Compagnia della Vela is a

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

club in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The club was the "Challenger of Record" for the

1992 America's Cup The 28th America's Cup was contested between the winner of the 1992 Citizen Cup defender selection series, America³, and the winner of the 1992 Louis Vuitton Cup challenger selection series, Il Moro di Venezia. It was the first edition of t ...

, where they were represented by their team

Il Moro di Venezia Il Moro Challenge was a 1992 Italian America's Cup team headed by industrialist Raul Gardini. The team won the 1992 Louis Vuitton Cup but failed to win the 28th America's Cup. Early years International America’s Cup Class boats (IACC) were a ...

, and won the

1992 Louis Vuitton Cup The 3rd Louis Vuitton Cup was held in San Diego, United States in 1992. The winner, Il Moro di Venezia, went on to challenge for the 1992 America's Cup. The teams Eight challengers from seven nations contested the 1992 Louis Vuitton Cup. Toget ...

History

Founded on March 15, 1911 as a ''Yacht Club Veneziano'' (Venetian Yacht Club), among its members it included Gabriele d'Annunzio who, in a message dated 1919 (the original is kept in the company

headquarter Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...

s), inspired the new name ''Compagnia della Vela'' (Company of Sailing) and the latin motto ''Custodi, Domine, vigilantes'' (Protect, oh Lord, the Watchful), after the club initials "CDV." With the patent of December 1933, the

King of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader, ...

Vittorio Emanuele III Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and ...

, granted the Company the privilege to display the ''Stemma Reale'' (Royal Coat of Arms) on the ''guidone sociale'' (club burgee), in addition to the honor of bearing the National War Flag that had already been previously accorded to the Venetian Yacht Club and the club was accordingly renamed the ''Reale Compagnia della Vela'' (Royal Company of Sailing). Returning to previous name of ''Compagnia della Vela'' at the advent of the

Republic of Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 1948, to date the burgee consists of a white cross on a red field, with a green canton filling the upper quarter at the hoist. In 1990 the Compagnia della Vela received from the

Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee ( it, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in Italy. ...

(CONI) the Silver Star for sporting merit. In 1995, the CONI awarded the Compagnia della Vela their Gold Star for sporting merit. In 2012 the Compagnia della Vela received the Golden Collar for sporting merit.

Il Moro di Venezia

V'' won the

, the competition among all potential challengers --in 1992, eight competing teams from seven nations-- to become the sole challenger for the America's Cup. However, despite being favourites, they were unable to win the

Notable members

* Gabriele d'Annunzio *

Giuseppe Volpi Giuseppe Volpi, 1st Count of Misrata (19 November 1877 – 16 November 1947) was an Italian businessman and politician. Count Volpi developed utilities which brought electricity to Venice, northeast Italy, and the Balkans by 1903. In 1911� ...

Vittorio Marzotto Vittorio Marzotto (13 June 1922, Valdagno – 4 February 1999) was an Italian racing driver. He drove 16 sports car races between 1948 and 1955, mainly in Ferrari's, his best results being two victories and three second places. He also entered a F ...

Raul Gardini Raul Gardini (June 7, 1933 – July 23, 1993) was an Italian agri-business and chemicals tycoon. In 1980 he took the helm of his father-in-law Serafino Ferruzzi's family business, starting an aggressive campaign that led to the acquisition of ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Yacht clubs in Italy Sport in Venice

History

Il Moro di Venezia

Notable members

See also

References

External links