Galata Maritime Museum is named after a base established by the Genovese at the port of Istanbul. It was the heart of the republic’s arsenal. Weapons were forged and stored here, but it was most important for the construction of the galleys, the ships which Genoa send to defend its power at sea. The exhibition, arranged on four floors, logically starts with the large Galea. Spectacular reconstructions of ships and historic scenes, multimedia stations and spectacular audio-visual effects complete the wealth of nautical instruments, atlases, nautical maps, arms and antique pictures on show.