Collateral Mercanteinfiera | Spring Edition 2023

Organized by Emanuele Seghetti in collaboration with the Barca Lariana Museum, aims to evoke for the Mercanteinfiera audience the history of some of the most interesting boats built on Lake Como.

On display are historic boats linked to lovers, intrepid pilots and intriguing Carbonari mysteries. Visitors will be able to see the boat of Silvio Pellico, who loved to contemplate the lake from the gardens of Villa Balbianello, discussing Italy and revolution, where he was overheard by a Habsburg guard and imprisoned; Toe, a passenger motorboat launched by the Taroni Shipyard between 1910 and 1915 and rediscovered in the dock of Villa Melzi, a destination loved by famous figures such as Stendhal and Liszt; finally, the iron prow and decorated rudder of the Gondola of Villa Carlotta, the most iconic residence on Lake Como, a gondola used by Princess Charlotte herself and by her husband, George II, Duke of Saxe Meiningen.

The exhibition is completed by a series of prestigious engines such as the very powerful Chrysler Riva inboard motor, the historic Soriano outboard motor, and Vigentini Ciuicì, a futuristic electric motor of the 1960s.

There will also be nautical vintage objects such as vintage fenders, life jackets, fire extinguishers, boat hooks and the oars of the glorious rowing teams, winners of the gold and silver medals at the Olympics in London 1948 and in Melbourne 1956.