casualties - about 600 dead compared to 200-300 Swedish - but were strategically successful, as they prevented the attack on St. Petersburg.

The war would end two years later without any particular geopolitical consequences, but with thousands of deaths, mainly Russian. The painting depicts two fleets of ships at sea ready for battle.

1785

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 36; Larghezza: 50

incisione

Battle between galleys

The subject reproduces the painting ‘The Battle of Salvor’ by Tintoretto in the hall of the Doge's Palace in Venice.

2253

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 123; Larghezza: 162

olio su tela

Naval battle

The painting is certainly one of the finest works in the collection of the Maritime Museums of Genoa. Relatively large in size, it depicts the scene of an unidentified naval battle.

The combat is chaotic, while the main subject appears to be the two-decked vessel on the left, which is under fire from a similar vessel: the first, on the main mast, bears a white flag edged with red and bearing a St Andrew's cross, also known as a “Burgundian flag”, which was the banner of the Spanish Netherlands between the 16th and 17th centuries. The second, with gold lilies on a blue background, is a French vessel.

In the foreground: a clash between boats: armed men, arquebusiers and soldiers equipped with rotella - the typical round shield - are fighting at close range: a rather unlikely episode if it did not serve to clearly identify the author, Cornelis De Wael, who, around the 1620s, set up a painting workshop in Genoa that was destined to be very successful and whose “strong points” were, on the one hand, marine paintings and, on the other, naval battles. While in the former genre the two brothers were initially rather uncertain - so much so that they often sought help from other artists such as van Ertvelt - in the latter they emerged strongly, becoming part of the “bamboccianti” movement, which was so influential in 17th-century collective scenes and which is clearly evident throughout the workshop's activity in Genoa. The painting belongs to the workshop's most mature period and can be attributed solely to Cornelis (after his separation from his brother Lucas), probably around the middle of the 17th century. Even the figures of the soldiers, which are very precise and characterised, are certainly later than the “bamboccesco” period, a sign that the workshop had now reached its specialisation.

MSA 17

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 33; Larghezza: 40

marmo

Fragment of the slab commemorating the seizure of Porto Pisano

The slab comes from the house, no longer extant, in Vico Dritto di Ponticello overlooking Borgo dei Lanaioli. The fragment was part of the slab commemorating the taking of Porto Pisano (inventory number MSA 18). The rectangular slab features on the left side two superimposed shield coats of arms with a key inside each, while the front is decorated with the crusader shield symbol of the city of Genoa.

2959

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 45; Larghezza: 35

acciaio- incisione

ex museid

Bucket seat

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.

3976

Unità di misura: mm; Diametro: 145; Lunghezza: 1203

bronzo a fusione

Small cannon

Thanks to its particular suitability for casting and its greater density, bronze allowed the construction of cannons with thinner walls than those of similar iron pieces. However, the greater fragility of this alloy due to overheating caused by prolonged firing, and above all its significantly higher cost compared to iron, led to an increasing prevalence of iron artillery in the naval field from the early 17th century onwards. This small cannon looks like a smaller version of the French 4-pounder. The ratio between length and calibre is 18. The solid iron spherical projectile fired by this weapon must have weighed less than a pound (probably 14 French ounces, equal to 428 g); it must therefore have been used to arm an armed launch (lifeboat), or simply for salutes and signalling.

MSA 3654

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 75.5; Larghezza: 21; Profondità: 32

marmo bianco a grana fine, apuano

Immaculate Madonna

It comes from the votive aedicule on the façade of Niccolò Paganini's house in passo di Gattamora 38, demolished in 1968.

4234

Unità di misura: UNR

pietra

Bullets

Cannonballs.

3721

Unità di misura: mm; Diametro: 186; Lunghezza: 1130; Varie: calibro 99 mm

ferro battuto

Bombarda with encircled staves on a carriage

Although technically obsolete, these artillery pieces continued to be carried on merchant ships as subsidiary equipment until at least the mid-16th century. It is a ‘small’ bombarda, i.e. one of the light pieces installed on Genoese ships in the 15th century, weighing between 2 and 3 Cantari (95-140 kg). Based on its calibre, it can be estimated that it fired a 3-pound stone ball (0.950 kg) with an effective range of about 100 metres. The “large” bombards weighed around 7 cantari (330 kg) and used a 25-30 pound (8-9.5 kg) stone projectile; their range was around 300 metres.