by Nina Vaclavikova
Interview: Serena Tonel, deputy mayor of Trieste and Francesco Capellotto from la capella underground
In a corner of Trieste better known for its quiet residential streets than pop culture fandoms, superheroes, manga characters and cyberpunk rebels are about to take over.
On May 30 and 31, the municipal library “Stelio Mattioni” in Borgo San Sergio will host the third edition of Borgo Cosplay, a free festival celebrating cosplay, comics, gaming and Japanese pop culture. Organized by the City of Trieste with the cultural association La Cappella Underground, the event has quickly evolved from a niche experiment into one of the city’s liveliest youth-oriented gatherings.
“This began almost as a bet,” Vice Mayor Serena Tonel said at the presentation in City Hall on Friday. “Instead, it became a huge success.”
Last year’s edition drew more than 1,200 visitors, and organizers expect even larger crowds this spring after moving the festival from late summer to May. At the center of the event is the library itself, which has steadily built a strong collection of graphic novels and manga aimed at younger readers.
“The manga section has become an extraordinary tool for promoting reading among teenagers,” said Serena Miniussi, head of the Mattioni library. During the festival, the library will remain fully open, allowing visitors to explore its collections while attending workshops and performances.
This year’s biggest addition is a dedicated Cyberpunk-themed day on Saturday, inspired by the neon-drenched aesthetics of films like Blade Runner and Tron. Cosplayers dressed in futuristic armor and retro-futuristic costumes will compete in a themed contest accompanied by a Retrowave DJ set.
Sunday shifts toward a broader celebration of fandom culture with the main Borgo Cosplay Contest, open to all genres and characters. The weekend will also include K-pop dance workshops, manga drawing labs, tabletop gaming tournaments, retro arcade competitions and live lightsaber demonstrations.
Among the guests are Leonardo Graziano, the Italian voice of Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory and Naruto Uzumaki in Naruto, and Elena Zanzi, a leading editor at Panini Comics known for overseeing Italian editions of manga hits including Jujutsu Kaisen and Bleach.
For a weekend, at least, Borgo San Sergio will trade everyday reality for fantasy worlds, anime universes and the glow of pixelated nostalgia.
