In July of 1956, when the Andrea Doria made her dramatic plunge to the bottom of the ocean, she carried with her one of the most spectacular sets of china ever used on an ocean liner. Years later, pieces of that china would find their way to the surface as divers risked their lives to recover it. I became interested in the oriental pattern after running across photos of it in books and on the internet. No one seemed to know much about it beyond the fact that it was used on the post war Italia ships. I wanted to know more. Who designed it? Why were there so many different scenes and what did they represent? When did it first appear? Was it ever produced for the general public (like some of the other Italia patterns)? I began a quest for information that soon became a consuming obsession. After sifting through reams of conflicting information and a few of my own discoveries, I've created this web page for fellow collectors to use as a resource. There are still a few outstanding questions that may never be answered. I will continue to add new information to this page whenever it becomes available so bookmark this page and check back periodically. If you have knowledge of the pattern or additional scenes that are not pictured on this page please email me (Tommy) and I will be glad to add your info. 

What does the letter-number code on the back of each piece mean? Is it a date code?

This is a photograph of the oriental pattern dinnerware that was produced for the general public. When was this produced and for how long? Why is it so difficult to find? None of the replacement services have any record of it. I contacted the Ginori Museum in Florence but to no avail. They had no information on the pattern.

  If you have any information concerning this pattern that you would like to contribute to this page, please click on my name to send email (Tommy).