Biography:
Giovanni was born in Trieste, on the North East coast of Italy. He started his career at sea at the age of 17 years on container vessels as young deck-boy. After being graduated in the historical Nautical Institute of Trieste, he went to serve the Italian Navy. He continued his life at sea as junior officer on modern full-container and ro-ro ships. In 1991 he got the opportunity to sail in the Antarctic waters on a research vessel engaged in seismic surveys, bathymetry and oceanography, named OGS Explora, on this vessel he spent one whole year between the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross Sea. In 1995 he got his first command on an Ocean going tug boat and in 1996 he started his experience on passenger ships on the former Lindblad Explorer operated by A&K, sailing to Antarctica, the Amazon River and the Arctic. For more than 4 years he participated to an high number of expeditions, the two most memorable are the circumnavigation of James Ross Island in Antarctica and the exciting discover of the Amazon river 80 miles beyond Iquitos being the first crew of a passenger ship that ever challenged this experience. In 1999 he participated to the construction of a 500 passengers ship for the former Radisson Seven Seas Cruises (now Regent) in on which he sailed until December 2000. Later he joined Silversea’s fleet on February 2001. After the facts of Sept. 11th as many passenger ships that suffered lack of bookings have been laid up, he has transferred on a European 2500 passenger ships and later on a 1000 passenger ship. He took this job as part of his career but he did not want to continue on such big vessels. He joined CruiseWest on which he sailed the extraordinary Alaska coast up to the Bering Sea and beyond the Arctic Circle. After a season he returned to Antarctica on the Mv Explorer II participating at some seasons sailing between the Antarctic Peninsula, the islands of South Georgia and the beautiful Falklands. In 2006 he sailed on the same ship as Captain in Greenland taking for the first time this vessel in those waters. He has retired from his command at the end of 2012 beginning a new chapter in his life providing services as Ice Pilot to Expedition passenger ships and yachts. As per today, Giovanni has done 25 years of polar voyages with well over 100 expedition cruises to Antarctica and the Arctic. Giovanni is married to Danielle which gifted him with a son, Arturo Harry, born in 2012. While off duty, he likes to bring his family to Italy to sail his sailing boat tackling the Mediterranean Sea.
