1619: with the aim of preparing the executive cadres for war and the merchant navy, the Most Serene Republic of Venice establishes the Collegio dei Giovani Nobili on the island of Giudecca.
1797, 17 October: With the peace of Campoformido, Venice and Dalmatia fell to the Austrians, who also absorbed the Most Serene Republic of Venice’s fleet and its structures. The Austrian fleet, which until then had been called Österreichische Kriegsmarine (Austrian War Navy), was renamed Österreichische Venezianische Kriegsmarine (Austrian-Venetian War Navy).
1805: Venice falls to the French.
1810: The French government establishes the Venetian Naval College.
1814: The College is maintained by the Austrians (Marinekollegium); the language of instruction remains Venetian. The inventor of the torpedo, Giovanni Luppis, trained at this school a few years later.
1846: The Prince of Metternich sets up a committee to study the construction of the Suez Canal, with the participation of engineer Luigi Negrelli and Ferdinand de Lesseps. The Suez Canal is inaugurated on 17 September 1869.
1848: Due to tensions with Piedmont, it was decided in Vienna to move the College to Trieste. Its seat becomes Casa Sartori in what is now Via Flavia di Stramare 129 (in the Noghere area) and the cadets' launches are moored at the mouth of the Ospo river.
On the right is a present-day view of Casa Sartori. The caryatids were added in the early 1900s and came from the demolition of the Teatro Armonia located in what is now Piazza Goldoni.
(cf.: "Trieste nascosta" by Armando Halupca and Leone Veronese - Edizioni LINT)
The Austrian fleet once again takes the name of Österreichische Kriegsmarine.
1852: The College becomes the Imperial Regia Accademia di Marina
1854-64: Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian Josef von Habsburg is Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. During this period the Archduke orders the construction of Miramare Castle (Schloss Miramar).
1857-1859: The Navy organises a scientific-exploratory expedition around the world with the frigate Novara. Departure and arrival in Trieste under the command of Bernhard von Wüllerstorf-Urbair from Trieste, who later, between 1865 and 1867 as Minister of Commerce, ordered the expansion of the port of Trieste and also the introduction of the decimal metric system in the Empire.
1859: The Hydrographic Institute of the Navy (Hydrographische Anstalt) was established in Trieste under the direction of the astronomer Franz von Schaub who was also the director of the Academy.
1866, 20 July: Battle of Lissa in which the Austrian admiral Willhelm von Tegetthoff defeats the Italian fleet led by admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano; the language of both fleets is Italian.
1866, October: The Imperial Regia Accademia di Marina moves to Fiume (today Rijeka) and remains there until 1914. It became a rear area hospital until 1918 and then the city hospital.
1867, 8 June: As a result of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise the fleet changes its name to the K.u.K. Kriegsmarine (Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine, namely the "Imperial and Royal War Navy")
1869: The Hydrographic Institute (Hydrographische Amt) is moved to Pula, which is considered to be politically safer than Trieste.
The GEOPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY was founded in Pula, dealing mainly with magnetism and gravimetry.
1872-1874: Expedition to the North Pole with the ship "Admiral von Tegetthoff" under the command of Karl Weyprecht; a new land was discovered and given the name of Franz Joseph's archipelago; head of scientific operations Julius Payer (Austrian and Moravian officers, Istro-Dalmatian sailors including Antonio Scarpa from Trieste). The foundations were laid for the first international polar year.
1882-1883: First International Polar Year - magnetic research expedition to the Arctic - Jan Mayen.
1890-1910: The Hydrographic Institute and the Observatory organise oceanographic and geophysical cruises in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
1918: With the collapse of the Habsburg Empire, the fleet was divided between the victorious powers and the new Yugoslavia; the Academy and the Observatory were terminated, their instrumentation distributed among the structures of the Italian Navy.