This 1960s color film is narrated by one of the three young brothers traveling together from New York to Genoa, Italy (an eight-day trip) on the SS Leonardo da Vinci, (2:59-3:16). This advanced Italian Line ocean liner was built in 1960. The film was produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica as an educational film. Shots of the New York shoreline are seen as the ship leaves the harbor (3:39-4:20). A sculpture of da Vinci is at the entrance to the dining hall (4:58), where lunch is served (5:32-6:08). The lifeboats could hold all 2,000 passengers, who drilled for an emergency (6:28-6:50). The narrator is invited to the ship’s bridge (7:49) and into the automatic steering equipment room (8:08), where the Helmsman watches the compasses (8:20). The course is given by the Captain, who uses a sextant to chart the course (8:31-8:56). The engine order telegraph conveys the power needed (8:57-9:12). The radar screen and its antenna look for other ships or objects (9:18-9:41). In case of emergency, the Captain can manually seal doors (9:43-9:51), view a board with indicators that would show where a fire is located (9:52-10:04), and view stabilizer dials (10:05-10:21). The Leonardo has elevators (11:14-11:25). It also has an onboard hospital (11:32-12:08) and a gym (12:13-12:34). The 700-member crew has its own mess hall (12:35). At the bottom of the ship is the engine room with its master control panel (13:35-13:55). The turbine room uses steam to turn the propellers (14:00-14:09). Below the water line is the boiler room, where oil is used to heat the water that makes the steam (14:31-14:39). Chefs prepare lunch in the galley (14:50-15:13). A print shop prints the menus and newspaper (15:17-15:22). Passengers can play shuffleboard (15:31), shoot skeet (15:36), play ping-pong (16:00), watch movies in the theatre (17:18), dance in the ballroom (17:33), and participate in the fancy hat contest (17:46). The ship passes through the Straits of Gibraltar and past the Rock of Gibraltar (18:59). Now in the Mediterranean climate, the boys could use the pool (19:10). The ship arrives in Genoa (19:45).

SS Leonardo da Vinci was an ocean liner built in 1960 by Ansaldo Shipyards, Italy for the Italian Line as a replacement for their SS Andrea Doria that had been lost in 1956. She was initially used in transatlantic service alongside SS Cristoforo Colombo, and primarily for cruising after the delivery of the new SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello in 1965. In 1976 the Leonardo da Vinci became the last Italian Line passenger liner to be used in service across the North Atlantic. Between 1977 and 1978 she was used as a cruise ship by Italia Crociere, but was laid up from 1978 onwards until 1982 when she was scrapped. Prior to that event the ship had burned and capsized.

Named after the famous Italian inventor Leonardo da Vinci, the ship featured numerous technological innovations, including provisions for conversion to run on nuclear power.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com