Pisa, la "Pompei del Mare"

Pisa, one of the four most powerful Maritime Republics in the Mediterranean, is reborn with a discovery that dates back a long time, precisely to 1998. A sensational discovery, which has yielded 30 Roman ships in excellent condition, a true "Pompeii of the Sea," as it was immediately dubbed by the international press. The unique geoclimatic conditions created have indeed allowed the preservation of all perishable materials, thus returning to us the wooden hulls of the ships, ropes, baskets, and every other perishable material as never before. The ships have returned their cargo, thus allowing us, through the finds, to tell a fascinating story of trade and sailors, navigations and routes, daily life on board, and shipwrecks. In addition to the 30 ships, the excavations also revealed the remains of a real Roman shipyard, also in perfect condition. This allows us to understand how ships were built in Roman times, and to do so with an exceptional collection of objects and structures from a real shipyard 2,000 years ago. During the archaeological excavations, a macabre discovery was made: beneath the pile of amphorae that washed up on the ancient seabed lay the skeleton of a sailor, evidently dead in the shipwreck, still clinging to his dog. To preserve this enormous heritage, which was being exposed to archaeologists for the first time, Pisa faced a major challenge: finding a solution for restoring the wet wood. The ships were apparently intact, but after two thousand years of immersion in damp clay, the wood had become an extremely fragile material, perfect in volume and shape but not in consistency. Researchers in Pisa thus began an eight-year search to find the ideal solution, making Pisa the world's leading center for the restoration of ancient wood.