Amsterdam's PiMu: World's First Museum Dedicated to Piracy Opens in a Converted Boat

In Amsterdam's Noord district, Italian curator and artist Giacomo Cardoni (born 1987) has transformed an abandoned boat into PiMu – Piraat Museum, the world's first museum entirely dedicated to piracy. The project began in 2015 when Cardoni discovered a derelict vessel in an alternative community's garden. After years of restoration, the museum officially opened on December 12, 2021, and is now housed within the grounds of Fondazione De Vliegtuin, a creative hub for blacksmiths, makers, and freelancers. PiMu offers a multisensory experience: visitors walk from stern to bow through Cardoni's illustrations of iconic pirates, a temporary exhibition space currently featuring prints by Dutch artist Aleid Landeweerd of seven famous female pirates, and an interactive audio guide covering piracy's evolution. The museum also highlights contemporary pirates like Edward Snowden and Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Cardoni sees piracy today as 'the art of disobedience' and a counterpoint to mainstream systems. PiMu is built on open-source principles, with plans to digitize works and share them via a Pirate Box—a Raspberry Pi-powered independent WiFi network for uploading and downloading the pirate archive. Cardoni describes the boat, named Cheri, as a living, organic project that evolves weekly. The museum is part of a broader trend in Amsterdam to preserve its anarchic spirit amid urban redevelopment.