In 2026 the Vespucci will land in New York. Revenues from the world tour exceed 3 billion

The navigation of Nave Vespucci continues. After touching down on five continents, 33 countries, 53 ports, and covering 49,500 nautical miles during the 2023-2025 world tour, the veliero flagship of the Italian Navy, the "most beautiful ship in the world" as the American aircraft carrier USS Independence called her in 1962, will soon be at sea again. 2026 will be the year of North America with the 'Amerigo Vespucci North America World Tour 2026', which will continue to unite the traditional training and Naval Diplomacy activities of the Italian Navy's School Ship with the promotion of the excellence of Made in Italy, through the Italian Village. The Vespucci, currently at the Navy Arsenal in La Spezia, will reach the main cities in North America next summer, and a special edition of the Italian Village will be held in New York, in an "expo" version.

Once the first half is over, therefore, there will be a second. "The brand is Italy and the Vespucci is a tool, which will be present in the USA in the coming year," announced Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, speaking at the presentation of the world tour data, in Rome, at the Temple of Venus in the splendid setting of the Colosseum Archaeological Park, in a meeting moderated by the editor of Sole 24 Ore, Fabio Tamburini. "We have decided to set up an Italy Village in New York with an even more ambitious pavilion, which will stay for three weeks or a month: it will become a tale of Italy that tells Italy from New York," he added. The meeting was attended, among others, by the Minister for Disability Alessandra Locatelli, the Undersecretary of State to the Prime Minister Alfredo Mantovano, the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy Valentino Valentini, the Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy Enrico Credentino, Luca Andreoli, CEO of Difesa Servizi and Simone Mazzarelli, CEO of Ninetynine, the agency specialising in the governance of strategic projects that in public-private partnership with Difesa Servizi S.p.A. produced the project.

It was an opportunity to take stock of the Vespucci World Tour and Village Italy 2023- 2025. Starting with the numbers. According to analyses carried out by Interbrand and the Confindustria Study Centre with the Sapienza University of Rome, the Nave Amerigo Vespucci World Tour with the Villaggio Italia and the Villaggio In Italia generated a total economic return of 3.04 billion Euro, with a Roi (Return on Investment) that multiplied the initial investment by 62.78 (the value was calculated considering the total investment of the Tour equal to 48.5 million Euro and the direct and potential investments and/or benefits equal to 3.045 billion). The contribution of the World Phase of the Vespucci Tour to exports, according to the estimate made through the "Confindustria ExPand (Export Potential Analysis and Development)" platform, is 479 million euro. The project has generated and will generate a total of 11,155 new jobs and has generated a media value of 254 million euro.

The Vespucci World Tour and Italy Village initiative was the brainchild of Crosetto, and was supported by Defence and 12 ministries, as well as the Prime Minister's Office. Mr. Mantovano emphasised what he believes is a lesson for the entire country, namely the importance of teamwork, because on board the sailing ship that is the symbol of the Navy, "never an activity is carried out individually: the more we manage to work as a team, the more there are results". He then emphasised "the appeal to the living character of tradition: the Vespucci, for what it is made of and for what it has done, is an appropriate and authoritative interpreter of the mix of facing the challenges of the present by linking up with our national tradition". In short, 'Vespucci's feat has strengthened Italy's image and profile in the world. Today, Italy is among the most esteemed nations, and towards which there is more sympathy in many African countries, but in the Vespucci's journey this sympathy, which touched the whole world, was translated into significant gestures on the Asian continent and in Latin America'.

The watchword from the start of the project was 'teamwork', also between the different Defence components. "All the Armed Forces were there, the Bersaglieri in Jeddah, the aerobatic patrol greeted us on departure and welcomed us on arrival, the Carabinieri in Los Angeles. It was a very beautiful moment of unity of the Armed Forces,' recalled Admiral Credentino. The involvement of 12 ministries in this adventure is also an important step. "We are a maritime country, but on the sea there is always this fragmentation. There is never a real union on the sea. In this case there was'.