The speed of Italian sailing boat Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in the America’s Cup has captured the global imagination, but in Italy, the obsession with canvas and wind is far from a modern trend.
Long before ships carbon-fiber, Italian maritime life was forged in salt, strategy, and fierce regional rivalries. To sail in Italy is to engage with a living cultural heritage: a puzzle of aristocratic yacht clubs, centuries-old maritime republics and the pleasure of la dolce vita on the open water.