V. proud to represent Italy in the world - Vespucci skipper

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 25 - The captain of the Amerigo Vespucci, Giuseppe Lai, said "we are extremely proud to represent Italy in the world both as crew and as all the community of the Vespucci" in hailing the entry for the first time ever of the historic Italian Navy training ship into the port of Tokyo.
    "We are in the 22nd stage of the world tour after 14 months since we left Genoa on July 1, 2023," he stressed.
    "It's a highly anticipated stopover, the first time for the Vespucci in Tokyo and Japan.
    "We have very great expectations both to visit a different and fascinating culture and to receive a warm reception".
    The training ship reached the Japanese capital after sailing 3,630 miles from Honolulu.
    "They have been intense days," added Lai, "a long voyage across the Pacific which lived up to its name with great windows of dead calm and only a little more choppy sea in Tokyo's lee.
    "The 115 cadets of the Livorno Naval Academy who boarded in Los Angeles greeted this opportunity with extremely great enthusiasm and participation".
    At Tokyo, as happened already at Los Angeles, alongside the Vespucci the Villaggio Italia will be set up, "a sort of travelling mini-Expo that is accompanying the ship on its world tour," explained the captain, "and which amplifies the Vespucci's message, which goes beyond the Navy and Defence and embraces other sectors such as culture, Italian values and Made in Italy". (ANSA).