Nemi Ships - Project Diana

Project Diana

Photographs, the drawings made for the Italian Navy survey and those made by the archaeologist G. Gatti survived, allowing reconstructions to be made of the two ships The Association Dianae Lacus (lake of Diana) was founded in 1995 to preserve the cultural and history of the Nemi Lake area and initiated Project Diana, which involves constructing a full size replica of the Roman prima nave (first ship) of Lake Nemi. As there is no record of the shape and size of the buildings and temples built on the deck the replica would be constructed to deck level only and when completed will be moored on the lake in front of the museum.

On July 18, 1998, the town council of Nemi voted to fund the construction of the forward section and work commenced in the Torre del Greco shipyards. This section was completed in 2001 with the section transported to the Nemi museum where the rest of the vessel would be constructed. The estimated final cost of the reconstruction is 7.2 million Euros (US$10.7 million). On November 15, 2003, Assimpresa, the second largest confederation of employers and businesses in Italy, announced it would sponsor the project by supplying all the timber required. No press releases have been made since 2004 and the Dianae Lacus website was deleted on October 1st, 2011.