Antonio Mucci
Naval Doctor
(Vasto 1828)
By Paolo Calvano
Born in 1828 in a family from Pollutri he moved to Vasto after his marriage to Rosalia Laccetti.
Following his graduation in medicine in Naples he entered the small circle of doctors which practiced the profession, guided by the sacred monsters of Luigi Marchesani and Giacinto Barbarotta. He was a City councillor several times, a supported of Ciccarone and also active in civil life. In 1890 his life changed as he decided to become a doctor on board ships of the Compagnia di Navigazione Generale Italiana.
With the ship “Giava” he left from Genoa in February 1890, he checked migrants boarding at Porto Empedocle, Palermo, Messina, and Naples and arrived in New York 18 April. On the ship Dr Mucci acted as the doctor, surgeon and pharmacist for the over 600 passengers and for the 72 crew members.
In the heartfelt letters sent to his family during this challenging adventure there are interesting considerations which are evidence of his profound humanity: “I travel towards the unknown on the treacherous waves above 1,400 metres of water, what the ship is in a storm one cannot describe!”.
On his return to Italy Mucci received the congratulations from the company and of many of the travellers helped by him during the crossing and was awarded the honour of the Academy of the Star of Italy. In June of the same year he left again for New York, where he where he intended to carry out his mission as doctor and surgeon above all for the Italian migrants that lived there.
Emblem of the Navigazione Generale Italiana
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