ITALY’S CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD HYDROGRAPHY
1300.1950s
by R ear A d m ira l G.S. R
it c h ie
T h is a rticle was w ritte n as a ch a p te r o f a f o r t h c o m i n g book on h is to r ic a l d e v e lo p ­
m e n ts in Eu ro p ea n hydrogra p h y. I t seems a p p r o p r ia te to in clu d e it in the p re se n t issue
o f the I.H. R e v ie w in view o f the re ce nt ce le b ra tio n in Genoa o f the ce n te n ary o f the
“ I s t i t u t o ld r o g r a fic n della M a r i n a ” .
A t the tim e o f the F irst Crusade (1096) Pisa, Genoa and V en ice w ere
substantial m aritim e states and throu gh their ports the riches o f the East
w ere beginning to pass into E urope. A ll three had th eir com m ercial contacts
in the Eastern M editerranean, and th ey saw particip a tion in the Crusades
as a means o f fu rth erin g such interests. Pisa sent her A rch b ish op w ith
120 ships, w h ilst Genoa gave p ractical shipping support to the N orm an
P rin ce Bohem ond o f T a ran to, resu ltin g in Pisa and Genoa establishing
tradin g colonies at J a ffa and A n tio ch respectively. V en ice’s fo o th o ld s in
the Eastern M editerranean w ere a lre a d y substantial, but b y ta k in g part
in the F ou rth Crusade (1200), and b y d ivertin g the arm ies at sea tow ards
Constantinople, she m anaged to be in on the successful storm in g o f that
city. Th is gave Venice a tradin g base there to w h ich she added oth er stations
on the islands o f the G reek A rch ip ela g o .
W h e th er the countless ships ca rry in g the Crusaders to the E a st used
charts is by no m eans clear; h o w ev er the firs t kn ow n referen ce to the use
o f a chart onboard ship is given b y the ch ronicler G uillaum e de N an gis
sailing w ith the French K in g St. L o u is on the E igh th and fin a l Crusade
in 1270.
If charts w ere in use in F ren ch vessels tow ards the end o f the 13th
century seems certain that charts w ou ld have been provid ed fo r their
tra d in g vessels by the three great Ita lia n m aritim e states m uch earlier.
T h e earliest seachart o f the portu lan type d ra w n on a sheepskin is the
“ Carta P isan a", preserved in the B ib lioth èq u e N ation ale in P a r is ; thou ght
to have been d ra w n in Pisa about 1300, the oblong o f the M editerran ean
is d ivided into tw o halves, a circle co verin g each and touching o ff the toe
o f Ita ly. F ro m the centre o f the circles sixteen rhum b lines are shown
u sing d ifferen t coloured inks to m ake th eir id en tifica tio n easier. F ro m
each o f the points w h ere these rays m eet the circu m feren ce a q u a rter o f
the rose w as draw n so as to run across to the opposite side o f the circle
g ivin g a close n etw ork o f rhum b lines all over the sea area.
F ig . 1. — “ Carta P is a n a ” drawn on a sheepskin and dating from about 1300.
(Photograph reproduced by kind perm ission o f the Bibliothèque N ationale, Paris)
Subdivided horizontal and vertical scales o f 200 miles are included on
this chart so that the a ssum ption m ust be that these ea rly Italian navigators
carried onboard a pair o f dividers and a straight edge fo r p r ic k in g o f f
courses fr o m the a p p rop ria te rh u m b line, and fo r tra n s fe r rin g distances
f r o m the scales to the bo d y o f the chart.
T h e next portulan chart o f w h ic h w e h ave details w as u n fortu n a tely
destroyed in F lo re n c e d u rin g W o r l d W a r II. It was d ra w n by G iovanni
di Carigano in Genoa about 1307 and shows not o n ly the M editerranean,
but also the A t la n tic coast o f E u ro p e as fa r as F la n ders w h e re Genoese
vessels m a y have a lrea d y been tra din g
T h e r e are ex isting to-day a series o f fiv e portulan charts d r a w n in
V en ice betw een 1311 and 1319 ascribed to P ietro Vesconte a Genoese
cartographer, w h ils t a son or relative P e r r in o Vesconte w as m a k in g portulan
charts in V en ice until 1327.
Both P a o lin o M in on ta and M a rin o Sanudo o f V en ice w e re m a kin g
portulan charts and “ m a p p a -m u n d i” (general maps o f the k n o w n w o r ld )
con tem p o ra n e ou sly with Vescon te in V e n ic e ; w h ils t a portulan chart w hich
appears to be dated 1325 m a y be seen in the Bib lioteca del P r in cip e Corsini
in F lo re n ce p r o v id in g evidence o f co ntin u ing a ctivity in Genoa.
T h ese cartographers, and others w h o se w o r k s perished at sea or in
oth er w a ys failed to survive, m a y be regarded as fo r m in g the ea rly Italian
“ s c h o o l” , in the broadest sense o f the w ord , and also probably as the
founders o f E u ropea n m a rin e cartography.
A lth o u gh P t o l e m y saw It a ly as a geograph ical entity, surrounded on
three sides by the sea and to the north by fo rm id a b le mountains, yet since
the fa ll o f the R om an E m p ire until the R isorgim en to, w h ich led to com plete
Italian u nity in 1870, the cou n try rem ain ed fra gm en ted p o litic a lly w ith
m an y fo reig n m asters occu pying te rrito ry at d iffe re n t tim es. O ur concern
here is the decline o f the three great m aritim e states w h ich led to the
discontinuance o f portu lan ch artm a k in g in Italy.
A t the end o f the 13th cen tu ry Ita ly was a densely popu lated cou n try
and the m aritim e states w ere fortu n ate in being able to im p ort food, and
w ood fo r shipbuilding, as these com m odities becam e scarcer in the h in te r­
land.
On the overw o rk ed econom y the Great Plague, w h ich w as viru len t
throughout Italy, had a devastating effect, decim atin g the popu lation o f
both town and country. T h is led to a w idespread abandonm ent o f the land,
and, in the vic in ity o f Pisa, to a b reak dow n o f drain age system s and to
frequ en t floods o f the R iv er A rn o w hich, carryin g dow n an ever increasing
q u a n tity o f silt even tu ally closed the once great port.
Genoa and V enice, riva ls a lw ays fo r overseas footh old s to fa cilita te
E astern M editerran ean tradin g, fo u gh t each other ex ten sively du rin g the
13th and 14th centuries and w ere g rad u a lly w eaken ed thereby. V en ice,
h ow ever, had u n ity am ong her ru lin g classes and a Great Council presided
over by an elected Doge, a system w h ich escaped the Genoese w h ere
in d ividu al business fam ilies struggled w ith each oth er thus lea d in g to
their m ore rapid decline.
T ra d in g to the East w as a lrea d y decreasing when, in 1453, Constan­
tin ople fell to the Tu rks. Th is dealt a fin a l shattering b lo w to Genoa, cu ttin g
her o f f fro m her B lack Sea colonies. V en ice su rvived longer, despite the
loss o f her colony in Constantinople, but as her seaborne trade declined
she turned her eyes inland and becam e in volved in the continual stru ggle
fo r suprem acy am ong Italian states backed in turn b y d iffe rin g E u ropean
pow ers. B y the end o f the 15th centu ry Lisbon, S eville and even A n tw erp
w ere ready to take over as centres o f European seaborne trade, and w ith
it the m aking o f charts fo r their m ariners w h ich the sailors o f V en ice
and Genoa no lon ger required.
A lth ou gh the red iscovery o f the w o rk s o f P to le m y had done m uch to
fa cilita te the m ap pin g o f the globe in the 15th cen tu ry y et his erroneous
figu re fo r the longitude differen ce betw een the Straits o f G ibraltar and
Iskanderun provid ed problem s fo r those w ho w ere try in g to lay d o w n the
shores o f the M editerran ean and the tru e shape o f Ita ly . F irs t the A rabs,
then M ercator and O rtelius, fo llo w e d b y Robert D u dley, the E n glishm an ,
g rad u a lly succeeded in sh ortening the length o f the M editerran ean u n til
fin a lly De Chazelles, a F ren ch scholar o f Cassini, fix e d the position o f
several places in the L eva n t in 1793-1794 by ob servin g the occu ltations o f
the satellites o f Jupiter, w ith referen ce to the longitude o f the P a ris O bser­
v a to ry established so accu rately b y his teacher. T h e fin a l fig u re o f about
42° fo r the length o f the M editerran ean in lon gitu d e is tw en ty degrees
shorter than that o f P to le m y and Ita ly grad u ally assum ed her r ig h tfu l
shape and place in a sea w h ich had once been her “ M are N o s tru m ” .
N apoleon B on aparte’s fin a l conqu est o f Ita ly began in 1800 resu ltin g
in the dethronem ent o f a num ber o f dynasties and rep lacem en t b y reg ion a l
kings o f N ap oleon ’s choice. Th e last to succomb was the Bourbon dynasty o f
Naples, but in 1806 K in g F erdin an d and Queen Carolina fled to Palerm o
and, w ith B ritish assistance, retained the island o f Sicily under their
control.
In Naples Joseph Bonaparte was first set on the throne by Napoleon,
later to be succeeded by Joachim Murat, a boastful but handsom e cavalry
general. As elsew here in Italy, these representatives o f France brought
w ith them an efficient adm inistration and a desire to eradicate feudalism .
L o rd Bentinck, w ho represented B ritain in Sicily, imposed a constitu­
tional regim e on the E nglish m odel on K in g Ferdin an d w ith the general
support o f the Sicilian barons. Thus he fought a political battle against
Joachim M urat in addition to im posing a naval blockade on Naples w ith
a naval squadron under Sir Robert H all.
A fte r the H undred Days M u rat w as forced to leave Naples to w hich
the Bourbons returned w ith B ritish help in 1815, and later that year
M urat was captured and shot on K in g F erdin an d’ s orders.
A t this tim e a young lieutenant nam ed Sm yth in Sir Robert H a ll’ s
flo tilla was able, w ith the cessation o f hostilities, to use his Sicilian
gunboats fo r survey w ork and he com pleted in the next tw o years a series
o f charts o f the coastline and ports o f Sicily, the ports o f Naples and V illa franca and m uch o f the w estern coastline o f Italy.
Sm yth w as assisted by the o fficers o f the Istituto C artografico N apolitano w here the fin e cartographic traditions o f the Padovan geographer
R izzi Zan noni w ere still m aintained. He had been sum m oned by K in g
F erdin and I V to found the institute in 1780.
A t the Congress o f Vienna in 1815 the victorious European powers
restored all the dethroned dynasties in Italy, including the House o f Savoy
in Piedm on t and the Bourbons in Naples, but the form er great m aritim e
republics, decayed as they had become, w ere incorporated in larger k in g­
doms. Genoa becam e a part o f the K in gdom o f Sardinia w hilst Venice
was com bined w ith L om b a rd y ruled over by a viceroy fro m Vienna as
part o f the Habsburg Em pire.
In 1817 Sm yth was prom oted to Com m ander, appointed to the B ritish
sloop A id and sent to the A d ria tic to com plete surveys com m enced by the
French su rveyor Beautem ps-Beaupré w ho had been em ployed there by
N apoleon. Sm yth brought w ith h im a num ber o f N eapolitan officers w hom
he had instructed in sea surveying, and was assisted by Austrian officers
and men in the Im perial sloop o f w ar Velox. T h is w ork was com plete in
tw o years, and together w ith his Sicilian surveys and the west coast o f
Ita ly provided the earliest m odern charts o f Italian waters.
Subsequently Sm yth in A d ven ture, using fiv e chronom eters, connected
the longitudes o f Falm ou th, G ibraltar, Palerm o, Malta and a chain o f
points along the coasts o f Spain, Corsica, F rance and Ita ly so that his
charts w ere accurately placed w ith in the M editerranean fram ew ork.
Th e Istitu to C artografico N ap olitan o was the firs t Italian institute to
prepare charts, probably encouraged by Smyth, and in 1825 this institute
published coastal charts from the R iv er Tron to to Santa M aria di Leuca.
Th en the Scuola di C artografia, Milan, w hich had been developed by
A u stria in the NapoJeonic period, published betw een 1822 and 1825 the
great “ Chart o f the A d ria tic Sea” . It w as com piled from old er su rveys
m ade b y engineers, by Beautem ps-Beaupré, b y Italian officers in the
A u stria n N avy and Sm yth. Based on A u strian, Italian and F ren ch tria n gu ­
lation, the w ork was in three exten sive cartograph ic parts con tain in g
general, coastal and large-scale charts a ll beau tifu lly en graved on copper
together w ith fou r volum es o f sailin g directions prepared by Captain
G iacom o M arieni o f M ilan “ under the direction o f the M ilita ry G eographic
Institute o f the Italian R oyal General S ta ff" and prin ted by the Ita lia n
R o ya l P rin tin g W ork s.
M ean w h ile the heavy shadow o f A u stria la y across the kin gd om s
o f a d ivid ed Italy, but beneath that sh adow began to g ro w the desire fo r
independence and u n ity; the w ritin gs o f the exiled rev o lu tio n a ry Guiseppe
M azzin i w ere discussed at countless secret m eetings o f the “ ca rb o n a ri” .
D espite the crushing o f state revolu tion s by A u strian arm ies, the steady
surge o f enlightenm ent and a desire fo r freedom b y the Italian people
gathered m om entum in w h at becam e k n ow n as the “ R is o rg im e n to ” . S lo w ly
the kin gd om o f P iedm on t under V ic to r Em m anuel II, w ith Cavour as
ch ief m inister, em erged as the leadin g state in the struggle. In 1859, w ith
F rench assistance, V icto r E m m anuel defeated the A u strians at the battle
o f M agenta and although the peace w h ich N apoleon I I I m ade indepen­
den tly w ith the Austrians ceded N ice and Savoy to F ra n ce and le ft V en ice
under A u strian rule, yet all o f central Ita ly w as freed and voted fo r u nion
under V ictor E m m anuel II. N ext develop ed the great pin cer m ovem en t
w h ereb y Garibaldi w ith his “ T h ou sa n d ” landed in S ic ily and o v ercom in g
the Bourbon troops crossed to C alabria and m arched su ccessfully into
N a p les; w h ilst V icto r E m m a m iel cam e south, avoid in g R om e but captu rin g
U m b ria and the M arches from the P a p a l States. In deferen ce to the Great
P ow ers, m ore especially France, R om e w as not taken over fo r another ten
years. M eanw hile F loren ce becam e the capital o f the n ew ly united Ita ly
from w h ere the R oya l N a v y was established in 1865.
In 1865 the “ U ffic io Centrale S c ie n tific o ” w as established at nearby
L eg h o rn w here two years later w as incorporated the “ Com m issione Idrog r a fic a ” under Captain A n ton io Im b ert. Surveys w ere begun in the A d ria tic
in the paddle corvette M onzam ban o w ith a very sm all num ber o f naval
office rs; w hilst in V enetian waters it w as still necessary to cooperate w ith
the Im p eria l A u stro-H u ngarian N a v y fo r survey w ork.
F ren ch troops w ere sent to R o m e w h ere they stiffened the resistance
o f the Pap a l troops fo r some years and it seemed as i f R om e could never
be united w ith Ita ly but in 1870 the F ran co-Pru ssian w ar broke out and
N ap oleon had to w ith d ra w his troops fr o m Rom e. T h is w as the tim e to
act and the forces o f V ic to r E m m anu el successfully storm ed the Im p eria l
city on 20th Septem ber 1870 and R o m e becam e the capital o f a united
Ita ly the fo llo w in g year.
T h e Central S cien tific O ffice w as rem oved fro m L eg h o rn in D ecem ber
1872 and the H yd rograp h ic C om m ission was m oved fro m there to the
old fo rt o f St. G iorgio in Genoa w h ere b y R oyal D ecree it becam e a part o f
a n ew “ U ffic io Centrale Id ro g ra fico d ella R. M a rin a ” and the w h ole placed
under the direction o f Capitano di F reg a ta G.B. M agnaghi, a broad
24
I N IT ) K N A T IO N A I. I I Y D K O O H A P H I C
R K V IIÎW
shouldered bearded o ffi c e r w ith an in ven tive mind and a g ift fo r o rga n i­
sation.
F ig . 2. — The Italian H ydrographic Institute in Genoa, fo rm e rly the old fort
o f St. G iorgio, a build ing it has occupied since its creation.
T h e R is o rg im e n t o had been a ro m a n tic and ex citing period and w ith
the w e ld in g together f in a lly o f the nine states there develop ed a proud
nationalistic fee lin g w h ic h w as re flected in the rapid establishment o f
h y d r o g ra p h y , no less than in oth er m o re im p orta n t fields. It was the
desire to navigate on Italian rath er than British A d m i r a l t y or F ren ch
charts, and to re ly upon the w o r k o f their o w n R o ya l N a v y officers, that
gave the spur to M a g n a g h i and his s ta ff in Genoa.
1873
was spent in tra n s fe r rin g the Notices to M a rin ers and other
services f r o m the disbanded S cien tific O ffice in L e g h o rn , in seLting up an
A s t r o n o m ic O b s e rv a to r y w ith a M erid ia n Circle and a w o r k s h o p fo r the
repa ir and construction o f nautical instruments. T h e fo ll o w in g ye ar saw1
the establishm ent o f a w o r k s h o p fo r e n g r a v in g charts on copper, and the
co m m e n c e m e n t o f re cru itm en t and tra in in g o f en gravers w h o began o p e r­
ations in 1877. On a m e m o ra b le d a y in 1875 m id -d a y w a s announced fo r
the first tim e by a cannon shot at F o r t e Castellaccio fir e d elec trica lly fr o m
the H y d r o g r a p h ic Office.
F o r sixteen years M a gn a gh i w o r k e d on b u ildin g up the office, after
w h ic h in 1888 he was prom oted to assume the title o f A d m ir a l D irector
General o f the H y d r o g r a p h ic Service w h ic h he held fo r a fu rth er tour
years. A t an e a rly stage the steamer W a s h in g to n was fitted out as a floating
school fo r surveyors, and soon a fterw ards the first two R oyal ships E rid a n o
and S cilla w ere provided as surveying vessels w ith Com m andantes Im bert
and Rossi in comm and. T h e first com prehensive surveys o f the entire
Italian coastline w ere begun.
In order to gauge the progress m ade betw een 1870 and the end o f the
19th century w e must take a look at a paper by Capitano di V ascello
Pasqu ale L eo n ard i Cattolica, D irector o f the R oyal H ydrograp h ic Institute,
presented at the 5th Italian G eographic Congress in Naples on 9th A p ril
1904, later published in the “ H ydrograp h ic A n n a ls” . T h is dapper and
precise naval officer gave w hat he described as a balance sheet o f the
a ctivity o f the Institute and listed in detail the past and present charting
and survey w o rk : “ T h e cartographic w o rk carried out by the R oya l Italian
N a v y consists o f a com plete h ydrography o f our coasts, w hich fo r richness
and gen erosity compares w ith those o f m ore advanced m aritim e nations.
It can be affirm ed w ith legitim ate satisfaction that our country w h ich had
descended very low in nautical cartography, has recovered in a rela tiv ely
short period o f tim e to reach a position agreeing w ith its great traditions
and its new ideals. It is an historical fa ct that the progress o f cartographic
studies is one o f the indications o f the civil and econom ic prosp erity o f
nations.
“ T h e tim e is fin a lly gone when Ita lia n ships sailed Italian seas w ith
the help o f foreign charts. Th e dem and fo r the publications o f the Institute
has increased rap id ly each year as is p roved b y the num ber o f sales w h ich
in fiv e years 1891-1895 w ere annually 600 charts and 500 L ig h t Lists o f
the M editerranean, w hile in the last three years sales have been 4 450
charts and 700 L ig h t Lists each year. But w hat dem onstrates even m ore
the consideration that our surveys receive is the fact that the Im p eria l
A ustro-H u ngarian N a v y is supplied w ith Italian charts and the English
A d m ira lty uses our surveys to com pile the charts o f our seas to supply
its ships."
He states that the chart o f T a orm in a ju st published replaces the last
non -Italian chart o f hom e w aters; w h ilst only the early charts fro m
Im b ert’ s surveys are not connected to the national trian gu lation o f the
M ilita ry Geographic Institute.
H ow ever, Cattolica goes on to say that “ the w o rk o f em ancipation w ill
not be com plete if w e continue to n avigate in hom e w aters using the
‘M editerranean Sea P ilo t’ (B ritish A d m ira lty ). It is th erefore w ith great
pleasure that I announce that w e w ill possess an Italian P o rtola n o o f
w hich the parts dealing w ith the A lto T irren o , fro m the w est border to
M onte Circeo, and w ith Sardegna are re a d y ” .
L ik e all good H ydrographers, C attolica realised that he m ust not give
the im pression that all was com plete, particu la rly as he had firs t shown
his paper to the M inister o f Marine. T h ose o f us w h o have held sim ilar
posts have echoed his w ords in public, and p a rticu larly in the presence
o f our respective M inisters o f M arine, the geese w ho lay the golden eggs.
“ It w ould be unfortunate if, in order to m easure the interest w h ich the
persons gathered here give to the progress o f our w ork, I have to face a
statem ent by someone w ho, in addition to having as his m andate the
obligation o f speaking w ith kn ow ledge m aintains that, as the surveys o f
our coasts have been com pleted there is nothing m ore to do and has
suggested the cancellation o f hydrograph ic surveys in order to realise a
reasonable econom y in the balance sheet o f the N a v y : the charts are not
a rtistic objects, to be handed down to posterity, our on ly concern being to
preserve them from m oths. T h e h yd rogra p h y must represent the present
state o f shores and seas, unsettled in pla n im etric and a ltim etric co n fig u r­
ation, because o f the incessant action o f physical agents and the w ork
o f m a n ” . A form id ab le list o f fu ture hydrograph ic tasks w as then set out.
It w as Cattolica w ho in 1898 had arranged a R oya l Decree renam ing
the office as the “ Istitu to Id ro g ra fico della R. M a rin a ” .
A s e a rly as 1870 a private Italian shipping com pany had purchased a
base in the B ay o f Assab, w hich was placed under Italian sovereignty in
1882. L a rg e ly as a result o f the actions o f Francesco Crispi, w hen tw ice
P rim e M inister, the colonial possessions in East A fric a g re w ; h ydrographic
su rvey w o r k began at Massawa in 1886 and continued in the Red Sea
into the 20th century.
C olonial su rveying o f virg in coastlines has trad ition a lly form ed a fine
school fo r sea surveyors, rem ote as they fin d them selves from hom e
com forts and thrust upon their own resources, not on ly fo r the sea
su rveyin g w ork itself, but also in carryin g out the shore triangulation and
fix in g its position on the earth ’s surface w ith ou t w hich no sounding can
be u sefu lly progressed to seaward. Th e vessel Sta ffetta was adapted fo r
this w o rk in 1903 and spent m uch tim e in the Red Sea until Ita ly w ent to
w ar against A u stria in 1915. In 1911 T rip o lita n ia and Cyrenaica w ere added
to Ita ly ’ s colonial possessions and p rovided fu rth er virg in fields for sea
su rveyin g, but the w a r delayed their exploitation.
In 1918 the su rveyin g service was re-organised and provided w ith the
A m m ira g lio M a gn a gh i a vessel o f 2050 tons, ca rryin g fou r steam launches,
and one m otor launch and m anned w ith a com plem ent o f 174 officers and
men. F o u r ex-B ritish and Japanese d rifte rs o f 330 tons w ere also fitted
as su rvey ships.
A ll you n g Italian naval officers began to undergo instruction in hydrographic surveying, and those show ing an aptitude fo r the w ork w ere given
a fu rth er eighteen m onth course, including six months in a survey ship
and six m onths in the h ydrograph ic office. Those com pleting this latter
course sa tisfa ctorily becam e h yd rograph ic specialists, but only p eriodically
w ere they appointed to su rveying ships or as heads o f sections in the
office. F ro m this corps o f officers the Head of the H ydrograp h ic Institute
is chosen.
A fte r about six years su rveying in the Red Sea M agnaghi returned
in 1925 to hom e w aters w here she was fitted w ith an ultra-sonic sounding
apparatus b y La n gevin -F lorisson w ith a M a rti graphic recorder so that
she was able to take fo r the first tim e “ w ireless sou n d in g” as they w ere
term ed. Captain L u ig i Tonta, D irector o f the H ydrograp h ic O ffice (later
D irector I.H.B. 1927-1932) and M onsieur F lorisson w ere onboard fo r
trials o f this sounding equipm ent w h ich gave excellent results. So fitted,
she w as w ell equipped fo r a system atic su rvey o f Graham Bank w hich
had been located b y W a sh in gton in 1890, lyin g in the w ide channel between
Cap Bon and Sicily. H avin g surveyed the bank b y use o f m oored beacons,
M a gn a gh i anchored and showed a ligh t from the m asthead w h ich was
intersected by theodolite angles fro m three stations in S icily over 40 m iles
distant. A dventure, P an teleria and T a lb o t banks in the same v ic in ity w ere
subsequently surveyed and sim ila rly fix e d b y this novel m ethod.
A d m ira l M agnaghi had given to the Italian h yd rograph ic service a
feelin g fo r geophysics and oceanography w h ich has continued to exert the
greatest influence, so that scien tific as w ell as h yd rogra p h ic cruises have
alw ays been a feature o f the w o rk o f the Ita lia n su rveyin g ships. M agnaghi
invented a num ber o f instrum ents that w ere used in the 19th century
cruises o f the W a sh in gton such as those fo r sounding in great depths,
appliances fo r reversing the th erm om eter and instrum ents fo r m easuring
deep-sea currents.
Radio telegraph y was used after W o r ld W a r I fo r fix in g the longitude
o f D erna Lighthou se and in 1926 fo r connecting the longitude o f Genoa
to M ogadiscio. G ravity m easurem ents have alw ays been im portan t and a
subm arine w as used fo r these determ inations around S icily and Calabria
in 1931-1932.
In 1928 the Citta d i M ila no, the ship w h ich accom panied the airship
Ita lia to the A rc tic Ocean carried out an extensive series o f h yd rograph ic
and scien tific investigations in the Spitzbergen reg ion ; a com plete astro­
nom ical determ ination o f latitude, longitude and azim uth w as m ade, and
the rela tive g ra v ity difference betw een K in gs B a y and Genoa was determ ined.
In 1926-1927 a service nam ed “ M eteo M a rin a ” fo r the dissem ination
o f m eteorological in form ation to m ariners by W / T was established at the
H yd rograp h ic Institute.
M agnaghi had been ve ry successful in the 19th cen tu ry in securing the
collaboration o f em inent draughtsm en and en gravers so that at an early
stage a high standard o f chart production w as set w h ich w as m aintained
until 1915 w hen Ita ly entered the firs t W o r ld W a r . A fte r the w ar how ever,
the increase in m arine tra ffic produced a dem and fo r charts w h ich could
not be m et b y the staff o f copper engravers in evita b ly reduced by the
in a b ility to recru it during w artim e. W h e rea s o n ly about th irty copies m ay
be obtained from a copper p rin tin g press in the course o f an eigh t hour
w o rk in g day, it was thought that an off-set lith ograp h ic press w ou ld be
capable o f producing about 2 000 copies in the sam e period.
A decision
to go over to the latter process w as m ade w ith o u t sufficient foreth ou ght
resulting in a serious low erin g o f the standard and a loss o f “ sty le” in the
Italian charts.
Th e use o f copper was alm ost com p letely abandoned and som e first
class en gravers w ere lost, w h ilst a su fficient num ber o f draughtsm en,
lithographers and photographers could not be found to m aster the n ew ly
introduced processes. T h e changing o f the D irector and Heads o f Sections
every tw o years as w as now naval practice, m itiga ted against fo rw a rd
plannin g w h ich was so necessary at this vita l stage. Som ething had to be
done, and under Captain Rom agna-M anoia, D irector in 1930, constructive
steps w ere taken.
A rtis tic a b ility is uncom m on in Genoa so a d iligen t search w as made
in F loren ce and M ilan fo r draughtsm an and cartographers and young men
to take up again the skills o f copper en gra vin g; w h ilst com petition exam in ­
ations w ere advertised fo r apprentice draughtsm en. A search was m ade
fo r lithographers w ith a special desire to fin d “ transposers” , men capable
o f assem bling on a single zinc plate the various draw in gs and mosaics.
A large Z eiss cam era w as purchased and arc lamps, so that exact
exposure tim es could be used, together w ith a pneum atic printing dow n
fram e, a m achine fo r regrain in g the zinc plates, and numerous accessories.
A new section, “ T h e R evision o f Charts Section” , was established fo r
the all im portan t task o f p ro o f readin g the chart. T h e existing Cartographic
Section w as strengthened b y appointin g as C hief a senior officer o f great
experien ce fo r a longer period.
A n oth er sign ifican t m ove w as m ade to increase the speed o f chart
prod u ction w h ilst p reservin g a h ig h standard and particular style. T h is
w as the now fa m ila r “ sticking up o f soundings” , to be extended later to
nom enclature. Its firs t com plete use resulted in the u n iform and rapid
production o f eigh t charts o f the G u lf o f Sidra, w hich fille d a w ide gap
in colonial ch artin g in L ib y a betw een M isurata and Bengasi. 30 000 square
m iles w ere su rveyed com p letely in 1930 by M a gna ghi and tw o sm aller
vessels D a rd a n e lli and A z io using L a n g evin echo sounders, although the
boats w o rk in g inshore still relied on lead and line.
T h e com pilation drawings, w h ich w ere made from the surveys and
on scales ^rd la rger than the charts to be printed, w ere, fo r the firs t
tim e in the Ita lia n office, m ade as rou gh drafts having positional accuracy
on ly, w ith no attem pt at h igh class calligraphy. On these draw ings 50 000
soundings w ere depicted from the 400 000 shown on the fa ir sheets.
T h e drafts w ere then reprodu ced ph otograph ically and transferred to
a zinc plate as if fo r printing, but o n ly a fe w copies in black and in blue
on stout paper w ere pulled, these being know n in the office as “ c a lc o ”
(blu e does not reproduce p h oto gra p h ica lly ). A num ber o f these w ere
revised b y in d ivid u a ls in the R evision o f Charts Section, the various
corrections bein g collected onto a single black calco b y the m aster
draughtsm an, after w h ich he m ade the fin al dra w in g in black ink on a
blu e calco including everyth in g except the soundings.
T o fa cilita te the sticking up o f the soundings, sheets o f figures w ere
p rin ted on w axed paper by ph oto-lith o in various suitable sizes; com m ercial
typ e fro m a T u rin fir m had been m o d ifie d to m eet the desired cartographic
requirem ents. A n unskilled operator, som etim es an able seaman, w as given
a black calco and, using a razor-blade k n ife to cut out the sounding figu res
fro m the sheet, placed them a p p rop ria tely w ith tw o pin-pointed pencilsticks over the soundings on the calco, the w a x holding each sounding
in position ; parallel pencil guide lines enabled the soundings to be set at
the correct angle. A speed o f 500 placem ents a day was achieved.
T h is com pleted sounding calco w as ca refu lly applied by the transposer
to the zin c plate and, ow in g to the th ick black ink w ith w h ich the sounding
figu res had been printed, the soundings w ere transferred to the zinc. T h e
fin a lly draw n calco ca rryin g coastline etc. was then applied to the same
zinc, so that the soundings w ere again transferred to com plete this fin a l
draw in g w h ich was then sent to the photographer fo r fin a l reduction to
a negative to the scale o f the chart and subsequent transfer to the printing
zinc.
Even as the new process was being perfected the young copper
engravers recruited some fiv e or six years previou sly w ere com ing into
their ow n, and by their skill, and a capability w hich was developed fo r
tran sferrin g copper engravings to p rin tin g zincs, began again to hold
their own. T h e tw o processes continued side by side to standardise the
new high qu a lity o f the published Italian charts.
In 1937 began a three year survey cam paign off the Italian Som aliland
coast w here, exposed as it was to the monsoons, boatw ork was restricted
to about 100 days in the year. M a gna ghi was accompanied by Cherso for
this w ork, but it w ould not have been a feasible proposition had not six
new survey m otor boats been built, each fitted w ith the Hughes “ U n iversal"
type ultrasonic sounding machine.
C ariddi and Berta, later relieved by Pa lm a iola , carried on surveys in
home w aters up until 1942, tw o years a fte r Mussolini had made his sudden
and unprepared entry into the war. W ith the tw o survey ships sunk, in
addition to the loss o f M agnaghi, sea operations then ceased, w h ilst the
Institute was transferred to M ontecatini ow in g to the heavy bom bardm ents
o f Genoa.
A fte r the A rm istice in 1943 the Germans ordered the Institute to m ove
to Stresa w here the prim e duty o f the staff w as the preservation o f the
collection o f irreplaceable plates and instrum ents.
In 1946 the ancient A zio was com m issioned fo r a general visit to all
Italian ports to locate and fix m any new dangers caused by the w ar and
to b rin g the Sailing Directions up-to-date, com pleting the w ork in Venice
a year later. T w o land parties w ere som ewhat sim ila rly em ployed in this
im m ediate post-war phase, w hilst at the Institute plans w ere m ade fo r a
com pletely new survey of the Italian coasts and adjacent seas.
In 1947 Capitano di V ascello A lfre d o V ig lieri became H ydrographer
and com m enced a vigorous program m e o f training to provide officers for
the post-war resurgence o f h ydrographic w o rk ; w hilst he pressed the
Governm ent continuously to purchase the ex-Canadian sloop w h ich lay
in Genoa harbour. Th is vessel was eventu ally com m issioned in Feb ru ary
1953 as the surveying vessel Staffetta. She was w ell adapted fo r survey
w ork w ith fo u r sounding boats equipped w ith A tla s-W erk e echo sounding
machines. T h e ship herself, w hich carried 114 officers and men, w ith
accom m odation fo r tw o scientists, was fitted w ith four echo sounding
machines, tw o A tla s-W erk e for depths dow n to 1 600 metres, one NMC
Submarine Signal Corp instrum ent fo r depths dow n to 7 000 m etres and
one C arpentier set fo r average and shallow depths. No m ention was made
at the tim e o f S taffetta com m issioning o f her having onboard any longrange electronic ranging equipm ent.
Th e Italian nation had voted fo r a Republic in 1946 and, as the post­
w ar years passed, the disasters o f the w a r w ere alm ost forgotten , being
replaced b y a pride in the deeds o f the Resistance in the closing stages
o f the w ar, and a new-found freedom fro m Fascism . T h e nation was
dedicated to building the new Republic in a spirit akin to that reigning
in Ita ly in 1870. Th e Italian H ydrographic Office, now w ithout its royal
title, was caught up, as before, w ith this national feeling and the D irector
and s ta ff began to w ork once m ore towards providing Mediterranean
m ariners w ith up-to-date charts o f the highest quality.
ACKNOW LEDGEM ENT
Th e author wishes to thank Capitano di Vascello E zio Serra of the
“ Istituto Id rografico della M arin a ” fo r his frien d ly assistance in assembling
the data for this study.
W o rk on the preparation o f this paper has been
made possible th rou gh the N .A .T .O . Research Grants P rogra m m e.
REFERENCES
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[2 ]
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A nnali
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[4 ]
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n a tio n a l H y d rogra p h ic Review , V ol. X X V , No. 2, page 23, N o ve m ­
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[1 1 ] N ew Italian Su rveying Vessel, S taffetta. T h e In te rn a tio n a l H y d ro g ra p h ic Review , Vol. X X X I, No. 1, page 149, M ay 1954.
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Nicolson, 1970.
[1 3 ] Italy.
Giuliano P r o c a c c i , W e id e n fe ld
and
Gerardo Z a m p a g l i o n e , Ernest Benn, 1956.
[14 ] Th e H ydrograp h ic Office o f the Royal N avy. G. M a r i n e l l i , Ita lia n
G eograph ic Magazine, 1894. (P h otocop y and E n glish translation
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