Barcolana: How is the village going to be

Barcolana © Studio Borlenghi

The Rive will be free from parked cars, from the Molo Audace to the Stazione Marittima, the boats and crews will be the centerpiece.

Piazza dell'Unità will host the Gold sponsors and promotional initiatives, Piazza Verdi will be the "event space" thanks to the collaboration of City Hall, the Scala Reale will house the Infopoint and the broadcast area of Linea Blu, and in front of the Stazione Marittima will be the television compound and some "paddocks" dedicated to crews.

The 52nd edition of the Barcolana on land has been designed to avoid gatherings, expand the event area, involve the entire city, and maintain the traditional promenade along the Rive to admire the boats.

The first rule of the Barcolana on land is to participate without creating crowds and to organize a safe event, entrusting food and wine, catering and sales to those who do it by trade: the shopkeepers, the restauranteurs, the hoteliers of Trieste who already follow the guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In this edition of Barcolana52, you can walk along the Rive and admire the moored boats, see the protagonists of the regatta and share the anticipation of the race, participate in the organized events in Piazza Unità, in Piazza Verdi and in numerous other locations, such as the Porto Vecchio and Miramare Castle. During Barcolana week, food, wine, and shopping will be available throughout the city, and will be connected to the event thanks to a City-wide window display competition organized by Fipe and Confcommercio and an "itinerary" of restaurants and food shops highlighting local fare.

The summit at the Prefecture - This morning, the Prefect held the security summit in the presence of all institutions and law enforcement agencies in anticipation of the 52nd edition of the Barcolana. The summit focused on some key points: a joint effort to avoid gatherings, awareness of the use of masks, and continuous coordination between the different law enforcement agencies, as always.

The Prefect emphasized raising public awareness on the safety practices concerning Covid, and also logistics; encouraging the use of parking lots outside of the city center, especially in Porto Vecchio, thus limiting the influx of people in the center in the easiest and safest way.

"I want to thank all the institutions, the Prefect, the Commissioner, the Mayor, the leaders of the Port authority, the Harbormaster and all the police forces" - said President Gialuz - "because together we want to show that an event like Barcolana can be done, and it will be done, respecting the rules that together we have established together".

"We decided to give up the village on the Rive in its traditional scope" - commented SVBG President Mitja Gialuz - "because we would have had to create a large perimeter with entrances and exits, and this would not represent the spirit of the event. The first decision we made back in March was to help all the merchants during this difficult year. Our immediate goal was to involve as many shops as possible during these weeks, so that the entire city - even in the less central neighborhoods - would feel part of the event and benefit from the traffic stimulated by Barcolana".

Piazza dell'Unità will be the epicenter of Barcolana on land - the structures that will be used there are in part the result of the synergy with Trieste Next and with Link - and it extends to the Scala Reale, where there will be the hospitality hubs of the Gold sponsors, the Infopoint and the area dedicated to RAI, who again this year is the main media partner of the event.

Food, wine and evening events will be entrusted to the professionals in bars and restaurants, Barcolana 52 will have a more seafaring focus: "We will enjoy the evenings in the cockpit, the chatter in the quay, we will share with the city our original seafaring spirit" - said Gialuz - "returning to a simpler Barcolana. We are putting great effort into designing an event that makes our race participants more and more the central focus; they have chosen to be here, to sail here, and to reaffirm the importance of sailing, even at a time like this".

Barcolana on land will see the entire city involved, thanks to Confcommercio and Fipe, in a large window display competition: the shopkeepers will have until October 2nd to register through the Barcolana website and participate from October 3rd. The showcase competition will see the blue as the dominant color and a great prize is up for grabs, the consultancy of a professional window-dresser to help decorate their Christmas displays.

The award ceremony of the best displays will be given at the same time as the awarding of the regatta in the traditional end-of-year ceremony. Fipe, Confcommercio and Barcolana will also organize a water and sea-themed treasure hunt for high school students, scheduled for the first weekend of October.