#Vespucci

[detournementsmineurs]

"Simonetta Vespucci" par Sandro Botticelli (1480-85) présentée par Véronica Carpati - Fondazione d'Arte Trossi-Uberti - lors des journées consacrées à "L'Ornement Précieux II" par L'Ecole des Arts Joailliers au Collège de France, janvier 2024.

[artiscon]

Bergamo by tony belobrajdic_ www.tbelobrajdic.com Via Flickr: Amerigo Vespucci tall ship - Watercolour Workshop in Bergamo, Italy

[plasmastudio]

Dice que quiere ver el mundo y sus maravillas.

••••••

Amerigo Vespucci

Foto: Red

[art-emide]

5 ore di fila per entrare nel Vespucci. Mi sento un Transformers.

[elsbridgestation3d]

Lets celebrate Vespucci instead of Columbus

Columbus Day Instead of celebrating Christopher Columbus on October 10, how about we celebrate Amerigo Vespucci on March 9.

(1) The Americas are named after him.

(2) He is one of the first exploration credited with acknowledging the New World as NOT the Indies or Asia.

(3) He's a better person than Columbus.

Expect to see this again on March 9.

[ka-ching19]

¨La juventud tiene el genio vivo y el juicio débil¨ Aristóteles

[modaonlinemagazalari]

https://www.modaonlinemagazalari.com/moda-markas/vespucci/

Vespucci

[vespastories]

Vespucci #vespucci #vespa #vespaindonesia #vespaitaly #vespagermany #vespagram #vespajakarta #vespajapan #vespaphilippines #vespamalaysia #vespapiaggio #piaggio #vespasuper150 #vespabogor #vespabandung #vespadepok (di Depok) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZb0oQ3Ph0e/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[detournementsmineurs]

"Simonetta Vespucci" par Piero di Cosimo (1481-90) présentée par Véronica Carpati - Fondazione d'Arte Trossi-Uberti - lors des journées consacrées à "L'Ornement Précieux II" par L'Ecole des Arts Joailliers au Collège de France, janvier 2024.

[die-rosastrasse]

Piero di Cosimo

Italian, 1462-1522

Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci, 1490 (detail)

[tenthmuseondine]

Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen mourning King Viserys I Targaryen.

Loosely inspired by "Venus and Mars" (1485) by Sandro Botticelli.

[ltwilliammowett]

Amerigo Vespucci training ship of the Italian Navy, by Alberto Simonetto, 2022

[fabforgottennobility]

Sei la più bella!

[bradleyjsource]

MEDICI: MASTERS OF FLORENCE (2016–2019) 2.02 Standing Alone

[404-art-found]

pondering how there are surely other Ferrymen sailing the Styx, and how they may greet each other

[copperbadge]

Pictured above: the Amerigo Vespucci, a three-masted tall ship, encounters two US aircraft carriers: the Independence (black and white image, 1962) and the George H.W. Bush (color image, 2022). 

Built in 1930 for the purpose of sail training, the Italian Training Ship Amerigo Vespucci is designed after 18th century 74-cannon "ships of the line”, naval warships common to the Age of Sail. She carries a standard crew of 16 officers, 70 noncoms, and 190 sailors; she has an overall length of 101m/331ft and a maximum width of 15.5m/51ft with a steel hull and a top speed of 10 knots (19km/h). The masts are steel but carry traditional canvas sails and use only hemp rope; mooring lines are synthetic per port regulations. Currently she carries both diesel and electric engines. More details and specifications at Wikipedia. Her sister ship, the Cristoforo Colombo, was given to the USSR as war reparations after WWII. 

There is a commonly-repeated story that when the Amerigo Vespucci encountered the USS Independence in 1962, the Independence signaled the Amerigo Vespucci to ask, “Who are you?” 

The ship replied, “Training ship Amerigo Vespucci, Italian Navy.” 

The Independence then is reported to have responded:

“You are the most beautiful ship in the world.” 

Well, they weren’t lying about that. 

Wikipedia’s only truly useful citation for this encounter is a YouTube video of the USS George H.W. Bush meeting the Amerigo Vespucci in 2022.  

This encounter was also documented in a US Navy press release from September 2022, which has better information for the initial exchange. The 1962 photo leaves no doubt the Independence and the Amerigo Vespucci did encounter one another, but the exchange of communications does not have strong visible documentation. The press release states that the NHHC website has a record of the encounter, but does not link to it. 

The NHHC website, which is a massive pain in the ass to use, has a records page for the black and white photo above, but that appears to be the extent of its documentation. Presumably there’s a logbook for the Independence or the Amerigo Vespucci or both, but that’s beyond my ability to locate. I have not been able to find a record that isn’t embedded in 21st-century documents which don’t have strong citations. There is no record of who on the Independence felt the need to compliment the Amerigo Vespucci, or how the ship responded. The Italian Navy’s history of the Amerigo Vespucci, now available only through Archive.org, does not mention the encounter.

The earliest record I could find of the Amerigo Vespucci referenced as “The most beautiful ship in the world” comes from a post at VisitVenezia, which Google believes was posted in 2004 (there’s no date on the post itself). The earliest reference to the actual meeting of the two ships is a vague reference in a blog from 2012, which merely states that “another ship once radioed, you are the most beautiful ship in the world.” There is no citation for the story’s origin at that post. If the exchange did happen, the story of it appears to have surfaced to civilians only in the 21st century. Most other records 2012-2022 eventually trace back to Tumblr, actually. 

The USS Independence’s Crew Book for 1962 has been digitized; reading through it there is, as they say, a lot to unpack, but despite numerous pages dedicated to the sights of the Mediterranean, there is no mention or photo of the Amerigo Vespucci that I could find. It does list the two commanders of the Independence, Melvin R. Etheridge and Bob J. Robison, as well as the full 1962 crew. And if you like men in uniform, 60s military technology, or poorly printed photos of Europe in 1962, it’s a fun way to spend an hour or so. 

In any case, the Navy says it happened, and it’s a great story. We do have documentation, both in the video above and in the September 2022 press release, of the 2022 encounter. The USS George H.W. Bush, captained by Capt. David-Tavis Pollard, asks via radio, “Sailing vessel on my starboard side, please identify yourself.” 

The ship responds, “This is Italian Navy ship Amerigo Vespucci.” 

The US ship asks, “Are you the one that sailed by the USS Independence in 1962?” 

To which the Italians reply, “Yes we are. We are the senior national vessel in active duty.” 

The US ship responds, “Amerigo Vespucci, you are still after 60 years the most beautiful ship in the world.” 

To which the Amerigo Vespucci answers, “George Bush, we are flattered and express fair winds and following seas for your deployment.” 

I’d love to know who sent the original messages, and where it might have been recorded; if folks have access to documentation or know sailors who served on the Independence or the Amerigo Vespucci in 1962 who might remember it, please feel free to let me know. After all, I’d like the story to be true. 

And she is, then and now, a beautiful ship.