Another day, another ship

Except that, after last year's excitements, last week's visitor, the Italian sail training ship Amerigo Vespucci, seemed liked a rarity, rather than more of the same.

As with previous visiting sailing-ships, people were allowed to stroll the decks, admire the brasswork and neatly stowed ropes and rigging, wonder over the arrangement of four or five steering wheels all linked together (would it take a team to hold the rudder on course in rough weather?), imagine (if a small child) this was a pirate ship - or (this being modern times) sit and play with a computer.

On the face of it, not a lot of difference from similar visitors from other countries offering picturesque reflections in the office blocks around - but could these sailors have come from any other country but Italy?