At the end of World War II, Italy had lost half of its merchant fleet for the destruction of the bombing and the use of military ships. The losses included the legendary Rex, owner of Blue Ribbon. In addition, the nation was struggling with an economy in shambles. To encourage economic recovery and restore national pride, were commissioned in the early fifties two similar units: the Andrea Doria and Cristoforo Colombo, which was launched in 1953. The Andrea Doria was set at the yard No. 918 of the Ansaldo Shipyards in Genoa. On February 9, 1950, the keel was then brought to the Yard ramp No 1 and June 16, 1951, the Andrea Doria was launched. During the ceremony, the boat was blessed by Archbishop Cardinal Giuseppe Siri of Genoa, and christened by Mrs. Josephine Saragat, wife of former Minister of Mercantile Marine. Because problems with the machines during the first sea trials, the maiden voyage of the Andrea Doria was postponed from 14 December 1952-14 January 1953. During this trip the Andrea Doria met with intense storms, especially during approach to the continent of North America traveling to New York and accumulated much delay. Nevertheless, he arrived at their destination on January 23 and received a delegation led by the mayor of New York, Vincent R. Impellitteri. Later, the Andrea Doria picked up the long-awaited and deserved consensus, making this one of the most famous ships of the time. It became famous for punctuality and for the huge demand for tickets of passage by a growing clientele who wanted to cross the ocean traveling aboard the beautiful and elegant Italian ship, traveling that is always full.
(Excerpt from Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia)
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