A meticulous collection

The passion of our founder, GianAlberto Zanoletti, was not only involved in saving historic boats, but also in recovering their documentation, information and photographs.

A vast archive

Each museum property has its own dossier, where we can often trace the owners and the original use of the piece preserved here (a boat, an accessory or an engine).
We host vintage photos, user manuals, registration books, stamps and insurance, handwritten notations and, above all, a vast correspondence between the donors and the founder of the Museum.

A scrupulous photographic history

During the recovery phases in abandoned docks or cellars we had to fight and solve with unexpected problem. There is no shortage of photographic evidence of finds, rescues and towing of hulls from the recovery site to the Museo Barca Lariana.

Interviews, anecdotes and curiosities

We have thousands of hours of audio and video recordings in which old shipwrights, fishermen, barcaroli tell their experiences. There is no lack of testimonies from illustrious personalities, politicians, fishermen and boatbuilders.