World of Ships – May 2018

PADDLE STEAMERS

Paddle Steamers I World of Ships I 61

P

addle vessels continue to

operate on Maggiore, Como

and Garda, the three largest

lakes in Northern Italy, all

of them under control of a

Milan-based state operation

but with independent

local management in Como, Arona for Lake

Maggiore and Desenzano for Lake Garda.

There is a considerable variety of service,

with all three centres offering passenger

cruises supplemented by high-speed

hydrofoils and drive-on/drive-off cross-lake

car ferry services. In 1826, just three years

after Switzerland’s first steamer Guillaume

Tell appeared on Lake Geneva, the Societa

Lombarda introduced Lario on Lake Como,

although nothing was left to chance, as the

vessel was also fitted with masts and sails.

The area was then under Austrian control,

but operating concessions were obtained for

the formation of the Royal Imperial Privileged

Steamship Company, with competition

quickly provided by Societa Larina, formed

by Count Giovanni Pietro Potto, which had

five steamers and, after Italy’s unification,

obtained a monopoly of services. The first

screw vessels appeared before the end of

the 19th century and motor ships in 1916,

although there was a return to paddle in 1926

CHAPTER NINE

ITALY

for steamers Concordia and Patria, which

have survived into the 21st century.

The Lake Garda operation was one of

Europe’s first to offer special afternoon cruises

by paddle vessels serving several different

resorts but, going back, horsepower really

was the order of the day for Lake Garda’s fist

paddle vessel Manubrio, which had a gearing

mechanism powered by a team of horses

walking in a circle around the deck. English

iron was specially imported for the steamer

Benaco, which was destroyed during Italy’s

second war of independence in 1859, when

voyages were confined to the western side of

the lake between Desenzano and Riva.

Sailings were often accompanied by

considerable risk, and a further Benaco, bought

second hand from Lake Maggiore, fell into

Austrian hands while towing provisions for

Garibaldi during the third war of independence

in 1866. Matters stabilised towards the end of

the century, with new tonnage added, including

the still operational Escher Wyss vessel G.

Zanardelli (1903) and the larger Italia (1909)

from Genoa builders, which both received

diesel engines in the 1970s.

Lake Maggiore’s first steamer was Verbano,

which had a wood-burning boiler built by

Boulton and Watt at Soho, Birmingham,

and was first used in 1821 to try and develop

Passengers at the stern make the

most of a fine day as Concordia

sails on Lake Como.

services on the river Po between Pavia and

Venice. From 1851 the Austrian Government

established regular Lake Maggiore services,

before Piedmont took over, and the size of the

fleet steadily increased until the early years

of the 20th century brought the first large

paddle steamers from Swiss builder Escher

Wyss. Piemonte (1904) is retained in excellent

condition at Arona, although her appearances

in steam are very limited. The slightly larger

Italy-built Lombardia (1908) lasted until 1958

and has since served, minus her engine and

boiler, as a floating restaurant in Ancona

LAKE COMO

PATRIA

BUILT AND ENGINED 1926 by N. Odero fu Alessi, Sestri

Ponente, Genoa

MACHINERY: Triple diagonal, 600hp

SPEED 25 kmh

DIMENSIONS Length 53.77m, width 6.42m (hull), 11.6m

(over paddles). Passengers: 900.

When Patria’s future was in doubt in 1990, it

was an initiative by mainly Swiss enthusiasts

who sent a 3,000-signature petition to the

Como management pleading for the vessel to

be retained. Some work on the hull, including

replacement of plates, was carried out, but

money ran out and not until 1972-73 was

substantial replating undertaken. In 1999 a

plan to save her was agreed by owners NLC,

local authorities, a bank and a historical

society, but little work was done and not until

sale to the local authority Provincia di Como at

the end of 2005 for the nominal sum of €1 did

work begin at Dervio.

The programme was financed by state,

provincial and regional authorities, with help

ABOVE A view of Patria’s 600hp triple-diagonal

engine while the vessel was idle prior to returning to

operations after a refit in 2005.

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