The Amerigo Vespucci, the jewel of the Italian Navy, has left Valparaíso to continue its world tour begun in 2023 and ending in 2025. The world’s most beautiful ship, considered a veritable “floating embassy”, made a stop in Chile for the first time in its history, reaching a record number of more than 22,000 visitors over the five days it spent at the Molo de Abrigo.
During its stay in the port city, cultural and promotional activities were organised by the Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute, starting with the inauguration of the exhibition “Siamo Mare. Italia Paesaggio Costiero” (We are the Sea. Italy’s Coastal Landscape), to be held at the National Maritime Museum in Valparaíso until 31 May. This was followed by the Conference on Marine Biodiversity organised at the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Valparaíso, where 15 images by Italian photographers were exhibited as part of the exhibition “Siamo mare. La bellezza del mare, la biodiversità e la sostenibilità ambientale” (We are the Sea. The beauty of the sea, biodiversity and environmental sustainability). For the occasion, a concert of Italian opera music was organised in the historic setting of the Palacio Vergara Museum in Viña del Mar, designed by an Italian architect in the early 20th century.
On 1 May, the presentation event of Italea, a programme that aims to help Italian descendants around the world reconnect with their ancestors’ places of origin, was held at the Arturo Dell’Oro Italian School in Viña del Mar. “2024 is the year of the Italian roots in the world. With this event we want to remind the Italian community in Chile of the ambitious project ‘Roots Tourism’. Wherever Italians go, they bring their Italian culture, traditions, colours and flavours. By rediscovering our roots, we can make those colours more vivid and those flavours more intense,” said the Ambassador of Italy to Chile Valeria Biagiotti in her opening speech.
