For as long as people have sailed the high seas, ships have sunk and gone to the bottom. But some have disappeared without a trace. This happens despite continual improvements in shipbuilding and marine engineering. There are no distress calls, wreckage, or survivors ever found. The USS Cyclops is arguably one of the most famous of these, having vanished in the Bermuda Triangle in March 1918. The MS Antonia Graza is probably a close second. She – and her 627 passengers and 500 crewmembers – simply disappeared on May 21, 1962.
“The Beauty”
The Antonia Graza was operated by the Italian Line and part of a trio of new, state-of-the-art ocean liners. These ships would especially help revitalize Italy’s merchant navy after the devastation of World War II. The Ansaldo Shipyard in Genoa, Italy built all three liners. They were to be called Andrea Doria, Cristoforo Colombo, and Antonia Graza. Sadly, like the White Star Line’s Olympic-class liners, only one of these ships would avoid disaster and have a long career.
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Marine engineers studied the Doria and Colombo’s first years of service and found where they could make improvements on the Graza. Because of this, the new liner was slightly larger than her sisters at 32,666 GRT. Interestingly, diesel engines were installed instead of steam turbines. It’s quite possible that this was an attempt to improve the systems featured on the older Saturnia and Vulcania. In any case, the Graza’s diesel engines gave her a top speed of 25.5 knots. By the time the ship was launched on October 25, 1954, she was already being hailed as the pinnacle of Italian shipbuilding. As with her older sisters, the Italian Line spared no expense in outfitting the Antonia Graza. Artists from all over the world worked on the ship’s lavish interiors, earning her the nickname of La bellezza, or “the Beauty.”
The Antonia Graza left Genoa on her maiden voyage on October 31, 1955. Under the command of Captain Roberto Ruggiero, La bellezza was met with tremendous fanfare wherever she went. The ship was immediately popular with passengers and quickly became known as a happy ship. The Italian Line kept up interest in the Graza with an aggressive advertising campaign her first years. Along with Andrea Doria and Cristoforo Colombo, Antonia Graza restored the Italian Line to its pre-World War II eminence. However, these happy times wouldn’t last long.
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Disaster struck on July 26, 1956 when Andrea Doria sank following a collision with the Swedish American Line’s MS Stockholm. Although being built with the most modern safety features available, the Swedish ship’s reinforced bow nevertheless sliced into the Doria’s hull like butter. Fatally wounded, the Andrea Doria eventually foundered. A total of 51 people lost their lives in the disaster. Despite this, though, the greatest maritime rescue operation n history saved 1,663 from the stricken ship. But Cristoforo Colombo and Antonia Graza continued by themselves until a new ship, Leonardo da Vinci, joined them in 1960. Despite this, things were never quite the same after the Andrea Doria sank. The city of Genoa mourned deeply, and the mood on the Antonia Graza dampened just a bit.
Last Voyage
The Antonia Graza left Genoa for the last time on May 14, 1962. Captain Roberto Ruggiero was once again in command, as he had been since the ship’s maiden voyage nearly seven years before. His quiet, good-natured affability belied a man who’d spent a lifetime at sea and served the Royal Italian Navy in two world wars. Ruggiero was a master mariner who exuded confidence and competence. He was known for his clear-headed leadership. There was perhaps no better man to command the Antonia Graza. As the liner departed, Captain Ruggiero waved goodbye to his wife, Bianca, and two teenage daughters, Sofia and Aria, from the starboard docking wing. None of them could’ve known what was to happen in just a few days.
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As usual, Antonia Graza stopped to pick up passengers in Cannes, Naples, and Gibraltar. Francesca Gancio Rimina, known mononymously as Francesca, boarded in Naples. The American comedy duo Allen and Rossi wanted her to star in an upcoming film called Ghost Ship! As was common with many entertainers at the time, Francesa performed for her fellow passengers on the voyage. In Gibraltar, 12-year-old Katherine Harwood boarded the Graza. The daughter of media mogul Sir Kenneth Harwood and his wife Alice, she was on her way to join her parents in New York City. The Graza’s purser promised to look after Katherine during the trip, as did Captain Ruggiero. Even with the additional passengers, the Antonia Graza was only at about 50% capacity. Jet airliners were rising in popularity, and the age of ocean liners was coming to an end. The Italian Line and its competitors just didn’t realize it yet.
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On May 19, the Norddeutscher Lloyd liner SS Lorelei sent out a distress call at 8:17 am. There were no further messages. Being the closest ship available, Captain Ruggiero acknowledged and sailed the Antonia Graza north to the stricken Lorelei. Other ships acknowledged the distress call too. Given that the Graza was only half full and significantly faster than the other ships, it was decided to let her handle the rescue solo. At 3:13 pm, Captain Ruggiero messaged that only one passenger on the Lorelei was alive. There was apparently no sign of anybody else aboard the vessel. Captain Ruggiero indicated that Antonia Graza would resume her route to New York.
Two days later, on May 21, Antonia Graza’s radio traffic suddenly ceased at 6:32 pm. No distress call preceded this. At the time, experts believed that her communication systems broke down. But when the Graza failed to arrive in New York the following day, people knew that something terrible had happened. A massive air and sea search was launched, but no sign of the Italian ship was ever found. The disappearance made headlines across the world. For the second time in under a decade, Genoa was rocked by tragedy. Pope John XXIII led a mass at the Vatican and expressed his condolences to the families of the missing passengers and crew. Many other world leaders followed.
Antonia Graza had vanished without a trace.
A Lingering Mystery
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Since 1962, there’s been much speculation about what happened to the Antonia Graza. The commonly accepted theory is that the ship fell victim to a massive rogue wave, much like the SS Poseidon. Another theory is that Antonia Graza may have suffered from sudden, catastrophic engine room explosion and sank. Some conspiracy theorists thinks aliens had a hand in the disappearance. In 2002, rumors circulated that an independent salvage team had found the derelict Antonia Graza in the Bering Sea, but the US Coast Guard has never confirmed this.
We’ll never know for sure what happened to Antonia Graza. Her disappearance is just another mystery in the long history of seafaring. Expeditions in 1992 and 2001 sought to find the wreckage but came up empty handed. What is certain, however, is that 1,128 people aboard Antonia Graza (including the unknown Lorelei survivor) disappeared without a trace on May 21, 1962.
Final Thoughts
The Antonia Graza has been an obsession of mine for years. Her disappearance is a haunting story and it’s hard to believe that such an event ever happened. In fact, it didn’t. This whole story has been inspired by the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship starring Julianna Margulies, Gabriel Byrne, and Emily Browning. Happy April Fools’ Day!
All photographs in this post are either screenshots from the movie or production photos. I edited them to give them a vintage feel. The Antonia Graza painting came from an anonymous member of the Ghost Ship production team (Giacomo Miglio is the name that appears on the movie prop). Gian Rossi and Enrico Stefani also don’t exist. I’ve edited the vintage Italian Line posters too; they’re my first foray into Photoshop in years.
I had a lot of fun working on this (if you couldn’t tell). Ghost Ship is one of my favorite horror movies and I’ve had this idea for a long time. Many thanks to my wife, Teresa, for encouraging me to write this. Her cackling while reading the final draft was very rewarding!
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