Pandora, formerly Anna, is a rare wooden replica of a 19th-century postal vessel. Built in Russia in 1994 by the Grumant shipyard, she is rigged as a topsail schooner (goletta a gabbiole). In 1996 she reached the Mediterranean.
After being seized and sunk, Pandora was purchased at auction in Genoa, restored, and subsequently used for sail training cruises with students of the Italian Sail Training Association.
In 2007, 2010 and 2013 she won, respectively, the Mediterranean Tall Ships Race, the Garibaldi Tall Ships Regatta and the Lycamobile Mediterranean Tall Ships Regatta—international tall ship races organised by Sail Training International (STI).
Today, Pandora continues to sail under the pennant of the Traditional Sailing Association, of which she is the flagship. Each year, hundreds of children, teenagers and young graduates step aboard her deck, taking part in educational projects dedicated to sail training and life at sea.
Approximately 30 metres in length, Pandora resembles a vessel straight out of a maritime adventure film. Thanks to her striking features, she has been chosen as a floating film set for several productions, including Elisa di Rivombrosa, Hornblower—based on the novels by C. S. Forester—and Napoleon and Me by Paolo Virzì. In 2022, in Sicily, she also served as a set for the TV series The Lions of Sicily, directed by Paolo Genovese.
Although built just 30 years ago, Pandora has already experienced events more typical of vessels aged 70 or 80: long ocean voyages, abandonment by her crew, seizure, sinking, recovery, restoration and new adventures—many times over.
