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Municipal Nautical Museum of El Masnou

Navigation

Navigation.

Navigation.

The increase in navigation in the second half of the 18th century created a demand for qualified professionals, so the number of teaching centres increased in the coastal towns of the Maresme and Barcelona.

Pilots needed knowledge of sailing, astronomy, languages, legislation and the way to handle different boats around the coast. They needed to be able to make mathematical and physical calculations to determine the distances and times involved in navigation. Science has always sought to provide mariners with instruments to make their voyages safer and more reliable.

The Museum has a collection of these instruments: logbooks, nautical charts, port books, diaries, sextants, octants, a sun quadrant...

The brothers Jaume, Josep and Pere Villà i Serra, from Vilassar, set up a private school in El Masnou in 1860, known as Estudis de Vilassar.

At the request of the El Masnou town council, the University of Barcelona authorised the creation of the Escuela Libre de Náutica on the 27th November 1869, which was declared a ’public institution’.

Maintaining the school proved too demanding for the council, who voted for its closure, which became effective in 1881. The students of El Masnou enrolled at the Escola Nàutica de Barcelona.

OBJECTS

<p>Sundial, end of the 18th century.&nbsp;Municipal Nautical Museum of El Masnou.</p>

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Sundial
Sundial
<p>Half-hull model ship.&nbsp;Municipal Nautical Museum of El Masnou.</p>

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Half-hull model ship
Half-hull model ship
<p><em>&nbsp;&rsquo;Guayaquil&rsquo; corvette</em>, Josep Pineda Guerra, 1892, paint on paper.&nbsp;Municipal Nautical Museum of El Masnou.</p>

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'Guayaquil’ corvette
'Guayaquil’ corvette
<p>Model<em>&nbsp;the &lsquo;Villa del Masnou&rsquo;</em>, 20th century.&nbsp;Municipal Nautical Museum of El Masnou.</p>

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Model of the ‘Villa del Masno
Model of the ‘Villa del Masnou’
<p>Recreation of a ship&rsquo;s captain&rsquo;s cabin.&nbsp;Municipal Nautical Museum of El Masnou.</p>

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The Captain’s Cabin
The Captain’s Cabin
<p>Medicine container, late 19th - early 20th centuries.&nbsp;Municipal Nautical Museum of El Masnou.</p>

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Homeopathic medicine container
Homeopathic medicine container
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