by InTrieste
A documentary chronicling one of the most significant achievements in the history of deep-sea exploration will be screened in Piazza Verdi on Thursday, July 30, at 9:30 p.m., as part of a free public event organized by the City of Trieste.
Operazione Batiscafo Trieste, directed by Massimiliano Finazzer Flory, returns to the city after earlier screenings in Washington and New York. The final version of the film includes a new interview with Marie-Laure Piccard, adding further perspective to the story behind the historic mission.
The screening will also serve as a tribute to Giorgio Rossi, the longtime Trieste city councilor who recently died. Director Massimiliano Finazzer Flory is expected to attend, alongside Mayor Roberto Dipiazza.
The documentary recounts the story of the Bathyscaphe Trieste, the deep-diving vessel that made history on Jan. 23, 1960, when Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Lt. Don Walsh became the first people to reach the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, nearly 11,000 meters (about 36,000 feet) below sea level.
Featuring interviews with Bertrand Piccard and Kelly Walsh, the sons of the two explorers, the film traces the origins of the ambitious project, the engineering challenges involved in building the vessel and the broader scientific and human significance of the expedition.
Commissioned by the City of Trieste, the documentary also draws extensively on archival footage, including rare images documenting the construction of the pioneering submersible, which was designed and built in the Adriatic city before becoming a landmark in the history of ocean exploration.
