Daniele Bresciano from Viareggio, Honorary Member of the Versilia Nautical Club and of the Viareggina Sailing Society, has just been awarded the Gold Medal for Athletic Valor in recognition of the extraordinary success achieved in 1992 as a member of the crew of the Moro di Venezia, winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup.
At the Acquacetosa Olympic Preparation Center in Rome, as part of a meeting of the CONI National Council chaired by Giovanni Malagò, the crew of Il Moro di Venezia was in fact awarded the Gold Medal for Athletic Valor in the presence of the Minister of “Sport and Youth” Andrea Abodi: among the winners also Daniele Bresciano in the crew on the legendary Moro di Venezia together with Gabriele Bassetti Graziano Bellomo, Lars Borgstrom, Paolo Bottari, Carlo Castellano, Paul Cayard, Tommaso Chieffi, Enrico Chieffi, Duilio Coletti, Marco Cornacchia, Luca Dignani, Alberto Fantini, Massimo Galli, Gianluca Lamaro, Vittorio Landolfi, Andrea Madaffari, Roberto Martinez, Sergio Mauro, Lorenzo Mazza, Andrea Merani, Andrea Mura, Tiziano Nava, Alessio Pratesi, Massimo Procopio, Francesco Rapetti, Marco Schiavuta , Sandro Spaziani, Davide Tizzano, Ulisse Vicinanza and Guido Antar Vigna.
Here is the summary of the day.
President Malagò began the ceremony by calling at his side the Minister of Sport and Youth Andrea Abodi, the President of the Italian Sailing Federation Francesco Ettorre and the Olympic champion Alessandra Sensini.
Malagò then invited on stage all the members of the Moro di Venezia crew to whom CONI General Secretary Carlo Mornati presented the Gold Medal for Athletic Valour.
Malagò greeted Ivan Gardini, thanking him for his presence and, after personally congratulating all theBoys‘ del Moro, left the floor to Minister Abodi: “In 1992 – declared the Minister – for professional reasons I had a close relationship with the Moro di Venezia experience and with those who promoted it; therefore, my thoughts certainly go to Raul Gardini. I experienced firsthand the emotions of that period and this is the spirit of my presence here today. It was a wonderful experience that made Italians fall in love, made sailing much more known and changed the level of attention, even of institutions, towards this sector which is sporting but also industrial, creates added value, it generates wealth, offers work and is an element of excellence at an international level.”
In his speech, FIV President Ettorre thanked Minister Abodi, President Malagò and the entire CONI Board for this recognition of the world of sailing and the history of the Moor of Venice which inspired the general public, underlining “The importance that many of the winners still continue to teach sailing to our young people today. I think this is the most important message. In 2024 the most important sailing events in the world will be celebrated: the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the XXXVII edition of the America’s Cup in Barcelona. There could not have been a better year to confer this recognition on the Il Moro di Venezia team, promoter of a trend which, in the following years, generated other Italian challenges to the America’s Cup by Italian entrepreneurs and shipowners.”
On 30 April 1992 in San Diego (USA), the crew of Il Moro di Venezia defeated Team New Zealand in the final regattas of the Louis Vuitton Cup (5-3 final result), thus winning the Louis Vuitton Cup and becoming the official Challenger at the XXVIII edition of the America’s Cup. The Moro di Venezia was the first vessel from a non-English speaking country to be able to challenge the holder of the Trophy in 141 years of history.
Wanted by Raul Gardini to participate in the XXVIII America’s Cup, Il Moro di Venezia, standard bearer of the Compagnia della Vela, thanks to his sporting success, has exponentially increased the interest and enthusiasm for the sport of sailing in Italy, contributing to inspire a new generation of sailors and enthusiasts. Even today, more than three decades after his epic, Il Moro di Venezia continues to be celebrated as an icon of the sailing movement.
In his speech on the sidelines of the awards ceremony, Ivan Gardini, guest of honour, addressing the crew, underlined that: “The Moro di Venezia has remained in the country’s memory certainly because it represented an innovative, technological and sporting challenge, but above all for the human aspect that you guys conveyed at the time and the empathy generated with the fans. All this is still recognized today after more than 30 years. My father would certainly have been happy about this and honored to share this important recognition with his crew.”
Davide Tizzano, two Olympic Gold medalists in rowing and grinder on board the Moro di Venezia spoke on behalf of the entire crew: “Together with my two Olympic successes, participation in the “Il Moro di Venezia” challenge represents one of the most beautiful pages of my human and sporting memories. I had the honor of meeting a great man and shipowner, Raul Gardini and I had the privilege of having raced with a group of athletes and sailors of the highest level. This for me is the most important value. Il Moro di Venezia represented innovation. It was one of the first sailing teams capable of being fast on the water, but also of knowing how to achieve great goals, going beyond technological frontiers and I am referring to the first carbon sails. “Il Moro” represented and will always remain a fundamental stage in the history of Italian sailing. Congratulations to the entire crew who have been awarded the Gold Medal for Athletic Valor, one of the most important honors in Italian Sport.”
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