The 1799 Bourbon Fleet Sunk in Naples Harbour and the Flora Corvette Shipwreck

On October 2016, during a geophysical survey in the Naples harbour aimed at evaluating its geo-archaeological potential, a wooden-hulled shipwreck was found along with a large amount of wreckage material. Cartographic evidence and preliminary underwater survey of the shipwreck have led its identification as the corvette Flora, which was deliberately burned 8 January 1799, along with five other ships and about 100 minor vessels of the Bourbon fleet before the French army arrived in Naples. This represents the first find and in situ underwater observation of an 18th-century sailing vessel in the bay of Naples. Our research contributes to knowledge of the events that led to the destruction of the fleet in 1799 and provides new, still preliminary, insights into the construction details of Bourbon vessels.