The voyage of the Santa Maria di Porto Salvo

A shipment of merchandise loaded in Naples and intended for Genoa. The vessel departed from the port of Naples in the evening of 16 October 1721 under a moonlit sky. As the vessel passed near the coastal area near the Garigliano River, it was suddenly struck by a violent south-east wind accompanied of lightning and increasingly stormy seas. The wind pushed the ship toward the mouth of the Garigliano River, where the storm intensified, forcing the crew to reduce sail to the small mainsail and fight to stay afloat. The vessel was swamped by waves that crashed over the deck on two occasions, and it took on so much water that the crew feared for their lives. In order to lighten the ship and avoid sinking, the crew jettisoned the cargo overboard. The vessel made an emergency landing nearby where the patron called for the local consul to witness the condition of the cargo and record the damage. It then continued northward and entered the port of Anzio on 18 October, seeking refuge and formal testimony of the damages.