President Meloni’s greeting to the crew of the Amerigo Vespucci training ship

Good afternoon everyone, 

my sincere thanks. Thank you for this wonderful sight you are giving me. I only just arrived, but this is certainly already one of the most beautiful, most extraordinary feelings I have experienced in my role as President of the Council of Ministers, of course because of the visual impact but also, and above all, considering the many meanings embodied and represented in what I see before me. 

The Vespucci has always been more than a simple training ship. It is the ‘queen of the seas’, the pride of our armed forces, providing world-class training for naval officer cadets. The Vespucci ship has always been much more. It symbolises history, know-how, tradition and innovation, and is an extraordinary ambassador of Italy, as this world tour has very effectively demonstrated once again.

It teaches about the sea, it teaches about life, it teaches about Italy. Sailing the seas, this ship undoubtedly demonstrates to the world the excellence of our armed forces and Italy’s role in naval diplomacy and international cooperation, but it also showcases the values we uphold and the culture we embody as well as the courage and dedication of which we are capable.

You set sail from Genoa – I was just telling the press, for those who didn’t know, because you of course are well aware – a year and a half ago. You have already sailed over 43,000 nautical miles, more than twice the length of the equator; you rounded the legendary Cape Horn in force seven winds and waves more than four metres high. You have accomplished a historic feat and Italy needs to know about it.

I like to think that, after that feat, when you cheered a perhaps liberating and proud “hip hip hooray” on this deck, you were aware that you were not alone in doing so and that the whole of Italy was with you, because this endeavour and this world tour is a tour that belongs to the entire nation. It is no coincidence that in many of the ports where you dropped the anchor a ‘Villaggio Italia’ expo was set up to showcase Italian excellence as a whole and to open up new opportunities for our companies, for our workers and therefore for the prosperity of our families.

I must sincerely thank all of you. I must of course sincerely thank Minister Crosetto, the Italian Navy, all Ministries that have helped to make this tour a success and the diplomatic network which has made a fundamental contribution. However, I must above all thank all of you, because none of this would have been possible without the Vespucci’s crew.

My thanks to Captain Lai, thanks to the non-commissioned officers, graduates and sailors, and thanks to your families, whose sacrifices help you to accomplish these feats, thus helping Italy to be proud of what you have achieved. Italy, at the end of the day, is like this ship: it cannot sail unless everyone plays their part in the right place, and it especially cannot sail in stormy seas.

There is therefore a great lesson to be learned from what you do, and there is another in the Vespucci ship’s motto: “Not he who begins but he who perseveres”. This means that it is not the endeavour in itself, initiating it, that determines greatness, it is persevering to see it through to the end. It means that the important thing is not the destination; the important thing is the journey. And if you do not make the sacrifices that journey entails then you won’t be able to handle the destination either. This is the reason why shortcuts are never more than just an illusion. The difficulties you overcome on your journey are the most important part of the challenge, much more than your arrival in port. This is a very valuable lesson, and not only for sailors, not only for the armed forces, but for all Italians, for all citizens.

I would therefore like us to all remember together that this perseverance is what made Italy the great nation it is, and that you are certainly one of the most extraordinary examples of that perseverance.

And so, fair winds to you all!

Long live the Vespucci, long live the Italian Navy and long live Italy!

[Courtesy translation]