July 25, 2006 — It was the most beautiful ship of its time, a floating art gallery, an icon of national pride for Italy.
Now it lies at the bottom of the ocean south of Cape Cod, the site of one of the most extraordinary disasters in seafaring history.
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Before its fateful last voyage 50 years ago, the Andrea Doria had already crossed the Atlantic 100 times, plying the Genova-New York route. The ship was 100 nautical miles from New York Harbor, in the waters off Nantucket, when it collided with the 13,000-ton Swedish liner Stockholm and sank on July 26, 1956.
The world watched the major news event on television and a furious debate began over who was at fault. In the end, the public laid blame on Captain Piero Calamai, the Andrea Doria's first master.
"The Italians basically suffered a racial prejudice. The stereotype of the Swedish efficiency won over the image of unreliable Italians," Italian maritime historian Maurizio Eliseo told Discovery News.
A leading authority on the history and construction of ocean liners, Eliseo reveals the untold story behind the sinking in a new book, "Andrea Doria. Cento uno Viaggi" ("Andrea Doria. 101 Voyages").
The book details every aspect of the ship's construction, the dolce vita onboard, the dramatic moment of the collision and the epic rescue operations that followed.
Through never-before-published documents, it also reveals secret agreements and the reason why the Italians were unfairly blamed for the accident.
