'Goodbye Darwin',Amerigo Vespucci bids farewell to Australia

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 7 - (by correspondent Domenico Palesse) - Along the walkway that leads from the pier to the city, dozens of people wave Italian flags while on the horizon the silhouette of the Amerigo Vespucci becomes smaller and smaller until it disappears in the sun setting over the sea.
    After five days in port, the training ship of the Italian Navy casts off its moorings and leaves Darwin, at the northernmost tip of Australia, thus completing its tour of the five continents.
    The next stop on the world tour will be Singapore, where the symbolic vessel of Italy will dock on October 23, which will effectively mark the start of its return home, scheduled for June 2025.
    "I can't explain what my emotions will be once I return to Italy," said the commander, Captain Giuseppe Lai, "but I will certainly be a different man, I will return enriched by an unforgettable experience." A launch display by the Folgore's paratroopers and the notes of the Bersaglieri fanfare embellished the closing ceremony, in the presence of Italian and local authorities.
    Hundreds of onlookers reached Fort Hill Wharf to pay their respects to the ship, while on board the helmsmen prepared to cast off.
    Thousands of people, during these five days, climbed aboard the Vespucci, for an exclusive visit among the historic timbers of the hull and the hemp sails, accompanied by the crew of the Navy.
    The final day opened with an evocative concert on the ship's bow performed at dawn by cellist Umberto Clerici.
    "Playing on the Amerigo Vespucci, at dawn in one of the most remote places in the world, Darwin, was a great emotion," he said.
    "The union between the history of one of the oldest training ships in the world (and for many the most beautiful in operation) with the importance of the institutions it represents has made it, for me, a unique experience".
    The fiery red sun of dawn accompanied the performance of Pablo Casals's 'birdsong', the soundtrack of a "memorable day", to use the words of those who were able to attend the performance.
    With the fresh departure of the Amerigo Vespucci, the Villaggio Italia, the itinerant expo on the excellence of our country managed and coordinated by Difesa Servizi, also closed its doors.
    "The protagonist of the Darwin stop was emotion," said the president, Gioacchino Alfano, "amplified by the distance from Italy.
    "Here there is a large community, which has a great hunger for Italy, for the beauties of our country". Now it is time to cast off the last ropes and accompany the Vespucci out to sea towards new routes and new territories.
    From the dock, people wave goodbye to the sailing ship, while she, the elderly lady of the seas, responds with the unmistakable sound of her horn. Goodbye Darwin. (ANSA).