Amerigo Vespucci: the celebration in Genoa for the Navy sailing ship returning from its world tour

"Behind every route charted there is expertise, passion and sacrifice. Today, on Navy Day, we thank our sea professionals and celebrate the return 'home' of the ship Vespucci, at the end of an extraordinary World Tour". This was written on X by Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, referring to the return to Genoa of Nave Vespucci, the Navy sailing ship protagonist of the World Tour that took Italy's excellence around the world. The Italian Navy's training ship entered the port of Genoa at around 8.30 am for docking at Ponte Parodi, where the official ceremony for its return to Genoa was held, at the end of the world tour that touched the five continents. The day also included a flyover by the Frecce Tricolori and a formation of F35B and AV8B Navy aircraft.

The sailing ship, with over 200 crew members on board, was accompanied by many Navy sailing ships including Stella Polare, Chaplin, Antares, Aquarius, Gemini, Tarantella, Penelope, and two foreign sailing ships: Capitan Miranda of the Uruguayan Navy and Shabab Oman II of the Oman Navy. The ceremony is held to coincide with Navy Day at the conclusion of the Vespucci's World Tour, after almost 50,000 nautical miles travelled, 32 countries, 53 ports of which 20 in the Mediterranean Sea. The ceremony, attended by Head of State Mattarella, was also attended by Minister Crosetto, Senate Vice-President Licia Ronzulli, and Chamber of Deputies Vice-President Fabio Rampelli, as well as Defence Chief of Staff General Luciano Portolano, Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Enrico Credendino, Liguria Region President Marco Bucci, and Genoa Mayor Silvia Salis.

"You have taken Italy around the world making a great contribution to our country's prestige. I believe that the passage to Cape Horn was the most difficult and a source of pride for everyone," said President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, greeting the crew of the Amerigo Vespucci in Genoa on the occasion of Navy Day. Mattarella decorated the Vespucci ship's banner with the gold medal for valour, together with Head of State Defence Minister Guido Crosetto. Mattarella also sent a message, on the occasion of the Navy Day, to the Navy Chief of Staff, Admiral Enrico Credendino: "The women and men of the Navy represent excellence, the face of an Italy that takes on, with a high sense of responsibility, the mission of contributing to safeguarding peace and security, in adherence to constitutional values. On the day of your feast, as I salute the Flag, I turn my first thoughts to the memory of the fallen sailors who have borne witness to their dedication to the Homeland with the sacrifice of their lives". In his message, the Head of State recalled "the long maritime tradition, ideally represented by the Amerigo Vespucci Training Ship, which today, in Genoa, ends a demanding naval campaign of particular importance, has nurtured the growth of precious skills and the image of Italy"..

"A voyage that has brought the soul of Italy to the world," Crosetto emphasised, "The Navy is not only security, innovation, and freedom of navigation, but it is a force capable of building bridges of peace and cooperation: best wishes to all sailors. The ceremony coincides with Navy Day and takes place in the presence of President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. "We can have the smartest admiral in the world, the most beautiful ship in the world, the most technologically advanced, but without a crew they count for nothing. In the Navy you don't need a 'Maradona', you need a team. Every person, whatever their role on board a ship, is important, is fundamental, because the ship cannot function if the entire crew does not function,' said Minister Crosetto. "What is created on board a ship during months of navigation between the crew, the captain and the newest member of the crew," Crosetto added, "is something extraordinary, which deeply affects every man and woman in the Navy in a bond, in an understanding of roles that does not exist anywhere else.

"I bow in deference to the naval banners deployed, to the veterans, silent heroes that Defence will never leave alone," said General Luciano Antonio Portolano, Chief of Defence Staff, during his speech at the ceremony. "Genoa and its inhabitants have expressed the history of Italian naval seafaring since the Middle Ages," Portolano emphasised, "which is not just an ancient vocation, but an inescapable destiny. The Navy is a bulwark of security. In the past year, too, our sailors have operated in distant and dangerous waters, and today conflicts and competitions extend from the seabed to the airspace. The team is cohesive towards a single goal: ensuring defence. Italy can count on professionals ready to protect the homeland and all Italians'.