The Diplomat
Riccardo Guariglia, Ambassador of Italy, paid a visit last Sunday on board the historic training ship of the Italian Navy Amerigo Vespucci, which made a stop in the city of Mahón, on the island of Menorca, as part of the training campaign dedicated to the Cadets of the First Class of the Livorno Naval Academy.
Addressing the young cadets, the Italian ambassador emphasised the importance of the roles that each of them will be called upon to play in the performance of their duties, both in Italy and abroad. In fact, in addition to the fundamentals of the nautical sector, the Cadets will learn the role of naval diplomacy as a strategic instrument of foreign policy.
Riccardo Guariglia also stressed that “it is very significant that the Vespucci Ship has chosen Spain for its first stop abroad after the worst period of the pandemic, as a testimony to the long-standing and vital relationship that links our two countries and as proof of the intensity of Italian-Spanish relations, which have been considerably revived in recent months, most recently as a result of the visit to Barcelona by the President of the Council of Ministers Mario Draghi on 18 June”.
The ship, commanded by Captain Gianfranco Bacchi and with a crew of 118 cadets, represents the best example of Italy’s finest and noblest seafaring traditions. During the day, the ambassador paid homage to the 26 fallen of the Regia Corazzata “Roma”, a Navy unit sunk by enemy air forces on 9 September 1943, by laying a wreath at the mausoleum dedicated to them.
