Belem

designed and built in 1896 at the Dubigeon yard of Nantes, France, for the South Atlantic route between France and Latin America.

first owners were Denis Crouan Fils & de Lagotellerie, of Nantes, brought coal from Cardiff to ports on the River Plate and cacao from Belem in Brazilia to France.

1907 sold to Demanges Frères who employed her to deliver food and supplies from France to the prison of Papillon fame in French Guyana, at all she made 10 of these voyages.

sold another time but still to trade across the Atlantic, after a total of 32 transatlantic voyages she was finally retired from trade in 1914.

sold to Duke of Westminster for conversion to a private yacht, spent the war years at the Camper & Nicholsons yard at Gosport, England, fitted with the first twin auxiliary engines, cruised in the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1921.

1921 sold to Lord A.E. Guinness, renamed the "Fantome II", sailed around the world and completed many cruises to the Mediterranean and Arctic, after the death of Guinness in 1939 the barque was laid up at Cowes, Isle of Wight.

the vessel remained laid up during World War II, 1951 purchased by the Italian Count Vittorio Cini, who presented her the Cini Foundation of Venice, a school for sea orphans, re-rigged as a barkentine and renamed the "Giorgio Cini" in memory of Count's son, short cruises in the Adriatic until 1965, laid up for financial reasons.

bought by the Italian State police with the intention of using her as a cadet ship and for promoting the Service's image, taken to a shipyard in Venice for a major refit in 1972, because of unpaid bills the shipyard put her up for sale in 1974.

in 1979 she was bought by the French Savings Bank, the Caisses d'Epargne, renamed the "Belem", should be refitted and recommissioned as a civil training ship and for PR work, "Belem" avoided becoming a static museum ship, exhibited in Paris from 1982 to 1985 but restoration work was continued ending in sea trials in 1985.

1984 classified as historic monument (Monument Historique).

usually runs short public training cruises, 3 to 10 days in duration, from March to October, along the Western and Mediterranean coasts of France, took part in the 1986 Operation Sail in New York, participated in the Brest 2000 festival and took part in Sail Bremerhaven 2000.

from February to July 2002 the "Belem" will cross the Atlantic calling Vigo, Madeira, the Canneries, Dakar, Belem, some ports in the Caribbean including Saint-Pierre on the island Martinique, Bermuda, and the Azores.

2008 participation in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Québec/CAN.

in June 2012 participation in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, a parade of 670 ships on the Thames in London as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

2014 visit to Venice/ITA.

2016 120th anniversary in Nantes/FRA and participation in the Fêtes maritimes de Brest/FRA.

2017 participation in the 500th anniversary of the founding of Le Havre/FRA.

2019 participation in the Armada de Rouen/FRA.