Interviewing the Captain

Interviewing the Captain of the “Amerigo Vespucci”.
Intervistando il Capitano dell'“Amerigo Vespucci”.

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External links: Italian training ship Amerigo Vespucci (Wikipedia)
Link esterni: Amerigo Vespucci (A 5312) (Wikipedia)

Amerigo Vespucci, Canary Wharf

There are many places named after navigators around Canary Wharf, in London, but this restaurant seems genuinely more inspired by our famous sail ship than by the real Amerigo Vespucci. You can find this place near Cabot Square, down Cubit steps, on Mackenzie Walk. (Photo taken in September 2014) Ci sono diversi posti con nomi di navigatori a Canary Wharf a Londra, ma questo sembra genuinamente più ispirato al nostro famoso veliero che al reale Amerigo Vespucci. Potete trovare questo ristorante dietro Cabot Square, giù per i Cubit steps, sulla Mackenzie Walk. (Foto scattata nel settembre 2014)

The “Vespucci” Is Back

Last Saturday the school ship “Amerigo Vespucci” came back to Livorno at the end of her summer training cruise.

(Already posted on Instagram)

Sabato scorso la nave scuola “Amerigo Vespucci” è ritornata a Livorno alla fine della campagna addestrativa estiva.

(Già pubblicato su Instagram)

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Vespucci amidst Chains

The statue of the navigator Amerigo Vespucci as figurehead of the training ship bearing his name.

(Already posted on Instagram)

See also: Amerigo Vespucci - #Vespucci85 - Stern Balcony
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Stern Balcony

The training ship “Amerigo Vespucci” during her short stay in port: one of the three officers on the stern balcony is the Captain. The ship will be back in Livorno in October, after a 13-week training campaign.

(Already posted on Instagram)

See also: Amerigo Vespucci - #Vespucci85
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#Vespucci85

After two years the “Amerigo Vespucci” is back in Livorno. The 85-year-old ship was completely refurbished at the La Spezia Navy shipyard. (Already posted on Instagram)

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Paint and Vespucci

A simplified model of the “Amerigo Vespucci” on display in a shop window in Corso Mazzini.

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Italia and Vespucci

The sailship “Italia” moored at the Elba pier with the “Amerigo Vespucci” berthed at the Capitaneria pier. Just for comparison: the cruise ship in background is the 238-meter-long “MS Riviera”.

See also: Amerigo Vespucci - Swan fan Makkum - Nave Italia
External links: MS Riviera (Wikipedia)
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On Board the Vespucci - 2 of 2

This is the second (and last) installation of a set of “rescued” pictures taken during a visit on board the Italian Navy training ship “Amerigo Vespucci”. Here is the ship's bell ...

... and a detail of what I think is a quite elegant capstan of sorts.

Search labels: Amerigo Vespucci
See also: Amerigo Vespucci - On Board - Elbow Grease - Going Aloft - Bye Bye Vespucci - Details - Around the Vespucci - Drawings - Welcome Home - Vespucci's Boats - Vespucci's Anchors - Navy and Stamps - 80 Years - Palinuro and Vespucci - Tall Ships Walk - Amerigo Vespucci: Vidhar - Two Months at Sea - Admirals on Board - Up There - Cristoforo Colombo - On Board the Vespucci - 1 of 2
External links: Italian training ship Amerigo Vespucci (Wikipedia)

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On Board the Vespucci - 1 of 2

If you like sail ships, every visit on board the “Amerigo Vespucci” is a real joy for the eyes, with your attention focused on a myriad of fascinating and often mysterious details.

Even a quick tour usually results in hundreds of photos, most of them destined to oblivion. I have just “rescued” a few pictures and I hope you will appreciate them.

Search labels: Amerigo Vespucci
See also: Amerigo Vespucci - On Board - Elbow Grease - Going Aloft - Bye Bye Vespucci - Details - Around the Vespucci - Drawings - Welcome Home - Vespucci's Boats - Vespucci's Anchors - Navy and Stamps - 80 Years - Palinuro and Vespucci - Tall Ships Walk - Amerigo Vespucci: Vidhar - Two Months at Sea - Admirals on Board - Up There - Cristoforo Colombo
External links: Italian training ship Amerigo Vespucci (Wikipedia)

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Cristoforo Colombo

The “Cristoforo Colombo” was launched on April 4, 1928, at the “Regio Cantiere Navale” (Royal Shipyard) in Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples. She was the sister-ship of the “Amerigo Vespucci”: the vessels were almost twins, with some minor differences regarding the propulsion and the placement of the masts.
The figurehead at the bow, representing Cristopher Columbus, is now at the “Museo Tecnico Navale” (Technical Naval Museum) in La Spezia.In 1949 the ship was handed over to the Soviet Union as war damage compensation. Renamed “Dunay” (Danube), she was used in Odessa as a training vessel for young Soviet sailors until 1959. In 1961, dismasted and reduced to a barge, she was used for a while as a wood carrier until she burned up with all her load in 1963.

(Images digitized from a 1931 copy of “Liburni Civitas”, courtesy of Antonio Cantelli)

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External links: Cristoforo Colombo (Wikipedia) - The Strange Fate of the Cristoforo Colombo (Around Naples Encyclopedia)

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Up There

Somebody had to lift the admiral's flag on top of the mainmast of the “Amerigo Vespucci”.

A moment of rest on a top...

The top part of the mainmast, just to put things in perspective.

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External links: Naval Academy of Livorno - Amerigo Vespucci (Wikipedia)

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Admirals on Board

A Navy band playing alongside the “Amerigo Vespucci” before the arrival of a couple of important guests.

The commanding officer of the ship, Captain Domenico La Faia, and the Commander in Chief of the Italian Fleet, Vice Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi.

The Commander in Chief of the Italian Fleet, Vice Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi, and the Chief of the Italian Navy, Admiral Luigi Binelli Mantelli.

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External links: Chief of the Italian Navy - Commander in Chief of the Italian Fleet (Italian Navy)
Naval Academy of Livorno - Amerigo Vespucci (Wikipedia)

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Two Months at Sea

After two months at sea, a call home or to someone already down on the pier.

Just a few hours before going on leave...

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External links: Naval Academy of Livorno - Amerigo Vespucci (Wikipedia)

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Amerigo Vespucci: Vidhar

Every year about a hundred of cadets of the Naval Academy of Livorno take part in a training cruise on the “Amerigo Vespucci” which usually carry them around the Mediterranean and often beyond. At the end of a two-month cruise the sail ship is back home in Livorno.

Following an old tradition the cadets on board choose the name of their class. This happened in the Bay of Biscay, when the ship was sailing back from Ireland, their choice was “Vidhar” (a god of the Norse mythology) and their motto will be: Etiamsi omnia semper plus ultra (In spite of everything always further beyond).

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External links: Naval Academy of Livorno - Amerigo Vespucci (Wikipedia)

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Tall Ships Walk

My last walk on Livornese soil was at the end of August, you saw it in three installments during our holidays. The following pictures were taken aboard the two training ships actually in port, a short but very rewarding walk beginning with a polished compass on the “Palinuro”.“Faventibus ventis” is the Latin for “by favourable winds”, which is the motto of the ship.A brass cover, this time on board the “Amerigo Vespucci”.Everything is neatly arranged on the deck of the “Vespucci”.Beyond the polished brass and the netting, a view of the port.

External links: Amerigo Vespucci (Wikipedia)
See also: Palinuro - Faventibus Ventis - Palinuro and Vespucci
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More Walks

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Palinuro and Vespucci

The training ships “Palinuro” and “Amerigo Vespucci” are here in port at the same time.

“Amerigo Vespucci”

“Palinuro”

“Palinuro” and “Amerigo Vespucci”

External links: Amerigo Vespucci (Wikipedia)
See also: Palinuro - Faventibus Ventis - Tall Ships Walk
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80 Years

She is eighty-year old but is ready to sail with her crew of cadets and sailors for her annual summer training cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea.The “Vespucci” will call on the ports of Salina (Aeolian Islands), Valletta (Malta), Beirut (Lebanon), Limassol (Cyprus), Istanbul (Turkey), Odessa and Sevastopol (Ukraine), Piraeus (Greece).A scheduled visit to the port of Haifa in Israel was canceled and replaced with the stop in Beirut.The last stop, before returning to Livorno in September, will be Castellammare di Stabia were the ship was built eighty years go.We wish to the “Amerigo Vespucci” a belated Happy Birthday and to all our American friends a timely Happy 4th of July!‏

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External links: Amerigo Vespucci (Wikipedia)

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Navy and Stamps

A set of four stamps issued to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the “Marina Militaire” (Italian Navy) on last June 10.
One of the stamps is dedicated to our “Accademia Navale” (Naval Academy) and another to the training ship “Amerigo Vespucci”, whose home port is Livorno (she is here just now).One of the five special postmarks for the occasion was applied in the Central Post Office of Livorno.

See also: Stamps details - Poste italiane (Wikipedia)

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Vespucci's Anchors

One of the main anchors of the “Amerigo Vespucci”, for any doubt about the size look here.The backup anchor, known as “ancora di rispetto”.The two starboard anchors and a view of the “Porto Mediceo”.

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External links: Amerigo Vespucci (Wikipedia)

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