by Nastassja Martin
Interviews: Mitja Gialuz, President, Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano; Roberto Dipiazza, Mayor of Trieste
The Barcolana, one of the world’s largest sailing regattas, will return from October 2 to 11 with an ambitious cultural program that expands far beyond the race itself, transforming Trieste into a citywide festival of art, music, literature, science and community life.
Organizers presented the 58th edition under the theme “Be Open,” describing it as an invitation to open the city to artists, students, researchers, local associations and visitors. More than 500 events will take place across over 100 locations, from the Porto Vecchio waterfront and historic museums to neighborhood squares, galleries and the Karst plateau.
This year’s edition places particular emphasis on community participation. Through the public initiative Candida il tuo evento, organizers received more than 110 proposals, with 91 selected for inclusion in the official program. The result is a diverse calendar of exhibitions, performances, workshops and public discussions created in collaboration with local cultural institutions and civic organizations.
A central feature of the festival is Be Community, a project that extends Barcolana into the neighborhoods of Borgo Cavana and Borgo Teresiano. More than 100 local businesses and organizations will host concerts, artisan workshops, children’s activities and cultural events, encouraging visitors to explore the city beyond the traditional regatta village. Floating performances on the Canal Grande and live music in public squares will animate the historic districts throughout the festival.
The program also commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Friuli earthquake with an exhibition titled The First Time I Saw the Sea. Combining photographs, historical documents and theatrical performances, the project reflects on memory, resilience and the reconstruction of communities across Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Environmental education remains another major focus. An immersive installation in Piazza Unità d’Italia will allow visitors to explore ocean ecosystems through science, sound and visual storytelling, while school groups will participate in guided activities dedicated to marine conservation. The festival will also host the Trieste premiere of a documentary examining the shark meat trade in the Mediterranean, alongside talks by researchers studying marine wildlife along the Adriatic coast.
Literature returns with the eighth edition of Barcolana – A Sea of Stories, bringing acclaimed Italian and international authors to the Casa della Musica for six days of conversations on contemporary fiction, history, travel and the relationship between people and the sea.
While thousands of sailors will gather for the iconic regatta on the Gulf of Trieste, Barcolana 58 aims to celebrate the city’s broader identity: a crossroads of cultures where sport, science and the arts converge along the Adriatic.
