Seven Moves for Italy

A.B. (April 25, 2011)
A navigator and a merchant, aided by four sailors, accompanied by four great chefs and thirteen companions, travel from Genoa to New York to draw up a document to help Italy

Genoa, Palma de Maiorca, Giblatar, Madeira, New York. These are the ports that mark the route of the "7 mosse per l'Italia" sailboat, promoted by Oscar Farinetti, patron of the gourmet store Eataly, and sailor Giovanni Soldini. The two "captains" set up a crew of twenty-two men and women "of thought and action" who will alternate on the boat, writing down the seven moves to be applied for the improvement of Italy's condition.

The list of names involved in this extraordinary sailing expedition is long and varied, and includes personalities from the Italian cultural and entertainment world such as Alessandro Baricco, Piergiorgio Odifreddi, Giorgio Faletti, Lella Costa, Antonio Scurati, and from the business world like Riccardo Illy, Daniel John Winteler, Matteo Marzotto and Guido Falck.
 

The crew will be fed by four World-renowned chefs who will take part in the crossing and will cook everyday with a budget of 4.50 Euros a head.
 
"These are people who aren't politically active, and don't wish to be. None of them is by prejudice of the left of the right, all distant from party quarrels," reads the official website of the event, which lasts from April 25, the day of departure, to June 2, the arrival date in New York. Together with a special travel journal enriched by photos and videos, and a real-time map to follow the movements of the boat, the site offers the possibility to put forth suggestions. And this cooperation between Italians on the boat and those in front of their computers at home will give birth to a document "with a moderate but determined language that, we believe, will be useful to those who have been nominated to execute politics," explains the website. At the arrival in New York, the manifesto will immediately be handed to the Consul General Francesco Maria Talò, who will pass it on to Rome.
 
The departure and arrival dates are already important for Italy: April 25 marks the 66th anniversary of the Liberation from Nazifascism, and June 2 is the Day of the Republic. The initiative is somewhat an act of love towards the country.

"There are civil reasons behind our trip, which is only a signal to underline the urgent need for change. The world moves forward and Italy continues to lose ground. It needs to catch up. We live in a beautiful country, but their is a problem of collective conscience and of defense of what should be public which nobody seems to care about anymore. We have very little time and cannot allow this anymore", states Giovanni Soldini.
 
A regatta for transparency, for civic sense and responsibility, a beautiful initiative. All that's left is to wish them, and us,  Buon Viaggio!

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