An exhibition that honored the Italian Navy and celebrated its dedication to supporting the United Nations Agenda 2030 that promotes sustainable development was held at the United Nations from June 6-14, 2024 and is now moving to the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. from June 28-July 11.
“Ocean Stories”, is billed as a “multimedia and immersive exhibition” that celebrates the Italian Navy’s history, mission and devoted personnel, as well as its dedication to the ocean through a commitment to furthering the United Nations 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development. The Italian Navy is dedicated to the ocean and its conservation, preservation and protection and has allocated resources and personnel at sea to further the scientific studies of them.
Articolo 9 of the Italian Constitution declares that the Republic must defend and preserve the nation’s artistic and historic heritage and its landscape, but it also must protect the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems in the interests of future generations.
A good place for the world’s governments to start in the global effort to protect the environment and practice sustainability is with the governments and their militaries. In the true spirit of Articolo 9, Italy is ahead of the pack in this effort. The Italian Navy’s mission is to protect Italy and her citizens from the threat of dangerous adversaries and to ensure the safety of the commercial shipping routes.
The Navy also responds to all national crises such as natural disasters and other emergencies and exceptional events. And the Italian Navy has now dedicated itself to reducing its environmental impact on the ocean by addressing sustainability and environmental concerns using new technologies and eco-technologies and the use of new fuels and energy saving techniques in its future fleet renewal program.
The exhibition is arranged in four sections: Ocean Planet, Tempo, Amerigo Vespucci, and Sailors Leading. In the first section Ocean Planet they explain that the Italian Navy views the earth’s bodies of water- seas and oceans- holistically as one large, interconnected sea. It is emphasized that the Italian Navy has always respected the Ocean and has conducted scientific research in it as well as activities for its preservation, protection and conservation for many years now.
The section Tempo, is dedicated to the daily life and operations in the Italian Navy and the sounds they experience such as the strong winds, waves crashing against the hull, the piping (whistling) of the boatswain, the ropes tightening, the thunder during storms. Tempo is sort of a metronome that celebrates the natural musical rhythms that sailors experience at sea under the sun and moon and stars.
The third section is dedicated to Amerigo Vespucci and displays a beautiful, large model that is made to 1:25 scale of the actual vessel. Important photos and information are included along with the model that explains important facts of the vessel, such as it weighs 4,300 tons fully loaded, its overall length is 100.5 meters, it has 24 main sails, it has 264 crew members (with a max crew of 440), it has 151 hammocks for the crew to sleep in, and it has a maximum sailing speed of 14,6 knots. Also exhibited near the model is a moving black and white photo from 1962 of the Amerigo Vespucci sailing in front of the USS Independence. This is a snapshot in time when two allied Navy vessels passed each other at sea and the USS Independence asked them to identify themselves. The Vespucci responded, “Training ship Amerigo Vespucci, Italian Navy,” and the USS Independence signaled back, “You are the most beautiful ship in the world.”
The Amerigo Vespucci is currently conducting a round-the-world cruise and will visit Los Angeles this July (and will not return to Italy until February 2025 after it travels over 43,000 nautical miles and visits 49 ports in 31 different countries).
The final area of the exhibition is dedicated to the fine military personnel and civilians that honorably serve the Republic of Italy. The Italian Navy has 29,000 military personnel and 6,000 civilian personnel serving. In this artistic multimedia display, you view many of the sailors’ faces who serve in various roles such as sailors, mariners, divers, submariners, special forces, naval aviators, to name only a few. You also view footage and photos that describe the numerous environmental and humanitarian missions these sailors conduct around the world.
The Italian Navy has beautiful ships and extremely capable personnel. Its motto is Patria e Onore- “Homeland and Honor!” That really sums it all up when discussing this military branch.
The second display of this exhibition can be seen at the Embassy of Italy in Washington DC in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute. It opens on June 28- July 11, 2024.
The Amerigo Vespucci can be visited from July 3- July 8 at the Port of Los Angeles (San Pedro- Berth 50).
