Two thousand years Caligula’s two boats had sunk at the bottom of Lake Nemi, south of Rome. Specifically, since the year 41 AD. C. in which the famous and controversial Roman emperor was assassinated by his own praetorians when he was 28 years old. Next to him, and in the same palace, his wife Caesonia and his little daughter also fell, whose head was beaten with blows. Those crimes put an end to four years of terror, which the perpetrators of the assassination wanted to erase, among other actions, by confiscating the most valuable objects from both ships to later send them to the bottom of the aforementioned lake and thus erase all traces of their predecessor.
Shortly after coming to power in 1922, Benito Mussolini referred to the attempts that had occurred since the 15th century to try to refloat them, perhaps in search of a justification for the task he was about to undertake. The first to try it was Cardinal Prospero Colonna in 1477. In 1535, the engineer Francesco Demarchi, who used an ingenious diving suit that allowed him to submerge for more than an hour, but “when he returned to the surface, his mouth and ears Blood flowed copiously as a result of the pressure. And several times he was attacked and bitten by large fish […]until he resigned from his company,” ABC said in 1929.
In 1827, the archaeologist Annesio Fusconi dived using a bell created by Edmund Halley with capacity for eight divers, but they only managed to rescue a few pieces and damage a part of the frame. “The objects that have been removed over these centuries have tempted many archaeologists and engineers,” this newspaper added. There are reports that Archbishop Alberti also made unprecedented efforts in the 15th century. Many pearl fishers, attracted by fame, carried out explorations that could not continue due to the extraordinary coldness of the waters.
For twenty centuries Caligula’s ships remained like this, not far from the reach of man. The first, 50 meters from the shore and 20 meters deep. And the second, 20 meters from the shore and 12 meters deep. It is said that even fishermen from neighboring villages, on clear days and with calm water, could distinguish their frames and “fish” some remains of mosaics, columns, nails of different sizes and terracotta objects. Last year, in fact, a statue head was discovered on the lake bed that could date back to the 1st century AD. C. and be related to the emperor’s ships.
luxury boats
On September 30, 1926, however, ABC reported: “Mussolini has ordered that the necessary work be undertaken to drain Lake Nemi, at the bottom of which two galleys have been resting for two thousand years, 25 meters deep.” of pleasure that belonged to Caligula. According to the information collected, they measured more than 70 meters in length and 20 meters in width. They were two authentic floating villas that Caligula ordered to be built on the lake to give free rein to his orgies of sex and alcohol and to worship the goddess Diana.
The two ships multiplied his reputation as an eccentric and megalomaniac. You only have to see the materials and technology used for the construction of the sumptuous halls and the two temples dedicated to the goddess, raised on marble columns, that they had. All of its rooms, in addition, were decorated with gold leaf, rich marble, golden ceilings, luxurious furniture, Roman mosaic floors and even gardens. All of this full of large statues and objects of incalculable value for the time, to which he added hot and cold water pipes for his comfort and that of his guests.
The year Mussolini decided it was time to recover them, he told the Roman Historical Society: “Whenever efforts have been made, during the last five centuries, to penetrate the mystery of the imperial galleys lying at the bottom of Lake Nemi , all those who venerate the name of Rome and worship its ancient greatness, have felt their hearts palpitate, imprisoned by infinite emotion. And it is logical that it should be so. “These submerged vessels are something larger and more significant than two mere ships from the first century.”
40 million cubic meters
Mussolini, with a certain penchant for megalomania like many dictators, was not going to allow such floating palaces, from one of the most glorious periods in the history of Rome, to remain at the bottom of the water any longer. In April 1927 he announced his decision to recover them with all solemnity. «And now, to work. But remember that, if you do not manage to recover the galleys, you must prepare to sink with them in the lake,” the ‘Duce’ threatened the Minister of Public Instruction, Pietro Fedele. To avoid reaching that extreme, a Milanese company was hired and an imposing engineering project was set up that was based on emptying the lake with a prodigious hydraulic pump. No less than 40 million cubic meters of water were extracted and channeled to the sea through old Roman aqueducts.
The magazine ‘Blanco y Negro’ published the impressions of a special envoy who witnessed how, little by little, both boats appeared under the mud. «On the previous visit, barely part of one of the galleys was visible, presenting a confusion of platforms and timbers in excellent condition, despite their immersion in water for two thousand years. “At present, the visible section, about 30 meters long, gives a magnificent idea of the naval architects of the pre-Christian era,” he explained.
Once the lake was emptied, the hulls of the ships were taken to a large museum built on its shores to display them. The lake was then refilled. There they remained exposed until, on the night of May 31, 1944, in the middle of World War II, they were burned by order of Hitler. The attack against Mussolini’s beloved ships occurred during the flight of Nazi troops from the Allied advance on Rome, and has been interpreted as a last offensive by the German dictator against the “traitor” Italian dictator, who in the last stages of the conflict They were confronted.
The third ship?
A few months earlier, in fact, Hitler had ordered the shooting of 8,200 of Mussolini’s soldiers in Kefalonia, Greece. The Nazi leader knew that burning Caligula’s ships to ashes was attacking the Italian dictator where it hurt the most. Only a few pieces of wood and some coins survived from that fire. Thus, a unique architectural work of its kind was lost, a gigantic structure expressly conceived for its recreational use in a space just two kilometers long.
After the war, the two ships were reproduced on a smaller scale, which are located in the Museum of Roman Ships. There are also preserved some original elements that were on board: anchor, lead pipes with the name of Caligula, portions of mosaics and pavements with marble inlays, four marble columns, ceramics, bricks, clay decorations and coins.
The latest studies carried out in 2017 considered that there could be a third ship of Caligula in Lake Nemi. Right in one of the areas that were not drained by the ‘Duce’. This is the hypothesis defended by the town council, which raised funds to find it and bring it to the surface as in 1929. «This is an operation of great importance. We are convinced that the third ship is at the bottom of the lake. The evidence pushes us to try this possibility and I think it is a duty to do so,” said the mayor, Alberto Bertucci.
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