Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team flies over Amerigo Vespucci sailing ship as it leaves for a round-the-world voyage.
1 July 2023 – The round-the-world tour of the the Amerigo Vespucci set sail from the port of Genoa today, during which the training vessel of the Italian Navy will serve as an ambassador of Made in Italy. On board are 217 crew members and 126 trainees, including one Ukrainian trainee.
The initiative combines the traditional training activities for officer trainees with the promotion of Italian excellence in the 30 ports that the Vespucci will visit during her approximately 18-month circumnavigation of the globe. The tour will end in La Spezia on February 11, 2025.
The departure of the ship was also marked by the flyover of the Italian Air Force Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team and by a mixed formation of Italian Navy AV-8B and F-35B fighters. “The most beautiful ship in the world becomes an ambassador for our country, representing what makes Italy one of the most evocative names in the world: a sense of beauty, culture, and history that no one else can claim. We safeguard this heritage, which no government deserves, no matter how much consensus it has. Italy will arrive in every nation that this ship visits,” said Defense Minister Guido Crosetto during the departure ceremony of the Amerigo Vespucci’s world tour in Genoa. “Today, many emotions overlap. We have seen our young men and women board the ship, both the 217 crew members and the 126 trainees, in a union that makes the ship unique.”
“These young men and women are leaving their families today, but they are part of another family, that of Defense and the Armed Forces, which today also mourns the loss of Comsubin’s soul, Michele Savarese, who died during an exercise a few days ago,” Crosetto continued.
According to the Minister, this mission is “an example of synergy: a Defense ship that carries culture, history, innovation, and gastronomy. Everything that the name Italy evokes when pronounced in the world. All aboard the most beautiful ship in the world, which will represent Italy for two years across the globe.” The objective is also to bring “respect and friendship to all the countries it visits, which, along with innovation, are the only weapons we have to build a better future than the present we have found.”
Enrico Credendino, Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy, said, “The Vespucci joins the 11 ships of the Italian Navy that are already operating outside the Mediterranean, a record. It will sail under the UNESCO flag, and during this campaign, one of the highlights will be the celebration of World Oceans Day in 2024 when it stops in Mexico.”
Images: Italian Air Force, Massimo Sestini, Mauro Melandri