Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando

It was founded by Luigi Orlando and his brothers Giuseppe, Paolo and Salvatore who moved to Livorno from Genoa where in 1858 they had the management of Ansaldo which produced marine machines and cannons, in 1861 they directed the factory to the construction of ships.

[1] Luigi Orlando on 31 August 1865 signed a thirty years concession for the buildings and the area of the former Lazzaretto di San Rocco (Saint Roch lazaret) which was transformed in an arsenal by Tommaso Mati in 1852.

The shipyard developed and built the gunboats Alfredo Cappellini (1868) and Faa di Bruno (1869) for the Regia Marina and on March 17, 1883 the most difficult launch was that of the ironclad Lepanto, on project by Benedetto Brin, because of the inadequacy of the dock.

In 1904 the shipyard merged into the group Società degli Alti Forni, Fonderie e Acciaierie di Terni changing the denomination in “Cantiere Navale Fratelli Orlando & C.”.

During World War I the shipyard built submarines, cruisers, destroyers and torpedo armed motorboats, and in 1925 the name was transformed in “Cantieri Navali Orlando Società Anonima”.

In the post-war period the Genoa management thought that the Livorno plant had to be closed, but the workers and the population decided to restore the facility, which was the main industry in town.

The shipyard slowed the production utilizing the Umbria slipway launching 13 Espresso-class ferries for Traghetti del Mediterraneo, ro-ro cargo, gas carriers and tankers.