yacht was accordingly renamed Elettra and was entered into the Italian Registry of Shipping on 27 October 1921 with subsequent ratification under the Italian flag on 21 December. Modifications at La Spezia included increasing the height of the masts in order to rig the various wireless aerials that would be required. It was also arranged that Marconi's private cabin would give directly onto the laboratory. On deck and aft of the laboratory was a dining room with space at table for 12–14 diners. Further aft still was a large and well-appointed saloon complete with a piano. The vessel soon became famous and known in Italian as il nave dei miracoli ('the ship of miracles'). While sailing across the Bay of Biscay in April 1920 an interesting 'first' was established – guests danced in the saloon to broadcast music coming from the ballroom of the Savoy Hotel in London. Later, on 15 June, the voice of the famous soprano Nellie Melba was heard at a distance of 2000 miles during a broadcast from the Marconi transmitting station at Chelmsford in England. Visitors on board The luxurious accommodation was deemed necessary to impress distinguished guests – these would later include King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and King George V of the United Kingdom. In September 1920 another guest on board was Marconi's friend, the Italian poet and nationalist Gabriele D'Annunzio. Elettra had put in at the port of Fiume (now Rijeka) in an unofficial attempt by Marconi to persuade D'Annunzio to drop his demands for that city to become part of Italy. Marconi allowed him to use the ship's transmitter, whereupon D'Annunzio made an impassioned speech to the world in which he urged Italy to annexe the territory. On 31 March 1930 Benito Mussolini visited the yacht when she was lying off Fiumicino. This was followed with another visit in June 1930 when she was off Ostia. Mussolini, who was greatly interested in long distance wireless telegraphy and telephony, expressed a wish to be put through to London and communication was made via the Marconi wireless station, with its receivers at Bridgeport and transmitters and beam aerials at Dorchester in Dorset. This formed part of the Imperial Wireless Chain that linked London with the British Empire. He had hoped to speak to Sir Basil Blackett but the latter was unavailable and so he conversed for a while with an operator at