The Francesco Morosini Naval Military School ( it, Scuola militare navale "Francesco Morosini") is a

military education Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

based 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 ...

operated by the

Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

and named after the great venetian Doge. Boys and girls of an age between 15 and 18 years old, after having positively passed the admission process, are enrolled to attend the last three high school years. Cadets' military and

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...

is provided both by civil teachers and naval officers in order to promote, in addition to regular studies, interest and love for life at sea through various related activities like

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

etc., preparing them to their future careers.

History

A naval boarding school was established on the island of S. Elena in

in 1937, and it was named ''Italian Lictor Youth Naval College'' (''"Collegio Navale della Gioventù Italiana del Littorio"''). It aimed to encourage young men to engage in activities related to the sea and to prepare them to enroll in the

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...

. In 1945, after Italy's defeat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the School was closed. In 1961, the boarding school opened again and it was named after doge

Francesco Morosini Francesco Morosini (26 February 1619 – 16 January 1694) was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War. He was one of the many Doges and generals produced by the noble Venetian family of Morosini.Encyclopæd ...

. It allowed boys to attend here the last three years of high school. In 1998, the School obtained military status and it was therefore renamed "Scuola navale militare Francesco Morosini". In 2009, girls were allowed to attend the School. The goal of the school is to nurture an interest in seafaring careers. Director Stefano Alleva created an eleven episode film series about life at the school. Many foreign dignitaries visit the school, including U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1980.

Activities and facilities

The school is contained on the southeastern quarter of the island of S. Elena, encompassing 47,000 square meters. Special care has been dedicated to

seamanship Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topics a ...

and maritime sports, with great facilities and professional instructors for

yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, t ...

and

. During summer students cruise on the “ Amerigo Vespucci” as crew.

Notable alumni

* Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta *

Luigi Binelli Mantelli Luigi Mario Binelli Mantelli (born 4 December 1950) is an Italian admiral. He was Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy from 2 March 2012 to 28 January 2013 and Chief of the Defence Staff of Italy from 31 January 2013 to 28 February 2015. In 1995 ...

, former Italy chief of Defence *

Giampaolo Di Paola Giampaolo Di Paola (born 15 August 1944) is an Italian naval officer who served in the government of Italy as minister of defense from November 2011 to April 2013. He was the Italian military's Chief of Staff from 10 March 2004 to 8 February 20 ...

, former Italy ministry of Defence * Alberto Gallo, fund manager *

Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio (born 30 April 1953) is an Italian-born Monegasque billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and former owner of Silversea Cruises, a company founded by his father. In June 2018, he sold two-thirds of the company t ...

, billionaire businessman *

Eduardo Serra (admiral) Vice Admiral Eduardo Serra is an Italian naval officer. He attended the Francesco Morosini Naval Military School in Venice from 1973 to 1976 before attending the Italian Naval Academy from 1976 to 1980. He was appointed Commander Maritime Comman ...

, Italian admiral. *

Stefan Siegel Stefan Siegel (born 1978) is the founder of Not Just a Label, an online platform for emerging voices in fashion. Early life and education Siegel was born in 1978 in the German speaking province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. Following his hig ...

, fashion technology businessman

References

Bibliography

* Andrea Tirondola, ''Pale a prora! Storia della Scuola navale militare "Francesco Morosini" e dell'istruzione marinaresca a Venezia dalla Serenissima ai giorni nostri'', 2012, ISBN 9788897221050

External links