BANGKOK: Visitors are invited to register to spend time on the ship and immerse themselves in Italian culture – all for free
The Italian navy’s iconic and perhaps the most beautiful ship, the Amerigo Vespucci, will dock at Phuket’s Cape Panwa from Wednesday to Sunday (Nov 6-10).
Interested persons can register to experience the ship first-hand at https://tourvespucci.it/sali-a-bordo/
There will be two visits each day at 10am and 3pm, except for Wednesday, when visitors can board at 4pm.
The tall ship, which has been in service since 1931, embarked on a 20-month-long world tour in July 2023 with 15 scheduled stops. The aim of its journey is to promote Italian culture as well as train future sailors.
This is the first time in 20 years that the ship, named after the famous 16th-century explorer, has left Italian waters.
As it docks in Phuket, visitors will be given a rare opportunity to step aboard the iconic ship and immerse themselves in a world of Italian heritage and culture through art exhibitions, film screenings, historical displays and sculptural masterpieces.
Highlighted exhibits include La David, a bronze statue by famous artist Jago, and the torch used in the opening of the Olympics Games in Italy.
Amerigo Vespucci is a full-rigged three-masted steel hull 82.4 m long, with an overall length of 101 m including the bowsprit and a maximum width of 15.5 m. She has a draught of about 7 m and a displacement at full load of 4,146 tonnes.
Under auxiliary diesel-electric propulsion, the Amerigo Vespucci can reach 10 knots (19 km/h) and has a range of 5,450 nautical miles (10,093.4 km) at 6.5 knots (12 km/h). When under sail in severe sea and wind conditions she can reach 12 knots (22 km/h).
The ship’s next stop will be Mumbai in India from Nov 24 to 28. - The Nation/ANN
