1769272088Code 8423 Dandolo LithographColor lithograph on cardboard from the early 1900s with a contemporary wooden frame of the 1st class battleship Dandolo, with the Italian Navy coat of arms at the top.
Good condition, dimensions: 72 x 51.5 cm – 28.3 x 20.3 in.
Sister ship of the Duilio, she was one of the most powerful and innovative vessels of the 19th-century Royal Navy and was built to affirm the role of a united Italy as a major naval power in the Mediterranean.
Designed by the engineer Benedetto Brin, she was laid down in 1873, launched in 1878, and entered service in 1882 as a ship intended for direct confrontation with the main enemy battleships. She was armed with four enormous 450 mm guns mounted in armored turrets, protected by a massive steel belt up to about 550 mm thick, had a displacement of over 11,000 tons and a speed of about 15 knots, technical solutions that aroused great interest and concern in foreign navies.
Like the Duilio, the Dandolo never participated in major naval battles but played an important deterrent role, taking part in maneuvers, representation missions, and fleet training activities.
With the rapid technological progress of the late 19th century, she gradually became obsolete. She was modernized, decommissioned in the early 20th century, and subsequently scrapped in 1910, leaving a significant legacy as an example of excellence in Italian naval engineering of the time.
The Dandolo was built at the La Spezia Arsenal, one of the main military shipbuilding centers of the Kingdom of Italy.
The La Spezia Naval Arsenal is one of the most important naval complexes in Italian history and was created as an integral part of the project to build a great national navy after the unification of Italy. The choice of La Spezia was strongly supported by Camillo Benso di Cavour, who, already in the years prior to 1861, had identified the Gulf of La Spezia as a deep, easily defended, and strategically ideal natural harbor for the future unified Italian state's main naval base. Construction officially began in 1862, radically transforming a previously underdeveloped area into a vast military and industrial complex, equipped with dry docks, workshops, warehouses, foundries, and cutting-edge infrastructure.
During the second half of the 19th century, the arsenal became the heart of the Royal Navy, assuming a central role in the construction, maintenance, and modernization of Italy's major warships, including highly prestigious battleships such as the Dandolo and many other capital ships. The arsenal contributed significantly to the development of Italian naval engineering, attracting technicians, engineers, and specialized labor and fostering the economic and demographic growth of the city of La Spezia, which rapidly transformed from a small Ligurian town into an industrial and military hub.
