Barcolana58 presented by Generali: the village is now fully open along the waterfront

53rd Italian Meteor Championship - Day 2 © Giulio Testa

Barcolana58 presented by Generali is entering its busiest days as the Barcolana Village becomes fully operational along Trieste's waterfront, with around 200 exhibitors now in place, and the 53rd Italian Meteor Championship completes its second day of racing off Grignano, where Marco Pecorella's Mauna Loa remains at the top of the standings after two races.

Tomorrow will mark another key day for the event: the Barcolana AI Sea Summit, dedicated to artificial intelligence, the sea and sustainability, makes its debut at MIB Trieste School of Management, while Trieste will welcome the Amerigo Vespucci for the conclusion of the Amerigo Vespucci World Tour - North America Campaign 2026 and the Este 24 European Championship will get under way in the Gulf. Meanwhile, 1,570 boats are now entered for Sunday's main regatta.

Barcolana Village now fully open - With the opening of the stands along the waterfront, the Barcolana Village is now fully operational, stretching along Trieste's waterfront from Piazza Unità to the Maritime Station and along the Rive. Around 200 exhibitors are taking part, including partners, sponsors, institutions and the shopping area. New for this edition is the Molo del Gusto, located next to the Maritime Station and dedicated to food and wine. From today, the Village is therefore fully set up ahead of the central days of Barcolana58 presented by Generali and Sunday's main regatta.

Barcolana AI Sea Summit - Artificial intelligence, the sea and sustainability are at the heart of the first edition of the Barcolana AI Sea Summit, taking place tomorrow, Thursday 8 October, at MIB Trieste School of Management. Organised with the support of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Summit is free and open to everyone, with registration from 8.30 am and sessions running from 9.25 am to 5.00 pm. The day will feature a series of short talks inspired by the TED Talk format, designed to make artificial intelligence and its applications accessible to non-specialist audiences: from data security and innovation to mobility and start-ups, as well as shipping routes, health, the environment, decision-making and performance at sea.

The principles of the "Trieste Manifesto for Artificial Intelligence and the Sustainability of the Sea" will also be presented during the day, promoting the responsible use of AI for the benefit of the sea and its communities. The Barcolana AI Sea Hackathon, an Open Innovation challenge that will continue over the coming months, will also be launched: applications will remain open until December, the Hackathon will take place in January 2027, and a total prize fund of €9,000 will be available.

53rd Italian Meteor Championship - Day 2 - A second day of light winds off Grignano for the Italian Meteor Championship. As yesterday, conditions allowed the fleet to complete just one race, with 4-5 knots of easterly wind and sudden showers. The Meteors faced a particularly technical race, with the fleet remaining compact and closely bunched around the course. Marco Pecorella's Mauna Loa (CRV Italia) also won the second race and remains at the top of the provisional standings on 2 points, ahead of Davide Sampiero's Pekoranera Ensto (Circolo Vela Erix), second on 7 points, and Michele Marin's Avance...de galera (CV La Spezia), third on 12 points.

Vespucci Tour - Tomorrow, Thursday 8 October, the Amerigo Vespucci will arrive in Trieste for the conclusion of the Amerigo Vespucci World Tour - North America Campaign 2026. The ship will be moored at Molo Bersaglieri until 12 October, alongside the Villaggio IN Italia, the travelling multidisciplinary platform promoting Italian excellence around the world.

At 4.30 pm, the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Villaggio IN Italia will take place. Attending will be Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy Admiral Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto, CEO of Difesa Servizi Luca Andreoli, Mayor of Trieste Roberto Dipiazza, Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Councillor for Productive Activities and Tourism Sergio Emidio Bini, and President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano Mitja Gialuz.

At 5.00 pm, following the inauguration of the Villaggio IN Italia, there will be a preview screening of the documentary "L'Italia a vele spiegate: la grande impresa del Villaggio Italia e del Tour Mondiale Vespucci" ("Italy Under Full Sail: The Great Endeavour of Villaggio Italia and the Vespucci World Tour"), produced by Difesa Servizi and Ninetynine. The choice of Trieste carries strong symbolic significance: it was the first Italian city to welcome the Vespucci on her return from the 2023-2025 World Tour, during which the ship sailed approximately 50,000 nautical miles, more than twice the circumference of the Earth. Through the voices of those who took part, the documentary tells the story of the extraordinary round-the-world voyage and Villaggio Italia, the travelling mini Expo that accompanied the ship at its main international stops, showcasing Italian excellence to hundreds of thousands of visitors. The screening is open to the public subject to advance booking (www.tourvespucci.it) and will take place in the Conference Hall of the Villaggio IN Italia, on the first floor of the Maritime Station Conference Centre.

Tomorrow, with the arrival of the Amerigo Vespucci, free bookings will also reopen for visits on board on Monday 12 October, via www.tourvespucci.it.

Dragon Boat - Heavy rain in the morning did not stop the Barcolana Dragon Boat University Challenge, organised by CUS Trieste in collaboration with the University of Trieste, CUS Venezia and the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, with the support of the Regional Council of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The third edition of the competition between the distinctive dragon-headed and dragon-tailed boats saw crews from CUS Bari, CUS Padova, CUS Trieste and CUS Udine go head-to-head. Each crew comprised 16 athletes - eight women and eight men - plus a drummer setting the rhythm of the paddling.

On the 180-metre race course alongside Molo Audace, home team CUS Trieste dominated the round-robin qualifying stage with three wins from three races. CUS Bari finished second, securing a place in the grand final after winning its head-to-head race against CUS Padova, third in the group, while CUS Udine finished fourth. CUS Padova beat CUS Udine in the third-place final, while in the grand final CUS Trieste gave CUS Bari no chance, taking control from the opening strokes and crossing the finish line ahead of the team from Puglia.

"We are delighted," said Mitja Gialuz, President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, "to have continued the Barcolana Dragon Boat University Challenge project, an event that shares the values at the heart of 'Be Barcolana': taking your place on the start line without fear, getting involved and building something together that would not be possible alone. Today, the student-athletes competed stroke after stroke, taking the concept of teamwork to another level. These young people deserve special recognition for combining their studies with their passion for sport, a combination that gives them an extra edge not only in sport, but above all in everyday life."

"The First Time I Saw the Sea" - The installation "The First Time I Saw the Sea" was inaugurated this afternoon in Piazza Cavana. Created to mark the 50th anniversary of the Friuli earthquake, it remembers the tragedy of 1976 and the extraordinary wave of solidarity that mobilised the entire region, beginning with the towns of Grado and Lignano, which welcomed people displaced by the earthquake. The inauguration was attended by Mayor of Grado Giuseppe Corbatto, Mayor of Lignano Laura Giorgi, Mayor of Gemona del Friuli Roberto Revelant and President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano Mitja Gialuz. The event, moderated by Paolo Mosanghini, also featured readings and music by Adriano Giraldi and Teodora Kalicanin.

"Barcolana wanted to dedicate a symbolic tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Friuli earthquake and to that great tragedy, which taught us so much as citizens and as institutions," said Mitja Gialuz, President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. "From Trieste, in the days immediately following the first earthquake, dock workers, trade unions and university students set out to offer their support; businesses, institutions and individual citizens all mobilised: an entire community sprang into action. But what struck me most about this story is that in 1976 it was not simply individuals and families who moved: entire communities moved, seeking to preserve their identity in the coastal towns where they found solidarity and a warm welcome. It is a story that deserved to be told, and I am particularly pleased that the mayors representing those communities are here together today. The earthquake also left us with an important lesson: when we come together as a community, we can achieve goals that seem impossible."

The "The First Time I Saw the Sea" installation, at Sala del Torchio, Via dei Capitelli 8, will be open on Thursday 8 October from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm, Friday 9 October from 10.00 am to 9.00 pm, Saturday 10 October from 10.00 am to 10.00 pm and Sunday 11 October from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm. Admission is free.

The Carabinieri protecting the sea and biodiversity - At Sala Luttazzi in Magazzino 26 this morning, the Carabinieri presented their work to protect the sea and biodiversity in Friuli Venezia Giulia to more than 300 students from Trieste: from safeguarding a submerged Roman site off Grado to supporting WWF's Blue Connect project to map the Trezze di San Pietro and Bardelli, as well as the Carabinieri Forestali's work to protect 130 State Nature Reserves.

Barcolana Trieste24 GHC Sanatorio Triestino - Everything is ready for the Este 24 European Championship, which gets under way tomorrow in the Gulf of Trieste. Thursday 8 October begins with the skipper briefing at 10.00 am, followed by the first warning signal at 2.00 pm; at 7.00 pm, crews will gather at Sala Filoxenia for the Welcome Cocktail. Racing will continue on Friday and Saturday, with the Stadium Race - GHC Trophy scheduled for 6.00 pm on Friday and the prize-giving ceremony for the European Championship and GHC Trophy at 7.30 pm on Saturday. On Sunday, the crews will take part in Barcolana58 presented by Generali.

Barcolana Solaris Adriatic Cup - Prep Day - Everything is ready at the Race Village in Portopiccolo, Sistiana, for the third edition of the Barcolana Solaris Adriatic Cup, dedicated to boats built by Aquileia-based Solaris Yachts and organised by the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano together with Yacht Club Portopiccolo. An international fleet, with crews also representing Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Hong Kong, is preparing for two days of racing in the Gulf of Trieste. Today is dedicated to preparations, with registration at YC Portopiccolo and a welcome cocktail for owners. Tomorrow, following the 10.00 am briefing, the first race will start at 11.55 am on an inshore course off Portopiccolo; on Friday, the fleet will move to the official Barcolana course, starting between the headquarters of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano and Miramare Castle, providing a true preview of Sunday's main regatta. The boats will race under corrected time and will be divided into three groups according to their overall length.

Barcolana Un Mare Di Racconti - The series of literary events continues at Casa della Musica. This afternoon, Slovenian authors Mirt Komel and Tadej Golob take to the stage, bringing two literary detectives from Nova Gorica and the lakes. They will be followed by Elena Stancanelli with La gioia di ieri (Einaudi), the story of Anna and her search for happiness without turning away from the complexities of life, and Spanish author Clara Sánchez, winner of the Alfaguara, Nadal and Planeta prizes, with La stanza delle verità (Garzanti).

Entries - The number of boats entered for Barcolana58 presented by Generali, taking place on Sunday 11 October, has risen to 1,570.