The Maritime Museum’s collections are extremely rich and varied. They include pieces ranging from a ship that still sails to a postal stamp, or from a steam engine to a 14th-century manuscript. Of course, they also include everything you expect to find in a maritime museum: binnacles, anchors, model ships, navigational tools, etc. In other words, all sorts of documents and objects from the miniscule to the huge, from all different periods and made of all sorts of materials. For decades, the Museum has gathered examples of the maritime past, a heritage that reminds us of the lives of seafarers, the histories of ships and maritime activities in peacetime or war.
We would like to offer a selection of objects and documents that are notable for their historical interest, their rarity or their aesthetic value. These can give you a general idea of the content of the Museum’s collection. However, do not forget that there is a great deal beyond this selection, with thousands of artefacts and documents that you can discover using our search engine or other resources.
We encourage you to take a stroll through some of the key pieces in our Museum’s collection, grouped into twelve categories to help you keep your bearings.
Model of the Ictíneo I submarine
Underwater navigationThe Ictíneo I was a submarine designed by Narcís Monturiol, who observed the difficulties and diseases suffered by coral collectors and the accidents suffered by divers. He had the idea of designing and building a submersible craft that could make underwater work safer and more productive, making it easier to fish for coral and pearls, recover shipwrecks and sunken treasure, or explore the sea floor.
The first version was built in 1858 and launched on September 23rd, 1859. The ship, which had room for a crew of 5, was 7 meters long, with a beam of 2.5 meters and 3.5 meters from the keel to the hatch. One of the innovations of this submarine was the double hull, with an internal and an external wall in the shape of a fish. That’s why the Ictíneo I was also known as the Vaixell-Peix or fish-ship.
The prototype was so successful that Narcís Monturiol founded the Navegación Submarina (Underwater Navigation) association to build an improved version with motor propulsion.
