One of Italy's great passenger shipping companies, Lloyd Triestino Societa di Navigazione built seven fine motor liners in the early 1950s for their long distance trades from Italy. It was the "Golden Age" of the combination liner, and they were among the most beautiful of the type ever built.
The first trio were named Australia, Neptunia and Oceania, which were assigned to the Australia service via Suez. However, the migration trade soon outgrew their capacity, and in 1963 they were transferred to the Italian Line for service to South America.
The final pair were the Asia and Victoria for the exotic month long Far East run from Italy's Adriatic ports to Egypt, Yemen, Pakistan, India, Indonesia (most sailings), Singapore and Hong Kong.
They earned an envied reputation for fine accommodations, good food and attentive service. Fully air-conditioned and with private or shared facilities in most or all cabins, the Africa, Europa, Asia and Victoria were perhaps overall the best equipped ocean liners on their routes.
With the closure of the Suez Canal in 1967, all of the Lloyd Triestino liners had to detour around South Africa to reach the Indian Ocean. The Galileo Galilei and Guglielmo Marconi were frequently routed homeward via the Panama Canal, attracting around-the-world and port-to-port travelers. But the limited appeal of the longer routes, combined with airline and container ship competition, eventually ended the services altogether.
Sample minimum one-way fares from Genoa to Sydney: First class $603; Tourist class $531; from Trieste to Cape Town: First class $379; Tourist class $295; from Trieste to Hong Kong: First class $605; Tourist class $423; All fares are per person in U.S. dollars.
Go to Lloyd Triestino sailing schedules or select schedules by ship below:
![]() Galileo Galilei Built: 1963 by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
![]() Guglielmo Marconi Built: 1963 by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
![]() Africa Built: 1952 by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
![]() Europa Built: 1952 by Ansaldo SpA, La Spezia, Italy Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
![]() Asia Built: 1953 by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Trieste, Italy Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
![]() Victoria Built: 1953 by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico, Trieste, Italy Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |