The sustainability of the project took shape at two different scales: one on a territorial dimension employing local factories along the route between Mantua and Venice. These areas are traditionally employed in ship production and they benefit from traditional and well-established skills, starting with the SOGEMI shipyard, one of the few remaining in the Mantua lake district. On a smaller scale, a series of technical solutions lends the project a sustainability profile: excellent insulation, the exclusive use of LED illumination, and a heat recovery ventilation system all contribute to minimize energy expenditure. Ave Maria is the first river ship in Italy built following the new European safety prescriptions certified by Bureau Veritas.
A structural renovation project, the Ave Maria was born from the hull of a disused river-boat used to dredge the canals constructed in 1972. The first phase in the barge's renewal began with reshaping and restoring the hull and assembling a new internal iron plate structure designed to accommodate the functional parts of the project. The final result is a 41 meter-long and 7.5-meter wide ship. The embarcation deck, which also serve as cycle parking, leads to the interior of the boat: one side leads to the first cabin block, and on the other side to the kitchen and the hall, a large common space which, using a dynamic interior system, reconfigures according to the room's activities from mess hall to lounge space.
If the boat structure is divided between old hull and new hotel, its character is also dual.
Shipowner: VITAPUGNA srl
Project: traverso-vighy
Giovanni Traverso, Paola Vighy with Giulio Dalla Gassa, Sheerja Iyer, Elena Panza, Valentina Rossetto
Structural Engeneering: Ing. Luciano Disperdi, Ing. Stefano Signori
Certification: Bureau Veritas
Shipyard: SOGEMI srl
Electrical Plant: Marco Sabbatini
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