The essay presents for the first time the works of the artist Paolo De Poli created for the decoration of ships through the collaboration with architects Gio Ponti, Nino Zoncada, Gustavo Pulitzer, Matteo Longoni and others. The author conducted the research in the papers of the De Poli archive kept at the IUAV (University of Architecture of Venice), reconstructing the events that led to the orders of the works and their destination on board. Divided into eight thematic paragraphs, the essay examines Paolo De Poli’s activity under different aspects, determined by the destination and function of the on-board rooms, the integration with the architecture of the interiors and the experiences related to the creation of furnitures and individual items for on-board shops. The result is a complete reconstruction of Paolo De Poli’s activity linked to Italian ships.
