Museo Storico Navale, Maritime museum in Castello, Venice, Italy.
The Museo Storico Navale occupies a 15th-century building in Castello and displays ship models, weapons, and maritime equipment across five floors. A separate pavilion houses actual vessels and submarines that visitors can enter and explore.
Founded by the Italian Royal Navy in 1919, the museum gathered materials from Venice's era as a maritime power. The collections trace how shipbuilding and naval technology evolved from ancient times through the 20th century.
The collections show how seafaring shaped Venice's identity and role in the Mediterranean world. Uniforms, instruments, and models reveal the daily life and skills of sailors who built the city's power.
The museum sits at Riva San Biasio near the Arsenal and is easy to locate in the shipyard area. Wear sturdy shoes when visiting, especially if you plan to board and walk through the actual vessels in the pavilion.
Visitors can enter and walk through the Enrico Dandolo, a 46-meter Cold War submarine on display in the pavilion. The confined spaces reveal how cramped and mechanical shipboard life actually was for sailors.
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