Wreck of the Sunken Ship Re d'Italia, Komiža

Off the island of Vis rests the wreck of the Italian warship Re d'Italia, one of the best-known underwater sites connected with the maritime history of the Adriatic. It belongs to the area of the municipality of Komiža in Split-Dalmatia County.

The ship sank in July 1866, in the Battle of Vis, in the conflict between Italy and Austria. The Austrian ship Ferdinand Max struck it with its bow ram and sank it. Re d'Italia was an ironclad frigate ordered in New York and built at the Webb shipyard between 1861 and 1863. The hull was wooden, and it was protected lengthwise by armour iron. It was 84.3 metres long, 16.6 metres high, and had a draught of 6.7 metres. It was built as a twin of the ship Re de Portugal. It was among the most modern ships of its time and, together with the destroyer Affondatore, formed the basis of the newly built Italian fleet.

The wreck is a protected cultural good, entered in the Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia under the code Z-2186.

Photo: Unknown. Given the famous nature of the Battle of Lissa and the involvement of both ships of this class in that battle, , Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Data: Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia (Ministry of Culture and Media), Open Licence; coordinates: DGU (centre of the settlement).