09 October, 2007

Lloyd Triestino's M/S Conte Rosso Postcard

Next is the Conte Rosso. Although the postcard, as seen below, gives 2 ship names, Conte Rosso and Conte Verde, the name of the ship at the bow (on the postcard) can clearly be read "Conte Rosso."

Conte Rosso Lloyd Triestino Postcard

Conte Rosso (Italian for "Red") was a Lloyd Sabaudo Line / Italian Line ocean liner active in the early 20th century. Prior to World War II, she provided transatlantic passenger transport between Italy and New York City before later being transferred to service between Trieste and Shanghai. During World War II, she was used as a troop ship by the Italian Government until May 1941, when she was torpedoed and sunk by HMS Upholder. Her sister ship was SS Conte Verde.
Since the Wikipedia entry does not provide relevant information, I tried to gather other information about the ship itself. Then I came across this New York Times article published in 1922. Here is an excerpt from the article, showing how luxurious the ship was back then.

Italy's Newest Liner: A Model of Luxury
The New York Times, February 19, 1922

The Conte Rosso, the first of two new vessels with which Italy will make her bid for the great transatlantic travel. She is the largest vessel that has ever sailed under the Italian flag and is said to be the finest passenger steamer built since the war in any country. She is owned by the Lloyd Sabaudo Line, for which she was constructed in the yards of William Beardmore, at Dalmuir, Scotland.

On her trial trips the new ship averaged more than twenty knots an hour, which means that the running time between New York and Genoa, her home port, will be reduced by almost two days.
But the striking features of the Conte Rosso are her luxurious passenger accommodations, on decorations of which more than $400,000 was spent. The decorative scheme was carried out by Mariano Coppedi and his brother, and Luigi Cavalieri, the famous Florentine painter. No less than 15,553 square feet of space are reserved for saloon passengers, and 11,733 for second cabin. She has a length of 590 feet, a beam of 74 feet and a gross tonnage of 18,500 tons. Her passenger capacity is 500 cabin and 1,500 steerage, and her cargo space will allow her to carry 1,500 tons dead weight.

SOURCES:
SS Conte Rosso Wikipedia Entry
Italy's Newest Liner: A Model of Luxury, The New York Times

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