The tall ship Amerigo Vespucci visits Sicily during the latest world tour

The Amerigo Vespucci, named after the famous explorer, is one of the oldest sailing ships in service of the Italian Navy. Recently, it made a stop in the port of Empedocle in the province of Agrigento, Sicily, which has been recognized as the Italian Capital of Culture 2025.

The sailing ship docked at the end of April, a historic event for the city which last hosted the ship in 1982. It remained in port until the first week of May and almost twenty thousand people visited the ship during its stay.

While in Agrigento the event was accompanied by a photo exhibit by Aldo Alessandro, correspondent for the daily newspaper La Sicilia. His photographs highlighted the ship’s various activities and personnel on board.

L’Amerigo Vespucci, launched in 1931, is recognized as one of the most beautiful ships in the world. It is 331 feet long and has sail area of approximatley 30,000 square feet. The sailing ship deals with the training of students at the Naval Academy and other schools. Future sailors undertake various lessons to acclimate to living at sea and to acquire the necessary skills for their naval career.

They learn maritime code, navigation rules, engine maintenance and how to manage logistical, administrative and health problems. They also train in aspects of naval diplomacy essential to representing the Italian Navy in the world. They are ambassadors in safeguarding marine environments through collaborative work with UNICEF and WWF.

The ship was part of a Tall Ships fleet which came to America in July 1976 for our nation’s 200th anniversary and again in 2017 and 2023 during subsequent world tours. The training ship, during almost 100 years of activity, has carried out numerous navigational and service campaigns in the Mediterranean and others in Northern Europe, Eastern Atlantic, North and South America. It circumnavigated the globe between 2002 and 2003 and embarked on another world tour in 2017.

During its latest world tour, which began in 2023, it departed from Genoa and docked in cities from Los Angeles, Tokyo, Darwin, Singapore, Alexandria, and many other ports. The ship then sailed on to various ports in Italy. After the visit to Porto Empedocle, it sailed to Palermo mid-May and will end its tour in its home port of Genoa.”