Children of Italy unite through Regatta

The Garibaldi Tall Ships Regatta has not only brought together a fleet of Tall Ships to mark the 150th anniversary of Giuseppe Garibaldi’s famous expedition to unite the two Sicilies, but has also united the school children of both Genoa in the north of Italy and Trapani in Sicily.

UNICEF linked the school children of both cities by organising for the children of Genoa to write 1000 messages and drawings in peace and friendship which were then carried by the Italian naval ship Palinuro down to Trapani where they will be handed over to the school children of Trapani. The drawings and messages are all currently on display on Palinuro for the next two days before being handed over. 

In Genoa, a group of school children sang the UNICEF song as they handed over the letters to the captain of Palinuro, who promised to keep them safe and give them to the children of Trapani. 

Also announced during a press conference held this morning, was that STA Italia are going to be setting up a special branch of STA Italia in order to assist in getting more young people out to sea and experience a sail training voyage. Matteo Bruzzo, President of STA Italia advised that over 100 young people from all over Italy had sailed on board a number of the Tall Ships for the race from Genoa, including 29 who sailed on Palinuro. The positive experiences of these young people is to be used to encourage more to take a sail training voyage and it is hoped that the youth of Trapani will be able to benefit from these voyages.

“We have asked the maritime college of Trapani to be in contact with the other martime colleges of Sicily to help organise the trainees so that STA Italia can help place them onto ships for sail training voyages,” said Matteo Bruzzo. “In that way we will be able to expand the knowledge of sail training in Sicily as we have in Napoli, Rome and Genoa.”