Giovanni Attanasio dreamt of becoming a ship’s captain, growing up in a community of seafarers in Sorrento, Italy, where the sea is an intrinsic part of daily life.

At 16 years old he went to sea as a cadet, falling further in love with the idea of life on the ocean and eventually became a 3rd officer on a container ship, before moving to MSC Cruises in 2008.

He was promoted to Captain in 2024.

Living in Germany with his wife and young daughter, Captain Attanasio says becoming a Master makes him feel as though he has arrived home – his dream has become a reality.

Describing himself as a simple person who is approachable and available, Captain Attanasio believes the secret to success is teamwork and respect for everyone.

In his spare time, he de-stresses at the gym or by spending time with his family, in his garden or cooking – and is a huge Harry Potter fan!

He graduated from the Nautical institute Francesco Caracciolo in 1983 and immediately after proceeded to work on cargo ships with rank of Deckhand and then moved up in different ranks. In 1996 he was promoted First Officer.

Captain Battinelli joined MSC after twenty years of experience with the cruise industry. Despite his prestigious career, Stefano underwent a month of training before becoming the MSC Orchestra Master in December 2017. Master Battinelli has a wide experience in New Building and has been in charge of various classes of ships.

Captain Domenico Calise was born on the beautiful island of Ischia, Italy and was inspired by the ocean that surrounded him to embark on a career at sea. In fact, he learnt to swim before he could walk!

Graduating from Nautical school ITN F.Caracciolo of Forio D'Ischia in 1996, Captain Calise left the island, like so many generations before him, to start a life at sea in 1997.

He joined the cruise industry five years later and joined the MSC Cruises family as a Staff Captain in 2023.

He loves to sail into any Mediterranean port, as they are steeped in centuries of history.

His favourite thing about being a Master with MSC Cruises is the precious times when colleagues are reunited after past years of working together.

Married since 2006 to Silviya, the couple shares two sons and their dog ‘daughter’, Cuba!

When not at sea, Captain Calise loves to travel with his family, take care of his garden and enjoy barbeques at home with friends.

 

Captain Cilento was born and raised in Montechiaro, a small village of the Sorrento Peninsula. His dream as a child was to work at sea and in 2005, after graduating from the Nautical Academy Nino Bixio, in Piano di Sorrento, Italy, he started working on board the container vessel MSC Melissa. In 2010, after gaining the Officer of the Watch License he moved to the cruise ship division and boarded MSC Melody. In 2015 he was promoted to Safety Officer and he was assigned to the role of Fleet Safety Trainer, assisting Captains and Crew during safety inspectios preparations. In 2017 he was promoted to Staff Captain and worked on several ships until 2022 when he was promoted to Captain of MSC Opera.

Captain Antonino Cuccaro was born in Sorrento, Italy, and dreamt of following in his father’s footsteps, by becoming a Captain at sea. 

Visiting his father on board his MSC Cargo ship, witnessing the travel and new cultures he experienced motivated the young Antonino to join the MSC family. He began on board the former MSC Melody as a junior deck boy in 2002.

Captain Cuccaro graduated to qualify as Deck Cadet on Board MSC Opera, moving to 3rd Officer, progressed through the ranks to be promoted to Staff Captain (second in command) in 2016 and eventually assigned the privileged rank of Captain in 2023.

Captain Cuccaro is motivated daily to be a ‘Master of the Seas’, inspired by the family values of the company. He is a strong believer in the ‘human factor’ and credits the crew on board ship for the success of every single holiday experience delivered to guests. 

Captain Cuccaro is married to Rosa, who he met whilst both served on board MSC Preziosa. They enjoy travelling whilst raising their young family together.

Raised in the Italian Sorrento peninsula, where seafaring traditions are strong, he attended the Nautical Institute Nino Bixio. During his career, he acquired considerable experience as first Officer, Staff Captain and Master for several shipping lines. For ten years he has been Master on MSC cargo vessels, before moving to the MSC cruise division

Originally having dreamt of a career in an airplane cockpit, Marco Franza ended up in a career wearing a different Captain’s uniform, as an MSC Cruises Captain!

Born in the beautiful Piano di Sorrento, Captain Franza is a graduate of the Technical Nautical school of Piano di Sorrento, "Nino Bixio". Unsurprisingly, given the beauty of his childhood surroundings, he fell in love with the sea at an early age and vowed to sail the seven seas.

Having swapped his ambition in the skies for the seas, Captain Franza first joined the MSC family in 2000, at MSC Cargo, transfering to MSC Cruises three years later, as third officer on board MSC Lirica.

Captain’s Franza’s constant motivation is to ensure guests can appreciate the beauty of the ocean as he does, fulfilling their spirit of adventure. 

As well as seeing the pleasure amongst guests, his favourite moments on board ship are watching the sun set, listening to the waves crash against the bow and observing dolphins as they play in the ship’s wake. Describing himself as loyal and with a sense of duty to the MSC family and guests alike, his favourite port call is Malaga, Spain, ideally on board his favourite ship, MSC Lirica.

When he is not at sea Captain Franza enjoys healthy living and travelling to places where the seas cannot reach, enjoying nature at its very finest.

He joined MSC Cargo in 1981 at the very beginning of his career as an ordinary seaman on MSC Juba. Strong performance ensured swift progress, taking him to the rank of Second Officer when he moved to his first passenger ship in 1990, and bringing his first command as Master of a cargo ship in 1996 when he was just 30 years old, to then return to passenger vessels in 2005.

Captain Gazzano started his career at sea in 1981. He joined the cruise industry in 1996, where he worked his way to obtain the role of Staff Captain and eventually Captain. All along he kept on training refining his manoeuvring/ships handling and management skills alike. He finally joined MSC Cruises in 2021.

Captain Iacono joined on MSC cargo vessels in 2001, and three years later he was transferred to the cruise division. In 2008 he received the upgrade to first officer, and as Safety Officer he served on various ships, gaining experience in USA and Nord Europe. He was subsequently promoted to Staff Captain and he became Master of MSC Musica in 2019.

He graduated from the Nautical institute “Luigi Rizzo” of Catania in 1984 and started his career aboard petrochemical ships in Genoa. In 1988 he joined the cruise industry, rising to the role of Master in 2006. From 2015 to 2017 he took on the prestigious role of Fleet Captain overseeing operations for all lines of a major cruise company. After thirty years of experience, in 2018 he joined MSC Cruises becoming the MSC Sinfonia Master.

Master Giuseppe Maresca started his career with MSC Cargo in 1989 as deck cadet on MSC Ilaria. He demonstrated extraordinary skill and was given his first command of a cargo vessel when he was only 34. He held this rank for eight seasons before moving to his first command of a passenger ship in 2007, on MSC Lirica.

He started his career at MSC in 1995 as a Deck Cadet. His first command came in 2006, on cargo ship MSC Veronique at the age of just 33. Between 2006 and 2012 he commanded 12 ships, including MSC Bettina, one of the largest in the MSC cargo fleet at the time. In 2012 he transferred to cruise ships, firstly as First Officer on board MSC Musica. In September 2016 he took command of his first cruise ship, MSC Lirica in China.

Captain Maresca graduated from the Nautical School in Piano di Sorrento in 1998 and started his maritime career in in the cargo division. After obtaining the Master license in 2006, he moved to the cruise division where he was promoted as Safety Officer. In 2012 he was Staff Captain on the MSC Magnifica, and in 2019 he became Master.

He graduated at Nautical Institute in Torre del Greco and he started his career at sea in 1981 with "Tirrenia di Navigazione " with the rank of Deck Cadet. After proceeded to work on cargo ships covering different positions and he was assigned to FINCANTIERI New Building Team as Ship Manager . He joined the Cruise Industry in 1997 covering the Captain position for many years. Recently Captain Miele covered temporarily for eight months the position of "Pilot" in Porto Nogaro. He joined the MSC after 24 years of experience in the cruise industry.

Captain Paparo attended Nino Bixio Nautical Institute in Sorrento, and during his summer holidays he joined cargo vessels to enrich his skills. Once graduated in 1997, he started to work on ferry vessels as Deck Cadet, until 2002 when he joined the cruise industry. In 2008 he was promoted First Officer, and ten years later he reached the role of Master. He is well proficient with new generation Azimuthal propulsion vessels, as well as conventional systems vessel. Captain Paparo joined MSC Cruises in 2022, after twenty years of experience in the cruise industry.

He joined MSC Cargo as an experienced First Officer in 1993. Immediately recognized for his abilities and character over two sailing periods, he was promoted to the rank of Master and given his first command of a cargo ship in 1994. He then continued to captain MSC Cargo ships for a total of thirteen sailing periods.
In 2007, he was given the command of MSC Melody, his first cruise ship, and is now in his sixth sailing period with MSC Cruises. Master Pinto has commanded various ships in the Lirica Class as well as MSC Melody, including the voyage of her attack by pirates, when his prompt skills secured the safety of all guests and crew.

Master Pontecorvo started his career with MSC Cargo in 1982 when he embarked on board MSC Corinna as deck cadet. In 1990 he embarked for the first time on a passenger ship as 2nd Officer and from 1995 to 2000 he held the rank of Staff Captain.
In 2000 he was promoted to Master of MSC Monterey and after MSC Cargo ships, where he remained until 2004 after a total of 6 embarks. In 2004 he chose to permanently command passenger ships and in 2010 he was given the command of MSC Splendida.
He has commanded all classes of the MSC Cruises' fleet.

Captain Rossi graduated from the Nautical Institute Leon Pancaldo in Savona, Italy. He started his career in 1992 on oil tankers, to move to ferries and subsequently to cruise lines in the year 2000, where he gained the role of Safety Officer first and ultimately of Staff Captain in 2010. He finally joined MSC Cruises where he was promoted Master in 2019.

He joined MSC Cruises as a Second Officer in 1994, having already acquired substantial experience in the cruise industry. In 2001, he was promoted to Staff Master on MSC Monterey and then to Master in 2005.
Captain Romano has led ships in the Lirica and Musica classes as well as MSC Melody.

He started his career on 1999 in MSC cargo ships while he was still studying at Nautical Institute in Piano di Sorrento, Italy. Since then, he continued to work for MSC cargo division until reaching the rank of Chief Officer. In 2010, he then moved to the MSC cruise division as Second Officer on the MSC Orchestra. Since then, he continued his career as First Officer, Safety Officer, Staff Captain roles and then promoted to Captain on MSC Divina in 2022.

Captain Sagani is a fourth generation ship captain. On completion of his studies at the Nautical Institute in his hometown Trieste, he joined the Italian Navy and served on a Mine-Hunter during the first Gulf War in 1990. After the Navy, he started his career on cargo vessels and in 1995 he joined the cruise industry. He quickly climbed the ranks and was promoted to Captain in 2007, since then he has been in command of many different classes of passengers ships, cruising many different itineraries around the world. Most recently, he was assigned to the newbuilding team and took delivery as Master of some new constructions from the Fincantieri shipyard. He has joined the MSC Cruises family after 27 years of experience in the Cruise industry.

Originally from Marsala, on the island of Sicily, he graduated as Master Mariner License in 1977 in the Nautical College of Trapani. His career at sea expands for over 45 years, 27 of them working in the Cruise industry, moving up to the rank of Captain in 2000. First, Captain Sammartano worked on tankers for sixteen years and spent two years in the Italian Navy. Later on he joined one of the major cruise lines, where he was also promoted to Fleet Captain. In January 2022 he joined MSC Cruises as Captain.

He started his career as Deck Boy in 1987 on cargo vessel and continued until the position of 2nd Deck Officer. On 1993 he has been transferred from the cargo to the cruise division, on board the SS Monterey as 3rd Officer and continued his career on the same ship up the rank of Safety Officer. He then moved to MSCCTD at the Safety and New Building Division, where he served from 1995 until 1997. He was promoted to the position of Staff Captain on 1998.
From 2003 until 2008 he was involved in the Mega Yacht Industry. In 2012 he came back to the Cruise Industry.

He joined MSC as a Third Officer in our Cargo Division in 1994. Immediately distinguished by his diligence and professionalism, he achieved steady progress with a transfer to the Cruise Fleet in 1999, promotion to the rank of Staff Captain in 2006 and his first command as Master in 2012.

As a child, Captain Federico Scotto Lavina would gaze out over the bay of his home island of Procida, Italy, dreaming of exploring the world and experiencing. different cultures – so what better company to work for than MSC Cruises!

A school trip on board MSC Sinfonia confirmed his ambitions, as he watched the sea, full of challenges and rewards, inspiring him to sail forwards with courage and curiosity.

Captain Scotto began his maritime career on cargo ships in 2005, moving to the cruise industry as a Deck Officer two years later. He became a Deputy Captain in 2018 and was promoted to Captain in 2025, having joined MSC Cruises in 2022.

Captain Scotto’s favourite port is Rotterdam and his favourite ship is MSC Virtuosa.

His favourite thing about being a Captain on board an MSC Cruises ship is having the chance to lead our incredible crew and see guests enjoy their journeys, creating memories to last a lifetime.

He would like to be remembered by crew and guests alike as someone who always has a smile on his face, who is approachable, actively listens and is always willing to go the extra mile to make the journey special for everyone on board.

Captain Scotto lives with his wife Kristina, who he met on board ship and their young daughter Dora, in Trieste.

Captain Sapetti graduated from the Nautical Institute Leon Pancaldo in Savona, Italy. He started his career in 1998 on reefer containers vessel, to move to cruise lines in the year 2000, where he gained the role of Safety Officer first and ultimately of Staff Captain in 2013. He finally joined MSC Cruise in 2018 where he was promoted Master in 2022.

He began his career as a deck cadet in 1992 on board the M/N Achille LAURO. In the following years he worked on MSC Symphony, MSC Rhapsody, MSC Melody and MSC Monterey.
From 2003 to 2005 he followed the construction projects in the Saint Nazaire shipyard. In 2009 he was promoted to Staff Captain, and finally Master in 2018.

He began his seafaring career with MSC in 1993, rising through the ranks to become Second Officer in 1999. After a period with other cruise companies, he returned to MSC as a Staff Captain in 2005, continuing at this rank until 2009 when he was promoted to Master.