The stage of the inauguration was today Tokyo of the Amerigo Vespucci World Tourthe historic sailing ship and training ship of the Navy, ambassador of Made in Italy in the world, for the first time in Japan. At the inaugural ceremony of the Villaggio Italia in Tokyo, which also marked the beginning of visits on board the ship, the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto, who strongly supported the project, spoke. “The World Tour of the Vespucci ship and the Villaggio Italia bring to Tokyo a piece, a small piece of Italy’s art, culture, food, wine, technology, design. Just as a small piece of culture is brought by our friends of the navy band who will also be here when Italy participates in the Osaka Universal Expo”, emphasizes the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto.
In addition to Minister Crosetto, who visited the Vespucci in the morning together with his Japanese counterpart Minoru Kihara, the inaugural ceremony was also attended by the Italian Ambassador to Japan Gianluigi Benedetti, Luca Andreoli, CEO of Difesa Servizi, the in-house company of the Ministry of Defense that creates and supports all phases of the initiative, Captain Giuseppe Lai, Commander of the Ship. Deputy Minister of Defense Shingo Miyake spoke on behalf of the Japanese government.
“This project brings with it the Italian way of doing things, the Italian know-how. At each stage we have always met a new people, a new way of doing things, with new rules, we have confronted ourselves with different cultures, and we have always managed to set up the village with the results that are before your eyes. And we must be proud of this Italian way of doing things, that the whole world recognizes us and that has determined our history”, underlines the CEO of Difesa Servizi. “The world tour of Nave Vespucci and Villaggio Italia is an innovative and transversal marketing project designed to increase international interest in the Italian Country System through the valorization of pop and identity icons such as Nave Amerigo Vespucci”, continues Andreoli. “The sentiment that the Vespucci naturally generates in every port where it docks was the basis on which to base the entire initiative. We have here our best Ambassadors of excellence who confirm that, on the one hand, Italy is a cultural and economic power admired, respected and imitated in the world and, on the other, that when the many energies expressed by the public system team up with each other and with the business system, we are able to express unique performances. Hence the pride of being Italian”.
Among the Italian excellences on display in Tokyo are the Italian Opera Academy of Maestro Riccardo Muti, the musicians of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala, the “David” of the artist Jago, Italian cinema in collaboration with the Venice Biennale International Film Festival, the Banda Musicale della Marina Militare, Giotto and the Cappella degli Scrovegni with the immersive experience of Magister Art, the iconic Italian wines in collaboration with Verona Fiere – Vinitaly.
“With the arrival in Tokyo, we have thus reached the twenty-second stage of the World Tour after fourteen months from the departure from the port of Genoa in July 2023. We are living in a historic moment. It is a great emotion that I and the entire crew are feeling because it is the first time ever for the Amerigo Vespucci in Tokyo and in general in Japan”, underlines Lai, Commander of the Amerigo Vespucci. “In Tokyo, as in Los Angeles, the Vespucci, which is an ambassador of Made in Italy in the world and traditionally carries out important Naval Diplomacy activities, is accompanied by the Villaggio Italia which, in promoting our culture, tradition, capacity for innovation, research, further strengthens the knowledge of the beauty of our country in all five continents that this Tour allows us to reach, making us even more proud of the task that has been entrusted to us”.
Also present at the ceremony were the Undersecretary of State for Defense Matteo Perego di Cremnago, the Chief of Staff of the Navy Admiral Enrico Credendino, the General Commissioner for Italy’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka Mario Andrea Vattani, the President of the Piedmont Region Alberto Cirio and the President of Ice – Italian Trade & Investment Agency – Matteo Zoppas and Federico Bricolo, President of Veronafiere SpA, the organizer of Vinitaly. Also on behalf of the Japanese government, the Minister of the Environment Shintaro Ito participated and then accompanied Minister Crosetto on a tour of the Italian Village, stopping in the various spaces of the exhibition area including the one dedicated to the Italian Pavilion at the Universal Exposition, scheduled to be held in Japan next year.
Further strengthening the cooperative relations between Italy and Japan is the presence in these days in the country of the ships that make up the Italian Carrier Strike Group. In particular, the Aircraft Carrier Cavour and the Frigate Alpino are on a stopover in Yokosuka, while the Multipurpose Offshore Patrol Ship Raimondo Montecuccoli is on a stopover in Okinawa, as part of the operational projection campaign in the Indo-Pacific with tasks of Naval diplomacy and promotion of the Country System and Italian excellence in the industry of the sector.
After Tokyo, Villaggio Italia will be in Darwin, Australia from 4 to 7 October, in Singapore from 24 to 28 October, in Mumbai, India from 28 November to 2 December, in Doha, Qatar from 18 to 21 December, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 23 to 26 December and in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 20 to 24 January next year.
In addition to the Ministry of Defense, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers – with the Minister for Civil Protection and Maritime Policies and the Minister for Sport and Youth – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism are participating in the Villaggio Italia initiative.