SS Florida was an Italian transatlantic passenger steamship.She was built in 1905, mainly to carry emigrants. In 1909 she collided with the White Star Liner RMS Republic in the North Atlantic. Seven people were killed, and Republic sank. In 1912 she was renamed Cavour. In 1917 she was involved in a collision with the Italian Auxiliary cruiser Caprera in the Mediterranean. Cavour sank, but no-one was killed.
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Florida and Virginia
In 1905 and 1906, Società Esercizio Bacini in Riva Trigoso, near Genoa, built a pair of passenger ships for Lloyd Italiano. Florida was launched on 22 June 1905, and completed that September. Florida's registered length was 381.4 ft (116.3 m); her beam was 48.1 ft (14.7 m), and her depth was 25.7 ft (7.8 m). She had berths for 1,625 passengers: 25 in First Class, and 1,600 in steerage. 5,755 cubic feet (163 m3) of her cargo holds were refrigerated, using a carbon dioxide and brine system made by J & E Hall, Ltd of England. She had twin screws, each driven by a triple-expansion engine that was built by Società Esercizio Bacini. The combined power of her twin engines was rated at 444 NHP, and gave her a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h). She had twin funnels. Lloyd Italiano registered Florida at Naples. Her code letters were PHGC.
On 18 September 1905, Florida began her maiden voyage, which was from Genoa, via Naples, to Buenos Aires. After her first voyage, Lloyd Italiano used her to inaugurate its new route between Genoa and New York via Palermo. She remained on this route until 1911.
