This photograph portrays a smiling Mary Pickford, symbol of silent cinema and old Hollywood, aboard the transatlantic Rome in 1928. Her presence on the ship is significant and tells much more than a simple journey. At the time, Ansaldo ships, synonymous with efficiency and luxury, were chosen by important figures from the world of politics and entertainment to make the long ocean crossings. The Roma, launched on February 26, 1926 at the Ansaldo Shipyard in Sestri Ponente, was the largest and fastest Italian liner ever built up to that time (over 30,000 tons of weight 215 meters long with a top speed of 24 knots). Thanks to these characteristics, it was able to cover the Genoa - New York route in just ten days, a real record, beaten a few years later by another Ansaldo ship: the Rex.