Photo By Kristina Higgins | Rear Adm. Paolo Bembo, Italian Navy (ret.) addresses attendees at the presentation of...... read more read more
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On 19 May 2026, the National Museum of the United States Navy presented “The Origin Story of “America” starring Amerigo Vespucci,” a presentation by Rear Adm. Paolo Bembo, Italian Navy (ret.), highlighting the famed Italian explorer and his legacy. This special event was part of the Navy’s year-long celebration commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence.
"I wanted to speak about Amerigo Vespucci because there are so many misunderstandings about him. He did not start as a navigator but grew into a good one,” explained Bembo. “After 250 years, America is still called America and not Colombia.”
Vespucci was a 16th century Italian banker, merchant and explorer, and his multiple voyages to the eastern coast of South America became well known after he published letters detailing his exploits. Rear Adm. Bembo explained that although Vespucci was limited by the navigational tools of his day, he studied numerous books and maps before undertaking successful voyages to the continents that now bear his name. While Christopher Columbus remained convinced that he had reached Asia until his death, Vespucci asserted that both he and Columbus had charted a continent previously unknown to Europeans. German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller bestowed Vespucci’s name onto the new continent in a map of the world published in 1507, while the explorer himself was still alive. Upon relating Waldseemüller’s contribution to Vespucci’s fame, Bembo noted that this was a deliberate decision made to honor Vespucci’s achievements.
Rear Adm. Bembo concluded his remarks by telling the story of a historic naval vessel that is also named for the famous explorer. ITS Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian Navy training ship, was commissioned in 1931 and continues to train Sailors in the timeless art of seamanship. The steel-hulled sailing vessel will be making port calls this summer in New York, Boston, and Baltimore as part of Sail 250 events celebrating the 250th Anniversary of American independence. Rear Adm. Bembo has a deep personal connection to this ship,having served aboard the vessel as a midshipman andlateras the ship’s navigator during his four decades of distinguished naval service.
In September 2025, Bembo, a scholar of cartography and naval art, facilitated the donation of a painting of ITS Amerigo Vespucci’s meeting with USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) by Professor Lorenzo Mariotti to the Naval History and Heritage Command’s Navy Art Collection to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US Navy.
| Date Taken: | 05.19.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 05.20.2026 12:18 |
| Story ID: | 565768 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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