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Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers
Lake
Maggiore,
Italy
Navigazione Lago di
Maggiore (NLM)
Steamer
services were inaugurated in 1826 with PS Verbano and continue to
this day with PS Piemonte, built in 1904, but now seeing only
occasional service in the main summer season, almost exclusively on
charter sailings. An intensive service is, however, provided by motor vessels on this
beautiful lake.
The
first operator was the Impresa Lombardo-Sardo-Ticinese in 1826, later
run by the governement of Sardinia. From 1853 Lloyd-Austriaco was an
active operator but went into liquidation. Its three steamers (* in the
list below) were sold to the Swiss governement who disarmed the ships
which had been fitted out for Austrian/Italian conflict and sold them
back to the Sardinian (Italian) government. From 1867, services
were in the hands of the
Milanese-based company Innocente Mangilli but by the first world war,
they were operated by the state. In 1923 they were transferred to
the Societa Subalpina di Imprese Ferroviarie.
Following Regina Madre (now Piemonte) (1904) and Lombardia (1908), three oil-fired paddlers entered service between 1912 and 1914 (Milano, Torino and Genova)
and a slightly
smaller screw steamer in 1913 before the introduction of nine motor
vessels in 1923/24 following the transfer of operations to railway
ownership. Proposals to convert the modern paddle steamers to motor
power were not followed through on.
Genova and Torino were both sunk on 25th September 1944 in an air attack. Milano was similarly sunk the following day
Piemonte spends most of her time moored at the
NLM shipyard in Arona adjacent to Lombardia which operates as a
restaurant, having been withdrawn in 1958. The third of the paddlers
(Italia) was also taken out of service in 1958 and scrapped.
EXISTING PADDLE
STEAMER
Piemonte
STATICALLY
PRESERVED
PADDLER
Lombardia
SURVIVING MOTOR VESSEL (ex-PADDLE STEAMER)
Torino
PADDLE STEAMERS
Verbano (1826-1847)
San Carlo (1842-1870)
Verbano (1844)
Verbano (1845)
* Taxis / Ticino (1853-1950)
* Benedek (1853-1896)
* Radetsky (1853)
San Gottardo (1853-1918)
San Berdardino (1855)
Lucmagno (1855-1914)
Verbano (1876-1918)
Eridanus (1883)
Italia (1888)
Elvezia (1890)
Sempione (1896-1933)
France (1903)
Regina Madre / Piemonte (1904)
Lombardia (1908)
Milano (1912-1944) Sunk in an enemy air attack with 26 deaths
Torino (1913-1945) Sunk in an enemy air attack but later rebuilt as a motor vessel
Genova (1914-1944) Sunk in an enemy air attack with 34 deaths
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