Vintage Model of a Vessle Atlantic Carrack Handmade Italy '900 - Italy, XX Century

Notes historical bibliographic

The carrack was a large sailing ship with three or four masts and a bowsprit developed in Europe during the so-called "Age of Discovery". An evolution of the ancient Northern European cog via the nau used by the Portuguese and Genoese along the routes that connected the Mediterranean Sea to the ports of the Baltic, the carrack became the main seagoing vessel in the 16th century, used by the Portuguese for long voyages to the Indian Ocean. It was supplanted during the 17th century by the galleon which had evolved from the carrack. In its fully evolved form, the carrack was the first ship suitable for long ocean voyages, wide enough to face rough seas and spacious enough to carry sufficient provisions. It had a high and rounded stern, with a very pronounced quarterdeck and bowsprit, and a bow reinforced by a castle. The masts, of different heights, mounted a square sail in front (mainmast and foremast) and a lateen on the mizzen mast. As the direct ancestor of the galleon, the carrack was one of the most important ship types in history and maintained its shape, except for slight evolutionary changes, over the centuries.