ATOCHA SHIPWRECK DISCOVERY'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION SET THROUGH JULY 23

KEY WEST, Florida Keys - The 20th anniversary of shipwreck salvor Mel Fisher's discovery of the sunken Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha is to being commemorated at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, 200 Greene St., in Key West. Fisher and his crew uncovered the "main pile" of the Atocha's treasure and artifacts, hailed by world press as the shipwreck find of the century, on July 20, 1985, after an exhaustive 16-year search. The galleon was wrecked during a 1622 hurricane in approximately 55 feet of water 35 miles southwest of Key West.

Since then, almost four million people have come to Key West to see the artifacts and treasures - including gold and silver bars and coins, a 77.7-carat emerald and thousands of smaller stones, religious objects, rare navigational instruments and weapons - that were excavated and conserved under the auspices of the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society.

Established in 1982 by Fisher, who died in 1998, the Key West-based society is an internationally recognized leader in excavation, preservation, research and exhibition of New World maritime artifacts.

The new exhibit features approximately 50 never-before-seen Atocha artifacts in a museum exhibition spotlighting the $400 million shipwreck.

Presented by the society and themed "Diving into Glory: The Atocha 20 Years Later." "The goal is to celebrate this historic find, with all those who were actually involved and all those who feel their lives to have been affected in some way by it," said Dr. Madeleine Burnside, the society's executive director. "As Mel always said, this is about romance, adventure and fun." "Diving into Glory," the museum's reinterpreted Atocha exhibit featuring the newly unveiled artifacts. The exhibition is incorporates a 25-foot diorama of the ocean floor, designed to re-create a portion of the Atocha shipwreck site as it appeared 20 years ago - complete with silver bars, coin chests, rare ceramic olive jars and additional objects typical of the site.

For more information about the exhibit, visit www.melfisher.org or www.melfisher.com, or call the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum at 305-294-2633.

For lodging information, call the Key West Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-LAST-KEY, or explore this Web site.