The America's Cup trophy travelled to Naples this week in its Louis Vuitton case, taking pride of place at a reception aboard the Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian Navy's historic training ship, on the eve of the Preliminary Regatta.
The evening drew a notable crowd from the sailing world. Margherita Porro, skipper of Luna Rossa's Women & Youth team in PR2 Naples, attended alongside Ellie Aldridge, holder of the Women's America's Cup and co-helm onboard Cobham-Ultra GB2 in Naples. Aldridge is also an Olympic gold medallist. Jo Aleh, from Emirates Team New Zealand and herself a gold and silver medal-winning Olympian, was there too.
Marzio Perrelli, CEO of the America's Cup Partnership, was onboard with the trophy for the second time this year, having also brought it to New York for the USA's 250th anniversary celebrations.
"Coming here today, I was thinking that if this Cup could speak, I believe it would tell us that it would be very happy to be on board the Amerigo Vespucci, because the America's Cup is not only the ultimate expression of technology and modernity applied to the wind, sailing and sport, but it is also a story spanning 175 years," Perrelli said. "And since the Amerigo Vespucci, if I'm not mistaken, is approaching her 100th anniversary, they will probably have things to say to one another; they understand each other; they will recount tales of magnificent storms at sea, sailing voyages, victories and defeats."
He drew a line between the ship and the trophy as institutions bound to both history and what comes next. "This is the cadet school, so this is where the Navy's future leadership is trained. And the America's Cup also has the Youth Cup as part of its programme; incidentally, today we announced that it will take place from 2 to 6 June, within the three-month America's Cup period."
Earlier that day, Perrelli had taken the trophy to Caivano, where it was shown to 300 children. "It was a wonderful moment, and I was particularly struck by the beauty of the sports centre that Sport e Salute has been able to restore for the city, and this is precisely the power of sport."
"We are on the eve of the preliminary races. I am delighted that the Amerigo Vespucci is here to bless the race course and the teams. And I hope that next year, too, she will be close to us, so that we can at least reunite two old ladies who, I believe, are very, very fond of one another."
Captain Nicasio Falica, the 114th commander of the Amerigo Vespucci, welcomed guests including Andrea Abodi, Minister for Sport and Youth; Marco Mezzaroma, President of Sport e Salute; Diego Nepi Molineris, CEO of Sport e Salute; Luca Andreoli, CEO of Difesa Servizi; Admiral Vincenzo Montanaro, Commander of the Italian Navy's Logistics Command; and Chiara Marciani, Councillor for Youth Policies, Labor and Welfare of the Municipality of Naples.
Falica spoke of the ship's standing as the longest-serving vessel in the Italian Navy, and of the parallels he sees with the Cup itself. "The Amerigo Vespucci, the longest-serving vessel in the Italian Navy, a training ship par excellence, and, on the other hand, a competition, the world's oldest international sporting competition. Two entities, the Vespucci and the America's Cup, which effectively converge into a single dimension, a single world."
"I am referring to values such as healthy competition, team spirit, crew spirit, determination and the spirit of sacrifice that we find both here on board the Vespucci and out at sea," he said. "So, on the one hand, tradition; on the other, innovation; but at the centre, the same heart, the same strength: the crews, the crew, the great crew, the men and women who draw their vitality from what we have in common: the sea and our passion for the sea."
Luca Andreoli, CEO of Difesa Servizi, hosted the evening. He thanked the Captain and the Admiral for their hospitality before explaining how the collaboration between the two came about.
"The collaboration between the Amerigo Vespucci and the America's Cup is one that has developed as the project has progressed, with the Vespucci undertaking its training campaign in North America, as part of this wider project we launched in 2023, the world tour, which has enjoyed global success and showcased the qualities of 'Made in Italy' and what it means to be Italian."
Getting the two ministries on the same page wasn't complicated, he said. "We spoke with Minister Abodi and, of course, Minister Crosetto, who is the creator and driving force behind this world tour project, and he fully understood the scope and importance of a collaboration of this kind."
The ship has its own long history. Launched at Castellammare di Stabia in 1931, not far from where the reception was held, the Vespucci carries a photographic record stretching back nearly a century.
"This album of memories simply could not be complete without a photograph featuring the America's Cup," Andreoli said. "So we were very keen to have it first in New York, and now here in Naples, and I believe that from the union of these two entities, these two great sailing forces, something even greater may emerge."
He closed by wishing the crews well on the waters of Naples, and the regatta a fitting send-off.
