Giorgio Manenti - Astronaut 030

Travel and hospitality are at the heart of everything Giorgio Manenti does, professionally and personally. An Italian living in London, he advises clients around the world on hotel and resort investment strategy, and in his free time prioritizes travel and experiences over material possessions.

It’s unfortunate that people don’t ponder the significance and vastness of space more often, he says. “We forget to look up in our everyday lives. We stare at our phone, computer, TV, sometimes our partner but probably not enough. Yet nothing can give a sense of this vast universe like simply turning our heads and looking upward.”

Flying aboard ‘Galactic 07’ gave him the opportunity to do the opposite – look down. And what a view it was. Traveling beyond the bounds of Earth and beholding our planet from space was surreal and absolutely exhilarating. “The feeling of being on the other side is tremendously exciting,” he says, “this time looking down, admiring earth in its majestuous splendour.”

Nicknamed Spider (“I never knew why my friends called me that”), Giorgio loved immersing himself in the extensive training and preparation for his spaceflight. And the experience of rocketing through the atmosphere was a thrill he’ll never forget, creating life-changing moments and adding purpose and meaning to his existence. If anything, the experience has only increased his desire to roam the world, whether on the surface or in the skies.

Giorgio says he is “blessed with incredible friends, a gorgeous sister, and a niece to die for – and like most Italians, Mamma is the first love.” His spacesuit displays the Italian and European Union flags.