The Amerigo Vespucci, which set sail from Genoa on 9 May, has crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the east coast of the United States for the new chapter of the Amerigo Vespucci World Tour – North America Campaign 2026, through which it continues to showcase to the world the beauty, identity, dialogue between peoples and culture of Italy and the Italian people.
Announced in September 2025 by Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, during the closing press conference of the 2023–2025 Vespucci World Tour, the “Amerigo Vespucci World Tour – North America Campaign 2026”, an initiative of the Ministry of Defence and the Italian Navy produced by Difesa Servizi S.p.A. (the Ministry of Defence’s in-house company that promotes the Ministry’s assets through dual-use applications), forms part of the celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of US Independence. The project is being developed in collaboration with: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Culture, the Minister for Sport and Youth and the Minister for Disability.
In 2021, the US Navy invited the Italian Navy to take part in SAIL250, the global gathering of tall ships and military vessels which, with stops in Baltimore (SAIL250 Maryland), New York (Sail4th 250) and Boston (Sail Boston), brings together the world’s most important naval vessels. In New York, on 4 July, the Nave Amerigo Vespucci will take part in the highlight of the celebrations, the International Naval Review 250 , which will see the world’s finest sailing ships sail up the River Hudson from the Verrazzano Bridge, passing in front of the Statue of Liberty, to the George Washington Bridge.
Arrival in Baltimore
The Amerigo Vespucci reached the port of Baltimore today, the largest and most populous city in Maryland.
After 47 days at sea since setting sail from Genoa, the Amerigo Vespucci has set new records: with its latest Atlantic crossing, it has surpassed the record of 2,899 miles covered under sail, beating the record set during the 1992 training campaign.
Captain Nicasio Falica – Commander of the Amerigo Vespucci – decided, together with the crew, to sail an additional 500 nautical miles in pursuit of the trade winds, thereby extending the route compared to a direct crossing, and thus managing to sail for 12 consecutive days under sail alone.
The Vespucci – upon its arrival in Baltimore – has also clocked up 3,661 nautical miles, setting a new record for the longest route travelled by the ship since 1952.
In Baltimore, the Amerigo Vespucci is moored at the Tide Point waterfront, in the Locust Point area, alongside the other vessels taking part in the SAIL250 Maryland parade from 25 June to 1 July, accompanied by the return of the US Navy’s famous aerobatic team, the ‘Blue Angels’, at Martin State Airport (an event open to the public). On Sunday 28 June at 7.00 pm, a concert entitled “From Vespucci to America: A Musical Journey” will be held on the quay alongside the ship, featuring the internationally renowned Italian pianist Cristiana Pegoraro, in honour of the America250 celebrations. The event is organised by the Consulate General of Italy in Philadelphia to mark the conclusion of a series of lectures on Italy’s contribution to the American Declaration of Independence and the subsequent process of establishing the United States.
Also in Baltimore, the Nave Vespucci will take on board first-year cadets from the Naval Academy in Livorno for their regular training campaign, which will conclude in Italy with their disembarkation in Taranto. On board, the cadets will experience their ‘baptism of the sea’ and prepare to become officers of the Italian Navy in accordance with the centuries-old traditions of Italian seafaring, alternating sailing and technical training with naval diplomacy activities, as part of the official programme of celebrations for the 250th anniversary of US Independence.
On 1 July, the Nave Vespucci will leave Baltimore for New York City, the second and most important stop on the Amerigo Vespucci World Tour – North America Campaign 2026, where on 4 July, the anniversary of American independence, it will take part in Sail4th250, the largest event organised in New York Harbour, which will feature a parade of over 50 tall ships and more than forty naval vessels in one of the most spectacular peacetime maritime parades (International Naval Review 250).
The Amerigo Vespucci is eagerly awaited both by the large Italian-American community living in New York and beyond, and by Americans themselves, precisely because of the historical ties that bind the Vespucci – and Italy – to the United States: the Italian Navy’s training ship bears the name of Amerigo Vespucci, the famous Florentine navigator and explorer who was the first to realise that the lands discovered by Christopher Columbus were part of a New World, a continent which was named America in his honour.
The encounter at sea between the Nave Vespucci and the US aircraft carrier USS Independence in 1962 in the Mediterranean Sea has since become legendary; the sailing ship received the message in flashes of light: ‘Who are you?’, to which it replied ‘Training ship Amerigo Vespucci, Italian Navy’, receiving in return: ‘You are the most beautiful ship in the world’.
Sixty years later, in 2022, whilst crossing paths off the coast with the American aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush, the radio greeting confirmed that reputation: ‘You are still, after 60 years, the most beautiful ship in the world’.
In New York, at the end of the parade, the Vespucci will be moored at Pier 86, home to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, and will be open to the public for on-board visits.
To visit the Amerigo Vespucci in Baltimore, New York and Boston, no bookings are required, in accordance with the organisational rules of Sail250; simply turn up at the venue. Access will be granted subject to the ship’s maximum capacity and in accordance with the organisational arrangements in place at each port. Full details regarding visits are available on the website www.tourvespucci.it and on the official websites of Sail250Maryland, Sail4th240 and SailBoston.
Following the celebrations in New York, the Nave Vespucci will set sail for Boston, where from 11 to 16 July it will take part in Sail Boston, before continuing on to Canada, where it will be a highlight of the Rendez-vous naval de Québec – a prestigious international gathering of ships hosted by the port of Québec City from 23 to 26 July 2026. Subsequently, from 29 July to 3 August, before embarking on another ocean crossing, it will call at Montreal.
On her return to Italy, the Amerigo Vespucci will call at Cagliari, Taranto and Venice for the 15th edition of the Trans-Regional Seapower Symposium (T-RSS). The final stop will be in Trieste, to coincide with the Barcolana, the world’s most popular sailing regatta with over 2,000 boats, held annually in the Gulf of Trieste (the 58th edition will take place on Sunday 11 October 2026), and the arrival of the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Veloce, the longest regatta in the Mediterranean, which will be held in Trieste for the first time.
