Barcolana57 presented by Generali - Day 5
by Barcolana 5 Oct 22:48 BST
1-12 October 2025
Barcolana Nuota powered by Honda - Luca Giustolisi Trophy - Barcolana57 presented by Generali - Day 5 © Martina Orsini
There's no water that Barcolana cannot interpret. Today's heavy rainfall forced the cancellation of activities at sea, not only Barcolana Young but also the eagerly awaited Barcolana Nuota powered by Honda - Luca Giustolisi Trophy.
- Barcolana Nuota powered by Honda - Luca Giustolisi Trophy: Paltrinieri and swimming champions take center stage at the Old Port Convention Centre
- Barcolana Waterpolo: success for the tournament organised with Pallanuoto Trieste and Waterpolo project
- Barcolana Young: Over two hundred young sailors celebrate
However, since every difficulty can be transformed into an opportunity, Barcolana managed to reinvent this appointment into an exciting chat, informal and intimate, between Gregorio Paltrinieri and the over 300 participants registered for the event who turned up despite the bad weather.
Barcolana Nuota powered by Honda - Luca Giustolisi Trophy - Olympic Gold Medallist and multiple World Champion Gregorio Paltrinieri wanted to reach Trieste to wish the athletes "good luck" and attend the Barcolana Nuota powered by Honda - Luca Giustolisi Trophy, but the change of programme offered the opportunity for a discussion lasting over an hour at the Old Port Convention Centre, where Paltrinieri answered questions and queries from the swimmers in the audience. An audience that boasted more than 10 Olympic medals - besides Paltrinieri, there were also Stefania Pirozzi, Luca Dotto and Trieste's own Piero Codia - who greeted the participants and contributed to the day, introduced on stage by Mitja Gialuz - President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano - and Sigrid De Riz - Chief Executive Officer of Triestina Nuoto. Barcolana Nuota powered by Honda thus became an important moment of discussion for these athletes, who had the opportunity to spend an hour side by side with these champions, a different experience from what was planned, but equally exciting.
"Barcolana Nuota has been a great celebration since the first edition, today it was so in a different but equally exciting way,"declared Mitja Gialuz. "Indeed, the rain forced us to improvise and we discovered a format to keep in mind for future editions as well. The participants loved talking to these great champions, whom I want to thank for their availability and the warmth with which they interpreted this unexpected day. We were supposed to be at sea, but rain was the protagonist - no matter in what form, water in Barcolana always gives ideas and opportunities."
"This Barcolana Nuota powered by Honda - Luca Giustolisi Trophy," adds Chief Executive Officer of Triestina Nuoto Samer & Co. Shipping Sigrid De Riz, "has been an enormous success despite the bad weather conditions not allowing us to get in the water for the competition. However, thanks to the commitment and dedication of all the players involved, within 24 hours we managed to organise an alternative event with a luxury guest like Gregorio Paltrinieri. It was a unique opportunity to listen to the words of an Olympic and World champion, a reference point for Italian sport, who told his story in an intergenerational meeting, between experiences, behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes in and out of the water. The story of Barcolana Nuota continues and will continue following the growth path undertaken in recent years which has brought us in 2025 to gather around 450 participants ready to share their passion for water and swimming in a fascinating setting with few equals in the world like the Piazza Unità area."
Barcolana Waterpolo - Whilst the rain fell incessantly and the Bora made its voice heard with gusts of over 100 km/h, Barcolana Waterpolo took place in the San Giovanni swimming pool, an event organised in collaboration with Pallanuoto Trieste SSD and Waterpolo Project A.S.D.
Around sixty athletes belonging to four teams took to the water - Under 18 Pallanuoto Trieste, Kimbo Kimbo (selection of athletes from the Triveneto region), Polisportiva Lizzi and Waterpolo Project A.S.D. - who competed in an exciting four-way tournament. The Under 18 team from Pallanuoto Trieste conquered the final victory.
"Fantastic event," declared Dean Bassi, vice-president of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano who participated in the tournament as a player. "It was beautiful to see the blue of the pool water blend with the colours of Barcolana57 presented by Generali. Barcolana is an event where passion meets all possible waters, including those of water polo fatigue, a sport that requires commitment, sacrifice and dedication of the highest level. It's a discipline where you cannot cheat: efforts and commitment are always rewarded. We wanted to include it precisely for this reason. After last year's demonstration match, this year we proposed a four-way tournament and for next year we aim to grow even more."
Barcolana Young - The Optimist dinghies of Barcolana Young could not go to sea due to bad weather, but at 11:00 the prize-giving ceremony for this edition was still held, with the rankings closed after the races held yesterday.
At Warehouse 26 of the Old Port, the traditional celebration took place: a great collective embrace among the approximately two hundred young sailors, who shared the excitement of the awards and the usual prize draw.
In Division A, the overall victory went to Giovanni Montesano (CN Sirena), followed by Furio Corso (STSM), Val Grbec (JK Pirat), Pietro Vecchioni (SVBG) and Mihael Zobec (JK Olimpic). Among the girls in the same category, Karolina Kulenova(YC Slnava Piestany) prevailed, ahead of Zoja Ribaric (JK Pirat) and Gaia Corso (STSM).
In Division B, the overall victory was won by Viola Corso (STSM), who preceded Filippo Zanon (LNI Grado), Giulio Calligaris (SN Pietas Julia), Niccolò Gallo (SVBG) and Luna Corbo Altobelli (SN Laguna).
Among the girls in the same division, Viola Corso dominated again, followed by Luna Corbo Altobelli (SN Laguna) and Mariasole Pillan (SN Pietas Julia).
The "Barcolana Young" Challenge Trophy, awarded to the club which in the final ranking totalled the lowest score by adding the results of the first three athletes in Division A and the first two in Division B, was won by the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano (SVBG).
Barcolana Culture - The absence of the spectacle on the water offered the perfect opportunity to visit the many exhibitions in the Barcolana Culture calendar, organised in collaboration and with the support of the Municipality of Trieste and the Fondazione CRTrieste. The extensive personal exhibition by Davide Besana, "Sailing in Comics", continues until 12th October in the Veruda Hall of the Municipality of Trieste, just a few steps from Piazza dell'Unità. Double event at warehouse 26: in the Sbisà hall "Tales of Loving the Sea", a tactile collective of tributes to the sea and immersive installation curated by NAVIM Group, whilst in the Leonor Fini Hall "The Sea that Unites", an exhibition that aims to celebrate, valorise and disseminate the importance and role of the Adriatic Sea over the centuries, through the display of ancient maps and nautical charts that built the image of our sea between the 16th and 19th centuries. Both exhibitions have free admission.
Batiscafo Trieste - In Piazza Unità, the faithful reproduction, on a 1:1 scale, of the glorious Batiscafo Trieste was inaugurated, in the presence of Mayor Roberto Dipiazza, Culture Councillor Giorgio Rossi and Regional Councillor Pierpaolo Roberti. The bathyscaphe, which made history in science by reaching 3,150 metres depth in the Tyrrhenian Trench in 1953 and the world record of 10,916 metres in the Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench in 1960 with Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh on board, will remain on display until 9th November and then be permanently placed at the Diego de Henriquez War for Peace Museum. The event also inaugurates the "Operation Bathyscaphe" project which includes a docufilm directed by Massimiliano Finazzer Flory due for release in January 2026; from 8th October, clips previewing the film will be screened in the Barcolana Village in Borgo Cavana.
Barcolana Lake Up - Success for the first edition on the lake of three municipalities - Thirty-eight entries from Italy, Slovenia and Austria for the first edition of the Barcolana Lake Up model sailing regatta. Whilst the Bora blew relentlessly in Trieste, the Lake of Three Municipalities welcomed the event with a spectacular landscape: the first snow during the night and splendid sunshine in the afternoon. Ideal conditions for the model sailing regatta held along the eastern shore for about a mile, with a breeze that turned along the course so much as to force the boats into a completely close-hauled sailing angle.
Great success for the event, which saw the participation of the President of the Italian Sailing Federation, Francesco Ettorre, together with the President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, Mitja Gialuz. "It had been many years since we wanted to organise a similar event," declared Gialuz. "Model sailing is a fascinating and inclusive way of experiencing sailing: it combines passion, knowledge of the environment and technical expertise in the construction and handling of boats. It was a great sporting event in a wonderful place that we deeply love."
As for the results, the regatta saw 27 boats in the rankings divided into four classes. In the Maxi Class (models over 1300 mm) first place went to Roberto Zanasi with Aurelia. In Class 1 (models from 1000 to 1300 mm) Massimo Morintriumphed with Dragon Flite, whilst in Class 2 (models from 700 to 1000 mm) Massimo Apostoli took the highest step of the podium with TNT. Finally, in Class 3 (models up to 700 mm) the victory went to Walter Zangrando.
In the broadest Barcolana tradition, during the prize-giving ceremony on the lakeside - which also involved athletes from the other disciplines featured over the weekend - the first three overall were also awarded, namely Roberto Zanasi, Josef Rosenwirth and Andreas Rosenwirth, who closed the day beautifully under the sun of the Lake of Three Municipalities.
"The first edition of Barcolana Lake Up," concluded Gialuz, "was absolutely successful and gave us great emotions. We are proud to have found extraordinary friends at the Lake of Three Municipalities, who share with us the passion for water that then becomes the sea. Barcolana Lake Up represents for us an ideal bridge between lakes, rivers and the sea: a way to extend the spirit of Barcolana, creating new connections between people, territories and landscapes. See you next year."
Tomorrow's schedule - Monday 6 October
1. Barcolana FIV Foil Academy powered by Luna Rossa
2. Guided tours to the Deep Blue Exploration Zone dedicated to schools - 9 am, Barcolana Village
3. Barcolana Sea Summit: the vast breath launched on the wave that drives sailing in the Gioconda race - 9 am Barcolana village, info point
4. Barcolana Sea Summit - The giants of the sea: stories of Mediterranean and Gulf of Trieste cetaceans - 6 pm Lelio Luttazzi Hall
5. Barcolana A Sea of Stories - from 4 pm, Casa Della Musica Auditorium
6. Sailing among the stars: from the Moon to Saturn and beyond - 9 pm, La Lanterna Bathing Establishment - Pedocin
7. Tales of Loving the Sea - 10 am Sbisà Hall
8. The sea that unites the nautical charts that built the image of the Adriatic between the 16th and 19th centuries - 10 am Leonor Fini Hall
9. Limnees (exhibition) - 2 pm Fittke Hall
Event website: www.barcolana.it