Nao Victoria

This is a faithful replica of the Nao Victoria, the first ship to circumnavigate the globe, completing what is considered the greatest maritime achievement in history. Commanded by Juan Sebastián Elcano, the original set sail from Seville in 1519 and returned to the same port in 1522, after a voyage that, for the first time, connected all continents by sailing around the globe.

The replica was built in Spain in 1991 following an extensive programme of historical research led by Ignacio Fernández Vial, the ship’s designer and builder. This long research process drew on documentary sources, contemporary chronicles, 16th-century nautical treatises and iconography, to reproduce as faithfully as possible, the dimensions, characteristics of the masts, sails and equipment of the original vessel.

In 2004, to commemorate the historic feat, the replica of the Nao Victoria set out on a new circumnavigation of the world, once again departing from Seville. Between 2004 and 2006, covering a total distance of 26,894 miles, she visited 17 countries, becoming the first historical replica ever to complete a full circumnavigation of the Earth.

Since 2007, the vessel has been operated by the Nao Victoria Foundation, which promotes maritime education projects and participates in international events. An ambassador of the First Circumnavigation of the Globe and a symbol of Spain’s great maritime heritage, Nao Victoria also serves as a floating museum and training ship, having welcomed more than six million visitors worldwide. Over the past decade, she has sailed many thousands of miles, calling at major ports across Spain, Europe and the United States, paying tribute to one of the defining milestones in the history of maritime exploration.