Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian Navy’s 87-year-old sail training ship, departed her homeport of La Spezia, Italy, to start the 2017 training campaign.
After they complete the campaign’s first stop in Portugal, navy cadets aboard the Amerigo Vespucci are set to cross the Atlantic and visit a number of ports in North America.
The video below, shared by the Italian Navy on Twitter, shows the tall ship departing the La Spezia harbor on Wednesday, April 19.
#CampagnaAddestrativa 2017: #naveVespucci lascia il porto di #LaSpezia e dirige verso Sines in Portogallo #AmerigoVespucci #MarinaMilitare pic.twitter.com/P1uVEVJSPw
— Marina Militare (@ItalianNavy) April 19, 2017
Officer cadets will sail from Hamilton, Bermuda to Canada where they will make port calls in Halifax, Montreal and Quebec City. Amerigo Vespucci is also set to participate in the Tall Ships Quebec City 2017 regatta that is being organized to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation.
Once they conclude engagements in Canada, sailors will take the Amerigo Vespuci to the U.S.. Boston and New York are scheduled to welcome the ship to their ports in July.
Often referred to as the ‘Lady of the Sea’, the full-rigged, 100-meter ship is named after the famous Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci and is in service with the Italian Navy as a sail training ship.
The Amerigo Vespucci has 24 sails whose names can be seen in this Italian Navy photo.