by InTrieste
BoraMata, the annual festival celebrating the Bora wind, will return to Trieste on July 4 and 5, transforming Piazza Unità d’Italia into a vast installation of colorful pinwheels for its 11th edition.
Launched in 2014 as a small initiative during the Barcolana, BoraMata has evolved into one of the city’s signature summer events, using public art and interactive installations to celebrate the powerful wind that has long shaped Trieste’s history and identity.
Hundreds of spinning pinwheels will once again fill the city’s main square, animated by the Bora itself. This year’s edition introduces new stone bases made from pebbles collected from agricultural land across Friuli. Formed over millions of years as they traveled from the mountains to the plains, the stones have historically been used in the construction of homes and villages throughout the region.
Organizers say the installation also carries symbolic significance, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1976 earthquake. The stones are intended to represent the connection between the mountains of Friuli and the Adriatic coast, highlighting themes of continuity, memory and renewal.
The festival also includes events at the Borarium in Opicina, an exhibition space connected to the Museo della Bora project. On July 4, visitors will be able to explore the exhibition The Wind in Close-Up, featuring sustainable reinterpretations of the museum’s well-known “Bora in a Box” installation alongside photographs by Marco Covi. A hands-on workshop led by Emanuele Bertossi will also invite participants to create wind-inspired objects.
