The essay introduces the work of the painter Anselmo Bucci for the outfitting of three ships of the Navigazione Libera Triestina company, Timavo, Duchessa d’Aosta and California, built between the second and third decade of the 20th century. In the first part, the author presents, through unpublished documents from the painter’s archive, the controversial acceptance, the debate of the critics and the relations with the client of Bucci’s work. In fact, the interiors designed by the painter are placed in the climate of the renewal of the decorative practice but are rich in historical and vernacular formal references. The second part analyzes the furnishings of the three ships, in relation to the complexity of the pictorial, plastic and architectural work. The author summarizes the spatial integration of the decorative elements of this interesting and little-known episode of ship furnishings, between modernity and traditionalism.
