View source for Italian corvette Magenta

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:Corvetta Magenta.jpg
|Ship image size=300px
|Ship caption=''Magenta'' in port
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name={{lang|it|Magenta}}
|Operators=
*[[Tuscan Navy]]
*{{lang|it|[[Regia Marina]]}} (Royal Navy)
|Class before={{ship|Italian corvette|San Giovanni||2}}
|Class after={{ship|Italian corvette|Etna||2}}
|Total ships completed=1
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header=
| Ship country=
| Ship flag=
| Ship builder=
| Ship laid down=1859
| Ship launched=18 July 1862
| Ship completed=1863
| Ship fate=Broken up, 1875
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type= [[Screw corvette]]
|Ship displacement= {{cvt|2669|LT|lk=on}}
|Ship length= {{cvt|67.1|m|ftin}} [[long overall|loa]]
|Ship beam={{cvt|12.9|m|ftin}}
|Ship draft={{cvt|5.9|m|ftin}}
|Ship propulsion=
*1 × [[marine steam engine]]
*1 × [[screw propeller]]
|Ship power=
*2 × [[fire-tube boiler]]s
*{{cvt|1900|ihp}}
|Ship speed={{convert|10|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=308
|Ship armament=
*2 × {{cvt|200|mm}} [[howitzer]]s
*4 × {{cvt|160|mm}} [[rifling|rifled]] guns
*14 × 40-pound [[smoothbore]] guns
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''''Magenta''''' was a [[screw corvette]], originally of the [[Tuscan Navy]], which was later incorporated into the Italian {{lang|it|[[Regia Marina]]}} during the [[unification of Italy]]. The ship was built in the late 1850s and early 1860s; by the time she was completed, Italy had unified and so she only served in the {{lang|it|Regia Marina}}. She made a circumnavigation of the globe, which lasted from 1865 to 1868, making her the first Italian vessel to do so. The voyage included diplomatic missions to China and Japan, along with scientific explorations and surveys. She saw little service thereafter, and was [[laid up]] in 1875 and [[ship breaking|broken up]] that same year.
==Design==
''Magenta'' was {{cvt|63.7|m}} [[long between perpendiculars]] and {{cvt|67.1|m|ftin}} [[long overall]], and a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{cvt|12.9|m|ftin}}. She [[draft (hull)|drew]] up to {{cvt|5.9|m|ftin}}. She had a [[displacement (ship)|displacement]] of {{convert|2552|MT|LT|order=flip|lk=on}} at [[normal displacement|normally]] and {{convert|2669|LT}} at [[full load]]. Her [[hull (watercraft)|hull]] was constructed with wood and [[copper sheathing|sheathed with copper]] to protect the wood from marine [[biofouling]]. The ship had a crew of 308&nbsp;officers and enlisted men.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=336}}{{sfn|Magenta}}
The ship was propelled by a single [[marine steam engine]] that drove a [[screw propeller]]. Steam was provided by a pair of [[fire-tube boiler]]s that were vented through a single [[funnel (ship)|funnel]]. The ship had a top speed of {{convert|10|kn}} under steam, and the propulsion system was rated to produce {{convert|1900|ihp|lk=in}}. She was fitted with a three-[[mast (sailing)|masted]] [[square rig]] to supplement the steam engine on long voyages overseas.{{sfn|Magenta}}
She was armed with a [[main battery]] of twenty guns.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=336}} These consisted of four {{cvt|160|mm}} [[rifling|rifled]] guns, two {{cvt|200|mm}} [[howitzer]]s, and fourteen 40-pounder [[smoothbore]] guns.{{sfn|Magenta}}
==Service history==
The [[keel]] for {{lang|it|Magenta}} was [[keel laying|laid down]] in 1859 at the [[Medici Arsenal]] in [[Livorno]] for the [[Tuscan Navy]].{{sfn|Magenta}} She was [[ship launching|launched]] on 18 July 1862,{{sfn|Der Volksfreund|p=222}} by which time Tuscany had been absorbed into the newly created [[Kingdom of Italy]].{{sfn|Fraccaroli|pp=335–336}} At her launching ceremony, the ship had to be lowered slowly into the water, as the narrow confines of the [[Port_of_Livorno#Vecchia_Darsena|Vecchia Darsena]], where she had been built, prevented a traditional [[slipway]] launching; to have done so would have allowed the unfinished ship to crash into the sea wall on the opposite side of the harbor. Instead, she had to be lowered by chains. The work lasted some six hours, and during the operation, one of the chains snapped and killed one of the shipyard workers and wounded several other men.{{sfn|Der Volksfreund|p=222}} {{lang|it|Magenta}} was completed in 1863 and entered service with the {{lang|it|[[Regia Marina]]}} (Royal Navy).{{sfn|Magenta}}
{{lang|it|Magenta}} had been sent to South American waters by 1864. The Italian Navy, and the [[Royal Sardinian Navy]] before it, maintained a small [[squadron (naval)|squadron]] there to protect Italian commercial interests. The unit also included the [[paddle steamer]] {{ship|Italian corvette|Ercole||2}} and the [[gunboat]] {{ship|Italian gunboat|Veloce||2}}. {{lang|it|Magenta}} and {{lang|it|Ercole}} were stationed in [[Río de la Plata]], which forms the border of Argentina and Uruguay, while {{lang|it|Ercole}} was stationed in [[Buenos Aires]], Argentina. The [[screw frigate]] {{ship|Italian frigate|Principe Umberto||2}} was also in the region on a training cruise.{{sfn|Streffleur|p=155}}
===Circumnavigation===
[[File:Magenta Giglioli.PNG|thumb|Sketch of {{lang|it|Magenta}}]]
From 1865 to 1868, {{lang|it|Magenta}} went on a major cruise around the world,{{sfn|Becker|p=38}} under the command of Frigate Captain [[Vittorio Arminjon]].{{sfn|Coco|p=2}} {{lang|it|Magenta}} was the first Italian ship to circumnavigate the globe.{{sfn|Magenta}} The ship carried several passengers during the voyage, including a diplomatic delegation that was to be the first Italian mission to [[Qing China]]; the group was meant to establish trading relations with China and Japan on the trip.{{sfn|Coco|p=2}} The mission to Japan had particular importance, as the Italians sought to import [[silkworm]]s to replace the previously imported worms that had been devastated by disease in the early 1860s.{{sfn|Beauchamp|p=144}} She also had several scientists aboard, among them the anthropologist and zoologist [[Enrico Hillyer Giglioli]] and the scientist [[Filippo De Filippi]].{{sfn|Becker|p=38}}{{sfn|Cresciani|p=41}}
Because {{lang|it|Magenta}} was already in South America, the diplomats and scientists traveled from [[Naples]], Italy, aboard the steamers {{SS|Regina||2}} and {{SS|Ordita||2}}, departing on 8 November 1865 and arriving in [[Montevideo]], Uruguay, on 5 January.{{sfn|Becker|p=38}} {{lang|it|Magenta}} met the vessels there to embark the group of scientists and diplomats. She then proceeded around the [[Cape of Good Hope]] in southern Africa. After passing through the Indian Ocean and entering the Pacific in 1866, {{lang|it|Magenta}} made stops at the British colony of [[Singapore]] and then [[Saigon]] in [[French Cochinchina]].{{sfn|Becker|p=38}} The ship next sailed for Japan, arriving in [[Edo]] on 5 July. The ship remained in Japan for the next two months,{{sfn|Becker|p=38}} and Arminjon and the diplomats met with representatives of the Japanese government.{{sfn|Coco|pp=2–3}} On 1 September, she departed Japan for [[Shanghai]], China, and then later sailed north, entered the [[Yangtze]] River, and then anchored in the [[Bohai Sea]].{{sfn|Becker|p=38}} While in China, Arminjon signed the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with the Qing government.{{sfn|Coco|pp=2–3}} While the ship was in [[Hong Kong]], China, Filippi died. After departing China, {{lang|it|Magenta}} was damaged in a [[typhoon]] and had to stop in [[Java]] in the [[Dutch East Indies]] for repairs that lasted a month.{{sfn|Becker|p=38}}
By May 1867, {{lang|it|Magenta}} had sailed to visit Australia and New Zealand, including a month-long stay in [[Sydney]].{{sfn|Becker|p=38}} During her period in Australian waters, she conducted an extensive survey of the island of [[Tasmania]].{{sfn|Cresciani|p=41}} She attempted to stop in [[Auckland]], New Zealand, but contrary winds prevented her from entering the harbor. Instead, {{lang|it|Magenta}} then continued across the south Pacific, bound for [[Lima]], Peru. The ship sailed south for [[Valparaiso]], Chile, on 23 August, arriving there a month later on 25 September.{{sfn|Becker|p=38}} She then passed through the [[Straits of Magellan]] late in the year. While the ship cruised in South American waters, Giglioli made extensive observations of whales and dolphins. {{lang|it|Magenta}} also carried out hydrographic surveys of the treacherous waters in the Straits of Magellan, which were not well documented at the time.{{sfn|della Croce|pp=206–207}} The ship arrived back in Montevideo on 17 December. She sailed north to Buenos Aires, but was unable to dock there due to an outbreak of [[cholera]] in the city. On 2 January 1868, the ship got underway to return to Italy. She passed the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] on 15 September and anchored in Naples on 28 September, arriving to little public fanfare, which surprised Giglioli, who remarked that "it was as if the ship had come back from [[Cagliari]]."{{sfn|Becker|p=38}}
In addition to the observations made by Giglioli and the other scientists and the hydrographic surveys conducted in South American waters, {{lang|it|Magenta}} also brought back twenty-five boxes of valuable items for display in Italian museums. Giglioli later noted that {{lang|it|Magenta}} carried too many guns for the expedition, which was intended to be a peaceful mission, and they took up space that could have been more useful to store additional maps and scientific instruments.{{sfn|Becker|pp=39–39}}
===Later career===
By October 1871, {{lang|it|Magenta}} was based in [[Venice]], along with several other smaller vessels, including the screw corvette {{ship|Italian corvette|San Giovanni||2}}.{{sfn|Dupont|p=427}} The Italian government sought to establish a penal colony on the island of [[Borneo]] in the Pacific in the early 1870s, and in 1872, a plan was formulated to send the vessels ''Cambria'' and {{lang|it|Citta di Napoli}} with {{lang|it|Magenta}} as an escort. Preparations were begun for the voyage,{{sfn|London and China Telegraph|p=753}} but British objections to the plan led to its cancellation, however.{{sfn|Tarling|p=54}} In 1873, the ship visited [[Tenedos]] in the [[Ottoman Empire]].{{sfn|Armingen|p=318}} In 1875, the ship was [[laid up]] and thereafter [[ship breaking|broken up]] for [[scrap]].{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=336}}{{sfn|Magenta}}
==Notes==
{{reflist|20em}}
==References==
* {{cite journal
|editor-last=Armingen
|editor-first=Friedrich Geitler
|title=Ausland
|trans-title=Overseas
|page=318
|journal=Neue Militär-Zeitung
|trans-journal=New Military Newspaper
|language=de
|location=Vienna
|date=21 May 1873
|number=41
|oclc=224831739
|ref={{sfnref|Armingen}}
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Beauchamp
|first=Edward R.
|title=Foreign Employees In Nineteenth Century Japan
|location=Boulder
|publisher=Westview Press
|year=1990
|isbn=9780813375557
|ref={{sfnref|Beauchamp}}
}}
* {{cite journal
|editor-last=Becker
|editor-first=M. A.
|journal=Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Geographischen Gesellschaft
|trans-journal=Announcements from the Austrian Geographical Society
|lang=de
|year=1869
|volume=XII
|title=Bulletino della Societa Geografica Italiana. Anno I. Fascicolo I. Agosto
|trans-title=Bulletin of the Italian Geographical Society. Year I. Issue I. August
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ThM_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA38
|pages=37–40
|location=Vienna
|publisher=Verlag der Geographischen Gesellschaft
|ref={{sfnref|Becker}}
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Coco
|first=Orazio
|title=Sino-Italian Political and Economic Relations: From the Treaty of Friendship to the Second World War
|location=Abingdon
|publisher=Routledge
|year=2024
|isbn=9781003844969
|ref={{sfnref|Coco}}
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Cresciani
|first=Gianfranco
|title=The Italians in Australia
|year=2003
|location=Cambridge
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|isbn=978-0-521-53778-0
|ref={{SfnRef|Cresciani}}
}}
* {{cite book
|last=della Croce
|first=Norberto
|chapter=Italian Contributions to the Knowledge of the Southeast Pacific Ocean
|pages=204–209
|title=Oceanographic History: The Pacific and Beyond
|editor-first1=Keith Rodney
|editor-last1=Benson
|editor-first2=Philip F.
|editor-last2=Rehbock
|year=2002
|location=Seattle
|publisher=University of Washington Press
|isbn=9780295982397
|ref={{SfnRef|della Croce}}
}}
* {{cite journal
|editor-last=Dupont
|editor-first=Paul
|title=Notes sur La Marine Et Les Ports Militaires de L'Italie
|trans-title=Notes on the Navy and Military Ports of Italy
|pages=415–430
|journal=La Revue Maritime et Coloniale
|trans-journal=The Naval and Colonial Review
|lang=fr
|year=1872
|volume=XXXII
|location=Paris
|publisher=Imprimerie Administrative de Paul Dupont
|ref={{sfnref|Dupont}}
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=75QIiiFbe5kC&pg=PA426
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Fraccaroli
|first=Aldo
|editor-last=Gardiner
|editor-first=Robert
|chapter=Italy
|pages=334–359
|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905
|year=1979
|location=London
|publisher=Conway Maritime Press
|isbn=978-0-85177-133-5
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2
|ref={{sfnref|Fraccaroli}}
}}
* {{cite news
|title=Italien
|trans-title=Italy
|pages=221–222
|newspaper=Der Volksfreund
|trans-newspaper=The Peoples' Friend
|lang=de
|date=29 July 1862
|ref={{sfnref|Der Volksfreund}}
}}
* {{cite web
|title=Magenta: Corvetta ad elica di I° ordine
|trans-title=Magenta: 1st Rank Screw Corvette
|lang=it
|url=https://www.marina.difesa.it/noi-siamo-la-marina/mezzi/mezzi-storici/Pagine/LMNO/magenta.aspx
|website=marina.difesa.it
|access-date=16 December 2023
|ref={{sfnref|Magenta}}
}}
* {{cite news
|title=Naval and Military
|newspaper=The London and China Telegraph
|volume=XIV
|number=478
|date=28 October 1872
|location=London
|publisher=James West
|pages=751–753
|ref={{sfnref|London and China Telegraph}}
}}
* {{cite journal
|editor-last=Streffleur
|editor-first=V.
|journal=Östreichische militärische Zeitschrift
|trans-journal=Austrian Military Magazine
|lang=de
|title=Italia Militare
|pages=155–158
|location=Vienna
|publisher=Druck und Commission Verlag
|year=1865
|volume=III
|ref={{sfnref|Streffleur}}
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Tarling
|first=Nicholas
|year=2004
|title=Imperialism in Southeast Asia
|location=London
|publisher=Routledge
|isbn=9781134570829
|ref={{sfnref|Tarling}}
}}
{{Italian screw corvettes}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magenta}}
[[Category:1862 ships]]
[[Category:Corvettes of the Regia Marina]]
[[Category:Ships built in Italy]]