In December 1981, Italian skipper Cino Ricci met Gianni Agnelli at the FIAT headquarters, asking for his support for the first Italian challenge to the America’s Cup. In a single afternoon, 17 sponsors came on board and the adventure officially began. Crew selections began immediately in Porto Cervo, while from the pencil of the young yacht designer Andrea Vallicelli was born Azzurra, the first entirely Italian 12-meter to take part in the most prestigious sailing competition in the world.
While the 37th edition of the America’s Cup is taking place in Spain, RaiTre will broadcast on Sunday 22 September at 11.10 pm the documentary AZZURRA – La prima sfida italiana all’America’s Cup produced by Casta Diva and Subframe Media and directed by Nicola Cavalazzi and Tommaso De Micheli, which retraces the extraordinary feat that began in Italy in the early 1970s when offshore sailing began to develop and spread, giving birth to the dream of participating in the America’s Cup, the oldest sporting trophy in the world, until then won only by American boats.
After months of exhausting training, on June 18th Cino and his boys made their debut in the waters of Newport against France III with an incredible victory. Over the course of two months, Azzurra confirmed itself as one of the fastest boats among the challengers, reaching the semi-finals. Upon their return to Italy, the boys were welcomed as heroes and discovered the overwhelming enthusiasm with which the entire country had followed their adventures.
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