Tomorrow: Staten Island’s Noble Maritime Museum Presents Lecture By Researcher, Diver John Moyer: Exploring The Andrea Doria

Exploring the Andrea Doria, a lecture by researcher and diver John Moyer at the Noble Maritime Collection on April 2nd

Noble Maritime Collection presents Exploring the Andrea Doria, a lecture by researcher and diver John Moyer

STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK —The Noble Maritime Collection will present Exploring the Andrea Doria, a free lecture by researcher and diver John Moyer at the museum on Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 2 PM.

John Moyer, Salvor in Possession of the Andrea Doria, will present a program about the history of diving to the wreck of the famous Italian ocean liner, which sank upon its approach to New York after being struck by the Swedish liner Stockholm on July 25, 1956.

John Moyer recovering ceramic sculptural panels by artist Guido Gambone (1909-1969) from the Andrea Doria; photograph by Bill Campbell, courtesy of John Moyer.

Moyer’s work and collection are featured in the Noble Maritime Collection’s current exhibition, Andrea Doria: Rescue at Sea, on view through September 3, 2023.

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Moyer will discuss the dangers of exploring the Andrea Doria, which is often called “the Mount Everest of wreck diving,” and the earliest dive made just a day after the sinking. Moyer’s first dive was in 1982, and through numerous subsequent expeditions, he and a team of divers have recovered significant artifacts including the ship’s bell—which is on view in the museum’s exhibition—as well as two massive ceramic sculptural panels by artist Guido Gambone (1909–1969).

Moyer will also share newly captured video of the Andrea Doria recorded during his most recent expedition via remote operated vehicle in August 2022.

The Italian Line flagship SS Andrea Doria off the coast of Italy, c. 1953; public domain.

In 1993, Moyer was awarded an Admiralty Arrest in U.S. Federal Court, which named him Salvor in Possession of the wreck. In the ruling, the judge stated that Moyer’s “…research and archeological documentation of his effort indicate a respect for the Andrea Doria as something more than just a commercial salvage project.”

His reverence for the Andrea Doria and the tragedy that befell her passengers and crew has earned him the respect of her survivors, including Pierette Domenica Simpson, an author and filmmaker with whom he frequently collaborates, including on the museum’s exhibition.

The Andrea Doria near the final moments of her sinking on July 26, 1956. Photo by Harry A. Trask; public domain.

Moyer began diving shipwrecks in 1975, and has made numerous dives around the world, including on the wrecks of the ocean liner Empress of Ireland and the ironclad Civil War-era USS Monitor.

He wrote an article called “A Conservator’s Reflections on the Andrea Doria” published by Global Underwater Explorers, and co-authored the paper “The Decay of the Andrea Doria” published by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.

The Noble Maritime Collection, located in Building D, a former mariners’ dormitory at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, New York, is open from 12 until 5 PM, Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is by donation.

Installation of the Andrea Doria: Rescue at Sea exhibition at the Noble Maritime Collection, first view; photo by Michael McWeeney.

For more information, call (718) 447-6490 or visit noblemaritime.org.

The Noble Maritime Collection’s public programs are supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; and grants from the Lily Auchincloss Foundation and the Investors Foundation.

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Installation of the Andrea Doria: Rescue at Sea exhibition at the Noble Maritime Collection, second view; photo by Michael McWeeney

The Andrea Doria: Rescue at Sea exhibition was made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; a Humanities New York SHARP Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal American Rescue Plan Act*; and by a grant from the Lily Auchincloss Foundation. (*Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.)

Banner Image: John Moyer with the recovered panels; photograph by Steve Gatto. Image Credit – John Moyer

Ciro Galeno

The mission of the Noble Maritime Collection, an art and history museum in Staten Island, New York, is to present exhibitions and programs that celebrate the working waterfront of New York Harbor in the tradition of distinguished artist John A. Noble (1913-1983), and to preserve Robbins Reef Lighthouse and the history of Sailors’ Snug Harbor.