The Amerigo Vespucci in Livorno, visits sold out and the Medici port closed to traffic

LIVORNO. Tickets are all sold out for both organised groups and individuals. The Amerigo Vespucci has arrived in the port of Livorno in full sail. The Port Authority has issued an ordinance closing the traffic in the Medicean port: circulation is forbidden in Via del Molo Mediceo and in Piazza dell'Arsenale, in the stretch between Via del Molo Mediceo and the Darsena docks. The symbolic ship of the Italian Navy has told the world about Italy, its beauty, and its records. In its two years of navigation along the coasts of five continents, the Amerigo Vespucci visited 35 ports in 30 countries around the world. Eighteen stops in Mediterranean waters. Ten days from its conclusion, the Vespucci tour has arrived in Livorno, the penultimate stop of the voyage in the mare nostrum. And it is preparing to return to Genoa, the city where it all began two years ago. It was 1 July 2023. For the closing ceremony in Genoa there will also be the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, with government representatives to welcome back what is considered the most beautiful sailing ship in the world. The ship, which will stop in Livorno, at the Molo Capitaneria, from 4 to 8 June, arrived in the Tuscan port in the early hours of the morning and will set sail again next Sunday, accompanied by a historical procession with banners of the Maritime Republic of Pisa and the greetings of the rowing associations.

"We are particularly happy," said Lieutenant Admiral Flavio Biaggi, Interregional Maritime Commander North, "to have the Vespucci here in Livorno. The stopover is for a few days and there will be an opportunity for the citizens to visit the ship, and obviously we are all doing our utmost to make it as usable as possible so that as many people as possible can see this Italian jewel that has performed an exceptional feat". Prefect Giancarlo Dionisi said that 'the Vespucci is one of the most beautiful testimonies that the State is close to us and makes us proud, the possibility then for all citizens to visit her is one of the most beautiful moments of closeness of a State that must be positive, beautiful, and must create cohesion and solidarity. I am proud to welcome this splendour to Livorno, the most beautiful ship in the world arriving in the most beautiful port city in the world'.

"With this tour of the Amerigo Vespucci, our intention was to enter an unconventional itinerary, i.e. the stages of the Ministry of Defence that, with the most beautiful and historic ship in the world recognised by all as an example of pride for our country, we have decided to say: we want to be there too," said Minister for Disabilities Alessandra Locatelli speaking about the Amerigo Vespucci tour. Locatelli recalled how at each stop on the Vespucci there were panels and stands set up where associations could bring their projects, carrying out sports, recreational and musical activities. And for the Livorno stop, at the Naval Academy, many young people with disabilities from all over Italy will cook for the cadets and the crew of the Vespucci.

Speaking at the Vespucci's arrival in the Medici port, Governor Eugenio Giani said he was proud of the Amerigo Vespucci's Tuscan stop. The governor recalled the place in Florence "where that Amerigo Vespucci lived, who then interpreted with his name the meaning of the universal message that this ship gives, and who with the name Amerigo in 1507 led to the definition of America. With an all-Tuscan name that he received from his grandfather, and thus the umbilical cord that binds Tuscany through Livorno, through the name of Amerigo Vespucci to the experience of the training ship is something that is strengthened this morning and that gives a deep sense of our pride as Tuscans for the bond with what is perhaps the best known ship and interprets the most widespread feeling among Italians for the meaning and work of the Navy.

In Livorno, the Amerigo Vespucci was welcomed with a ceremony attended by civil and military authorities. Accompanying the Navy training ship's arrival were the Band of the Brigata Folgore and the Naval Academy Fanfare. The Fanfare of the School of Marshals and Brigadiers will also perform during the stop. Livorno will also host two airdrops on 6 June with parachutists from the Army's Sports Activities Department and, in the afternoon, parachutists from the Tuscania Regiment.