Ship Modelers Database
Venetian ship San Vincenzo (1730)
Lost (destroyed by fire, 1752)
San Vincenzo was a large frigate (fregata grossa), also classed as a second-rank ship of the line, built for the navy of the Republic of Venice. She belonged to the Sant'Andrea class and was constructed at the famous Arsenal of Venice.
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Resources
+ Submit a resourceHistory & specifications
- Wikipedia: Angelo EmoWebsite
Biography of the Venetian admiral who served aboard San Vincenzo, providing service history detail including the 1758-59 Lisbon expedition and loss by fire.
- Wikipedia: List of sailing ships of the Venetian navyWebsite
Context on Venetian ship-of-the-line rating system (first, second, third rate) useful for understanding San Vincenzo's classification.
- Wikipedia: Venetian ship San VincenzoWebsite
Primary reference giving the ship's class, dimensions, armament configurations, and fate by fire in 1752.
History
Specifications
She displaced roughly 1,500 tons and could be fitted out in two configurations — as a large frigate carrying 20 x 30-pounder and 20 x 14-pounder guns, or as a second-rank ship of the line with 24 x 30-pounder, 24 x 14-pounder, and 8 x 12-pounder guns. This dual-role flexibility was typical of Venetian "fregata grossa" vessels of the period, which bridged the gap between dedicated frigates and full ships of the line.
Service history
Ordered in 1720 and laid down in 1722, she did not enter active service until 1730. In the late 1750s she served under a young Angelo Emo, later Venice's most celebrated 18th-century admiral, including a voyage to Lisbon in 1758-59 as part of a squadron protecting Venetian merchantmen from Barbary pirates; that cruise was marked by a severe mortality among her crew. She was lost on the night of 11 May 1752, destroyed by a fire that broke out while she was undergoing repairs at anchor in Govino Bay, Corfu.
Notable facts
The ship's loss by accidental fire during routine repairs, rather than in battle, was a common hazard for wooden sailing warships of the era and is the defining incident of her career. She is one of relatively few named Sant'Andrea-class vessels documented in surviving Venetian naval records, making her a useful but lesser-known subject for modelers interested in the Serenissima's 18th-century battle fleet.