by InTrieste
A new exhibition celebrating one of Italy’s most iconic ocean liners opened this weekend at the Sea Museum in Magazzino 26 of Trieste’s Porto Vecchio-Porto Vivo. Titled “The T/N Raffaello: The Last Marvel of the San Marco Shipyard,” the show runs from June 21 through August 17, 2025, and is free to the public.
The exhibition was officially presented on Friday, June 20, during a press conference and ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local cultural and maritime officials. The event featured remarks from Giorgio Rossi, Trieste’s Councillor for Culture and Tourism; Silvia Pinna, curator of the Sea Museum; and Patrizia Fasolato, head of the city’s network of scientific museums.
Organized by the Aldebaran Marinara Association, the show marks the 60th anniversary of the handover of the T/N Raffaello from the Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico – San Marco shipyard to the Italia di Navigazione shipping company in 1965. The Raffaello, alongside her sister ship Michelangelo, represented the pinnacle of Italian maritime design in the post-war era and was one of the last great ocean liners built before the rise of transatlantic air travel.
Association President Dario Tedeschi and Secretary Marco Zelaschi were present, along with Antonella Caroli, president of the Trieste chapter of Italia Nostra; retired Admiral Vezio Vascotto; and Lieutenant Commander Rosangela Schena, who represented the regional maritime directorate and the Port Authority of Trieste.
The exhibition invites visitors to explore the technological innovation and cultural significance of the Raffaello through photographs, ship models, original design plans, and multimedia displays. It also reflects on the broader industrial heritage of Trieste and the legacy of its once-thriving shipbuilding sector.
The Sea Museum is located in the restored warehouses of Porto Vecchio, part of the city’s ongoing waterfront revitalization effort.
