Vespucci in Alexandria Wednesday as Med tour begins

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 11 - The Amerigo Vespucci ship will stop in Alexandria, Egypt from 12 to 17 February.
    This is the second visit of the Navy training ship, ambassador of Made in Italy in the world, to the Egyptian city in 93 years of history and it is from here that the sailing ship will begin its tour in the waters of the Mare Nostrum.
    The initiative 'Mediterranean Tour of the Amerigo Vespucci ship and Villaggio IN Italia' promoted by the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto is supported, together with the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, by 12 ministries.
    The initiative is organized by Difesa Servizi SpA.
    On Thursday, February 13, state broadcaster Rai, media partner of the World Tour, will be back alongside the Vespucci ship for the Mediterranean Tour with a special link-up with the Sanremo Festival, during the 75th edition of the famous song contest broadcast from Italy in Eurovision, as already announced by the host and artistic director Carlo Conti.
    Welcomed by the Italian Ambassador to Egypt Michele Quaroni, the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida and the Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli will be present in Alexandria and on board the ship.
    The event 'Vespucci meets Egypt' is scheduled for Saturday, February 15, a cultural and food and wine initiative organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, with the support of the Italian Embassy, ;;the Ice foreign trade agency and the Italian Cultural Institute in Cairo.
    Starting at 5:30 pm, there will be a reading of a selection of pieces by poet Giuseppe Ungaretti and Futurism founder Tommaso Marinetti, recited by the Italian actor Davide Rondoni and the Egyptian actress Fatma Adel, and a musical performance that will see the involvement of the soprano Fiorenza Mercatali and the tenor Paolo Mascari and the special participation of the Egyptian soprano Gala El Hadidi, accompanied on the piano by maestro Francesco De Poli.
    There will also be 250 young students from the "Don Bosco" Institute of Alexandria, Egypt, which Ungaretti attended during his childhood and, on this occasion, the class registers and report card of the great Italian poet will be exhibited.
    During the afternoon event, great space will also be given to gastronomic excellence with a tasting of ice cream from farmers' markets, a project curated by the agriculture ministry that has just started in Alexandria and is obtaining excellent results with Filiera Italia.
    On the evening of February 15, awards will also be presented to the ambassadors of Italian Quality in the World during a special dinner aboard the Amerigo Vespucci ship dedicated to the UNESCO candidacy of Italian cuisine as an intangible heritage of humanity, organized together with the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MASAF) of the Italian government.
    (ANSA).