Built in 1957, Adriatica Lines’ 11,879 gross ton SS AUSONIA was one of the finest looking Italian liners of the post war, if not any era.  With her elegantly finned funnel and curvaceous lines, she was a miniature combination of the ANDREA DORIA/CRISTOFORO COLOMBO and the LEONARDO DA VINCI, both internally and externally. Her designer was the masterful Nino Zoncada, who employed the same magical cabal of artists (Luzzati, Majoli, Marangoni, Mascherini, Zufi and Paulucci) who fashioned work for the majority of the important post war liners and cruise ships.  As built, she carried three classes of passengers on Adriatica’s Trieste to Beirut (via Egypt) run and did some occasional cruises.

 

Adriatica shut down its services in 1977 but the much-loved AUSONIA found new work under the short-lived Italian Cruises International banner for a year until sold to Grimaldi-Siosa Line, who gave the ship an extensive, two stage modernization by extending her fore and after superstructure and adding a bulbous bow.  Through 1998, she remained a popular cruise ship in the European market.

 

In 1998, Cyprus-based Louis Cruises purchased AUSONIA and refitted her for charter under the First Choice Cruises banner.  By 2003, the ship was sailing under the Louis banner on inexpensive Mediterranean and Aegean itineraries.

 

In 2007, she was chartered to Golden Star Cruises and renamed AEGEAN tWO and then returned to Louis as THE IVORY until she was finally sold for scrapping in 2009.

 

Although AUSONIA was modernized over the years, much of her original artwork and many of her fittings were still on board when she was delivered to the scrappers in India as the WINNER 5 in early 2010.