The "paranza" is a small but striking boat with an ambiguous name, as it is often confused with fishing vessels, as well as with other, quite similar, Adriatic boats. Some paragraphs from the book "Velle Italiane della costa Occidentale (Bellabarba- Guerreri)" have been used and transcribed.
"As for the Adriatic, the construction of boats specifically called "paranza" in their shipyards (and which, therefore, were most likely the true paranzas) was active in Puglia, Molise, Abruzzo, and, as the northern limit, in Marche. In contrast, in the Upper Adriatic, and in Istria and Dalmatia, the term paranza was used, at least originally, only to indicate the fishing method, not a type of boat. In Puglia, in the early 1800s, the name "barca paranza" was used, and the fishing method was called "alla gaetana," which seems to confirm their Campanian origin. The boats were of different sizes: around 1850 there are boats from 10-11 to 28-30 tons; the exceptions are three paranzas of Barletta, which ranged between 34 tons and 46 tons. The typical paranza seems to have ranged in tonnage between 15 and 20 tons. The barque that Hennique saw in Tunisian waters and portrayed four times, including sketches and watercolors, was from Trani.
Overall Length: 17.39 m (387 mm)
Overall Height: 18.53 m (414 mm)
Length: 12.33 m (274 mm)
Beam: 3.93 m (87 mm)
Draft: 2.09 m (49 mm)
"As for the Adriatic, the construction of boats specifically called "paranza" in their shipyards (and which, therefore, were most likely the true paranzas) was active in Puglia, Molise, Abruzzo, and, as the northern limit, in Marche. In contrast, in the Upper Adriatic, and in Istria and Dalmatia, the term paranza was used, at least originally, only to indicate the fishing method, not a type of boat. In Puglia, in the early 1800s, the name "barca paranza" was used, and the fishing method was called "alla gaetana," which seems to confirm their Campanian origin. The boats were of different sizes: around 1850 there are boats from 10-11 to 28-30 tons; the exceptions are three paranzas of Barletta, which ranged between 34 tons and 46 tons. The typical paranza seems to have ranged in tonnage between 15 and 20 tons. The barque that Hennique saw in Tunisian waters and portrayed four times, including sketches and watercolors, was from Trani.
Overall Length: 17.39 m (387 mm)
Overall Height: 18.53 m (414 mm)
Length: 12.33 m (274 mm)
Beam: 3.93 m (87 mm)
Draft: 2.09 m (49 mm)
