Italian navy ship set to arrive in New York on 4 July.

Italy’s celebrated tall ship, the Amerigo Vespucci, is preparing to cross the Atlantic once more, this time bound for the United States and Canada.

The highlight of the impending voyage will be the ship’s symbolic arrival in New York on 4 July, in time for for the 250th anniversary of American independence.

The vessel, dubbed “the most beautiful ship in the world”, is named after the Florentine explorer whose first name gave the American continent its name.

The ship will set off on Saturday from Genoa after a departure ceremony at the Porto Antico in the presence of civilian and military representatives, news agency ANSA reports.

Itinerary

Commander Nicasio Falica outlined the planned route: the ship will make a first stop in the Canary Islands, from where it will pick up the trade winds heading clockwise across the Atlantic, arriving in Baltimore before joining the 4 July festivities in New York.

It will then sail to Boston and continue north to Canada, calling at Quebec City and Montréal, before returning across the ocean with stops in the Azores and Cádiz.

Its return to Italian shores will be via Cagliari, Taranto and Venice – for a naval symposium – and finally to Trieste where it is expected for the Barcolana 2026 sailing regatta in October.

North America campaign

The mission, an initiative of the defence ministry and the Italian navy, will combine the vessel’s traditional role as a training ship with the promotion of Italian excellence abroad.

The North America campaign follows an extraordinarily busy period for the ship which was built in Castellammare di Stabia, Naples, in 1930.

After completing a 20-month Made in Italy world tour in which it called at 35 ports across 30 countries and five continents – welcoming on board around half a million visitors – the Vespucci returned to Trieste in March 2025, greeted by a Frecce Tricolori flypast and a regatta of more than 1,300 boats.

It subsequently undertook a Mediterranean tour of 17 cities before undergoing a 10-month period of maintenance.

Ahead of its Atlantic voyage, the ship will be open to visitors from 5 to 8 May.

Photo credit: IURII VOITCEKHOVSKII / Shutterstock.com