The Francesco Morosini Naval Military School () 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'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

based in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

operated by the

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

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 for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

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, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

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 a ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

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 , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origin ...

. In 1945, after Italy's defeat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 Venetian noble Morosini family.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 skill, art, competence (human resources), competence, and knowledge of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, o ...

and maritime sports, with great facilities and professional instructors for

yachting Yachting is recreational boating activities using medium/large-sized boats or small ships collectively called yachts. Yachting is distinguished from other forms of boating mainly by the priority focus on comfort and luxury, the dependence on ma ...

and

. During summer students cruise on the “

Amerigo Vespucci Amerigo Vespucci ( , ; 9 March 1454 – 22 February 1512) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Florence for whom "Naming of the Americas, America" is named. Vespucci participated in at least two voyages of the A ...

” 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 h ...

, 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 2 ...

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

Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio (born 30 April 1953) is an Italian billionaire businessman. He is the former Executive Chairman of Silversea Cruises, a company founded by his father. In June 2018, he sold two-thirds of the company to Royal Caribbean ...

, billionaire businessman * Eduardo Serra (admiral), Italian admiral. * Stefan Siegel, 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