Ed. Rodorigo Editore
pp. 104
There are books that do not need back cover or additional information to be read. The title is enough for you. That's what happened to me with "Yesterday Today Tomorrow 1931-2016", The book on the Amerigo Vespucci School Ship produced by Rodorigo Editore. Those three simple words were enough to intrigue me and to go back to one of the masterpieces of Italian comedy and to two great actors: Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.
And of equally masterpiece can not speak to flipping through the book: over 100 pages, unrepeatable shots, punctual captions. All to retrace the 85 years of what is considered the most beautiful ship in the world: the "Queen of the seas". To make the volume unique, the cover, created by hand with an original insert of the sail and the mast of the ship. A detail that makes the difference, giving the book the value of collecting.
The history of the Amerigo Vespucci began in the Arsenal of Castellammare di Stabia on 22 February 1931. To want the ship, and the "almost twin" Christopher Columbus, Admiral Thaon of Revel. A choice that at the time seemed countercurrent, considering that the sailing fleet was at sunset, but that over time proved to be far-sighted, confirming the strong educational value of sailing on the character of individuals.
85 long years enclosed in the power of images: photos, in black and white first and then in color, of ceremonies, departures, returns and naval activities. Photos that mark a continuous history of training: almost all Italian Navy officers have made the first embarkation on the Vespucci, receiving the baptism of the sea and all the basic instructions to become true sailors and leaders. A history of annual training activities, except for the 1940 due to the entry of Italy in the Second World War, and the years 1964, 1973, 1997, 2014 and 2015, when the ship was subjected to extraordinary maintenance work.
Stories, but also curiosity, like that of the motto that distinguishes it "Not who starts, but what perseveres"And anecdotes like the one related to the 1960 when the Vespucci was the first torch bearer Italian of the Rome Olympics. Finally, tradition and innovation: the perfect combination that makes the School Ship a military unit with strong dual-use skills, ambassador of Italian style in the world, professional gym and custodian of the ancient Mediterranean marine culture.
A story that of Vespucci that should make us proud. A story that knows of the past, but also of the future and that is worth knowing. I close by quoting from the text the sentence of Admiral Agostino Straulino; "only those who do not go by sea ask ... what is the use of a nineteenth-century sailing ship to form naval officers in the age of nuclear missiles and submarines ... We have on board equipment that we once dreamed of, but the importance is that we do not lose the ability to get by at sea with their knowledge and abilities ... In the sea, in its waves, in its wind, one must always know how to read a little of what will happen in the future".
For more information, see the website: www.rodorigoeditore.it
Anita Fiaschetti
