The Noble Maritime Collection of Staten Island is hosting the survivors’ reunion concurrently with the historic exhibition, Andrea Doria: Rescue at Sea with artifacts recovered by diver, collector and salvor in possession of the wreck, John Moyer. 

Andrea Doria survivors and family members will unite at the Noble Maritime Collection on Saturday, May 6 for the exhibition, a special program, and dinner, while remembering their survival of the most catastrophic collision in history between two ocean liners. The ramming of the Swedish MS Stockholm into the hull of the glamorous Italian liner, Andrea Doria took place on the foggy night of July 25, 1956. It has been dubbed as one of the most controversial sea disasters, as well as the greatest sea rescue in peacetime history.

The reunion is being spearheaded by survivor, author, filmmaker, Pierette Domenica Simpson, whose mission is to keep the Andrea Doria memory alive by publishing a nonfiction account and producing a docufilm. She explains, “I wrote, Alive on the Andrea Doria: The Greatest Sea Rescue in History and produced “Andrea Doria: Are the Passengers Saved” to basically correct history. Previous literature in every form did not have the scientific evidence which was later established by computer simulation in the 1970s at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy of New York. Due to the discrimination toward Italians post WWII, the captain and crew of the Italian liner were unjustly blamed for the collision. It has been my mission to correct a historical injustice, while being the gatekeeper of survivor stories.”

The survivors’ reunion, also attended by dignitaries, will include Ms. Simpson’s docufilm, “Andrea Doria: Are the Passengers Saved?”, a blessing by Monsignor Hilary Franco, author of Six Popes: A Son of the Church Remembers, who will recite “The Prayer of the Sea” offered at the Andrea Doria’s chapel, and survivors showing and describing precious items they were able to save during the dangerous rescue. Opera diva, Cristina Fontanelli, will sing “Arrivederci Roma”; a book signing by Ms. Simpson will follow, as well as a dinner Catered by Framboise with dishes gleaned from the ship’s menus.

Executive director of the Noble Maritime Collection welcomes the event. "The Board of Trustees and staff of the Noble Maritime Collection are honored to host the reunion of Andrea Doria survivors. We are grateful to them for entrusting us to tell their story in the museum's exhibition Andrea Doria: Rescue at Sea, which we curated with guidance from survivor Pierette Domenica Simpson. The Andrea Doria story is one that touches upon Italian design and postwar pride, immigration, great humanity and heroism at sea, and the preservation of maritime history—all of which are relevant to the museum's mission."

The story of the Andrea Doria-Stockholm collision continuously makes headlines. In January 2023, it was reported that the Stockholm, who’s last of many name changes was the Astoria, is destined for the scrapyard. Ms. Simpson exclaims, “It seems so ironic that the Stockholm would live a very long life after sinking a 3-year-old passenger ship. Those who have studied the story are taking a sigh of relief that no more showy photos of the Swedish cruise ship will remind them of its infamous past.”

For more detailed information about the Andrea Doria’s history and its tragic ending: https://noblemaritime.org/andrea-doria