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Schedules
From monday to sunday
from 10 to 19h -
Situation
Avinguda de les
Drassanes, s/n
08001 Barcelona
Replica of the Royal Galley
Reproduction of the Royal Galley, Astilleros Cardona, 1968-1971
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Num. inventory: 13271
Object name: galley
Title: Royal Galley
Object date: 1968-1971
Author: Astilleros Cardona
Technique and material: wood, metal, plant fibre, cloth, paint. Shipbuilding.
Vessels
Full-size replica of the Royal Galley, made on site by artisans from Astilleros Cardona. Decorated by Gabriel Alabert and Francisco Ribera with advice from personnel from the Maritime Museum of Barcelona. The original craft was 60 meters long, with a beam of 6.20 meters, a depth of 2.08, and was driven by 59 oars and the strength of 236 rowers. In additional, the original ship had a mainmast and a foremast with lateen sails.
The Royal Galley was built in the Drassanes Reials of Barcelona in 1568, as part of a great fleet that was to stand up to the Ottomans. On January 15th, 1568, the viceroy of Catalonia received the order that in Barcelona, “this Royal galley is to be made from the best wood to be found in these parts, as the pine of Catalonia is the best wood to be found in Asia, Africa or Europe.” The decoration, which includes the classical iconography so typical of the Renaissance, was made in Seville.
The Royal Galley, commanded by John of Austria, served as the flagship of the Holy League that defeated the Ottomans at Lepanto, off the coast of Greece, on October 7th, 1571. In 1971, in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the battle, the Maritime Museum of Barcelona organized an exhibit where the public was presented with a full-size reconstruction of the galley, the result of a project led by the Museum Director, Martínez-Hidalgo.
