At the cruise ship pier in the city of Puerto Vallarta, a reception was held with some hundred guests on board the Amerigo Vespucci, a training ship of the Italian Navy, which is visiting this important tourist centre on the Mexican Pacific coast for the first time in its history.
Commander Giuseppe Lai addressed a message to the guests, in the presence of the Italian Ambassador to Mexico, Alessandro Modiano, Mexico's Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, María Teresa Mercado, Francisco Martínez Gil, acting mayor of Puerto Vallarta, Juan Carlos Flores Miramontes, Minister of Education of the State of Jalisco, Vice Admiral Manuel Roberto Farías Laguna, commander of Naval Zone 12 senator Reyes Flores Hurtado, representing the President of the Senate, Ana Lilia Rivera, MP Martha Estela Romo, representing the President of the Chamber of Deputies, MP Alfredo Femat, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, and MP Braulio López Ochoa Mijares, Secretary of the Mexico-Italy Friendship Group of the Chamber of Deputies.
"She is the longest-lived ship in our Navy," said Lai. "She was launched in 1931 and has been plying the seas for 93 years as a training unit and floating embassy. "The Vespucci," he added, "left last July 1st from Genoa to sail the second round-the-world voyage in its history, which will take it 20 months, more than 40,000 miles, visiting over 30 countries and stopping in 35 ports.
"After crossing the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic, we spent four months in Argentina, crossed the Strait of Magellan, the Beagle Channel, the Patagonian channels, rounded Cape Horn and sailed up the west coast of the American continent. After reaching the Galapagos, we arrived here, in Mexico, 20 years after our last visit. The unit I have the honour of commanding has the purpose of training the first-year officer cadets of the Livorno Naval Academy who embark here every summer to experience their first encounter with the sea," he continued.
"This ship is also a floating embassy, with a naval diplomacy attitude, a promoter in the world of Italy, of its excellences, and of values such as maritime legitimacy, cooperation among peoples, peaceful coexistence, and protection of the marine environment.
"I thank all the local authorities and in particular the Secretaría de Marina for the warm welcome we received and the support we were given. The warmth with which this city has welcomed us is tangible and has made us feel welcome," the commander concluded.
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