The Shipwreck of Gnalić - Mirror of Renaissance World

Gagliana grossa, 1583

Period: Early Modern Age

Team members

Asst. Prof. Dr Irena Radić Rossi, Croatia, Department of Archaeology, University of Zadar
Dr Jose L. Casaban, Spain , Texas A&M University
Katarina Batur PhD candidate, Croatia, Department of Archaeology, University of Zadar
Suzana Čule PhD candidate, Croatia, University of Zadar
Mariangela Nicolardi PhD candidate, Italy, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Mauro Bondioli, ARS NAUTICA Institute for Maritime Herigate
Asst. Prof. Dr Nina Lončar, Croatia, Department of Geography, University of Zadar
Asst. Prof. Dr Nikola Mišković, Croatia, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb
Dr Neven Cukrov, Croatia, Division for marine and environmental research, Ruđer Bošković Institute
Dr Lovorka Čoralić, Croatia, Croatian Institute of History

Collaborators

Asst. Prof. Dr Tatjana Bakran-Petricioli, Croatia, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb
Dr Luka Boršić, Croatia, Institute of Philosophy
David Ruff PhD candidate, United States of America, Texas A&M University
Dr Josip Belamarić, Institute of Art History, Centre Cvito Fisković
Vedran Dorušić diving instructor, Croatia, Foka Ltd.

The shipwreck near the islet of Gnalić, not far from the coastal town of Biograd na Moru in Central Dalmatia (Croatia), is one of the most significant post-medieval shipwreck sites in the Mediterranean. Besides the wide range of interesting finds belonging to the ship’s equipment and cargo, which raised public interest in the late 1960s, recent archival research has yielded hundreds of documents revealing the exciting history of the ship and its rich political, economic, cultural and historical context. Built in Venice in 1569 for Benedetto da Lezze, Lazzaro Mocenigo and Piero Basadonna, captured by the famous Ottoman corsair Uluç Ali in 1571, and sold to Odoardo da Gagliano in Pera (Constantinople) in 1581, the ship sunk at Gnalić in early November 1583, loaded with precious cargo shipped from Venice to Constantinople. Among many interesting items of various provenance, the ship carried windowpanes ordered by Sultan Murad III, and precious gifts from the Venetian Senate intended for the Sultan’s mother Nūr Bānū. The Shipwreck of Gnalić – Mirror of Renaissance World project, directed by the University of Zadar, in collaboration with Texas A&M University and other Croatian and foreign institutions, focuses on the systematic interdisciplinary research of the site. It also aims at reconstruction of its comprehensive Late Renaissance context, through the numerous objects found and the various persons involved in its curious and intriguing story.

Virtual guided tour of exhibition: GNALIĆ - TREASURE OF A 16TH CENTURY SUNKEN SHIP
In Croatian History Museum.