The Italian Navy's sail training ship Amerigo Vespucci will be in Grand Harbour between July 11 and 14 as part of a tour of several Mediterranean ports.

The Amerigo Vespucci, which was last in Malta in 1993, is a 101m long sailing ship with three masts an an engine. Built in the Regio Cantiere Navale of Castellammare di Stabia (near Naples) where it was launched on 22 February 1931, on the 50th anniversary of the Naval Academy's foundation.

Its role is to traini future officers of the Italian Navy is basic seafaring skills..

The ship also carries out the role of ambassador for culture and Italian naval tradition.

Its motto is "Not those who begin but those who persevere", a sentence attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci.

The 278-man crew is made up of 16 Officers, 72 Senior Non-commissioned Officers (NCOs), 190 Junior NCOs and Enlisted Personnel.

Having departed from Cagliari last month, the training ship reached Livorno on June 29 and embarked cadets from the Navala Academy's first senior class. The 77th training campaign starts tomorrow and will also take the ship to Haifa, Limassol, Istanbul, Odessa, Sebastopo,Piraeus and back to Livorno onSeptember 18.

The ship should be open to the public in Malta on July 11 between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. hours and on July 12 between 10 a.m. and Noon and 3 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.