by InTrieste
Interview: Sergio Bini, FVG councilor for tourism
The Barcolana, long celebrated as the world’s largest sailing regatta, will return to the Gulf of Trieste on October 12, 2025, with an expanded program that organizers say will highlight not only sport and tourism but also culture and regional identity.
The event, first held more than half a century ago as a small local competition, now draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Speaking at the presentation of the 57th edition at Palazzo Berlam in Trieste, Mario Anzil, vice president of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region with responsibility for sport and culture, emphasized its multidimensional character. “Barcolana was born as a local competition and thanks to the ability of its organizers has become the largest regatta in the world,” he said. “It is one of the most important sporting events in our region, a major tourist attraction, and has a cultural dimension as well.”
For the first time, the Regional Agency for Cultural Heritage (Erpac) will host its own stand, presenting exhibitions and sites such as the Magazzino delle Idee in Trieste, the Victory Lighthouse, the upcoming show Confini at Villa Manin, and museums in Gorizia and across the region.
The regatta will be preceded by ten days of land- and sea-based events beginning October 3. Piazza Unità, Trieste’s main square, will host the large regional pavilion “Io Sono Friuli Venezia Giulia,” featuring tastings, cultural programming, and spaces for visitors and guests. PromoTurismoFVG, the regional tourism board, has positioned Barcolana as a springboard to promote the entire Adriatic coastline of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
“This year the formula is particularly interesting because it extends the Barcolana beyond Trieste to the whole region,” said regional tourism councillor Sergio Emidio Bini. “The regatta is known from the United States to Asia, thanks to organizers and the many volunteers who make it possible.”
The expanded calendar includes collaborations with coastal towns such as Lignano and Grado, hosting rowing competitions and a SUP experience. A new model boating event will take place at Lake Cavazzo, underscoring organizers’ ambition to turn Barcolana into a “festival of the sea” for the entire region.
A specially designed truck, also branded “Io Sono Friuli Venezia Giulia,” will be stationed in Piazza Unità, featuring a regional wine bar, design installations, merchandise, and live performances, including violinist Pierpaolo Foti’s sunset and evening concerts. The truck will also serve as the main set for Sky TG24, broadcasting live coverage during the event.
Along Trieste’s waterfront, two branded vessels will showcase regional partnerships: a 64-foot Solaris yacht representing Friuli Venezia Giulia and a 50-foot Red Bull craft linked to the Nautical Institute Galvani.
Institutional and corporate partners were also present at the launch, including Trieste’s mayor Roberto Dipiazza, the local port authority, Andrea Sironi, president of Generali, Barcolana’s main sponsor, and Mitja Gialuz, president of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, which organizes the regatta. This year’s program will again highlight Women in Sailing, an initiative promoting gender equity in the sport, presented in detail by Emma Ursig.
With more than 800 registrations already confirmed and over 600 side events planned, organizers say the 2025 edition is set to reinforce Barcolana’s status as both a global sailing spectacle and a showcase for the region’s culture and tourism.
