It will be a Barcolana 56 charged with Positive Energies. Here’s why

The 56th edition of the Barcolana, the world’s largest regatta, is very close. What does it have in store for us this year? We asked Mitja Gialuz, president of the Società Velica Barcola e Grignano, which for over ten years has been at the helm of this great event that involves not only Trieste, but all of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.“It will be an exceptional edition,” says Gialuz,“under the banner of inclusiveness and Positive Energies, because the Barcolana is a celebration open to everyone.”

We have reached the 56th edition of the Barcolana. You’ve been striving to make Trieste a sailing capital for more than a decade now. I guess it is a great satisfaction to see this event grow every year….

Yes, absolutely. This is my tenth year as president of the Barcola and Grignano Sailing Society, but it is my eleventh Barcolana. I can say that I was the youngest president, but also the longest-lived, since my predecessors had participated in at most seven editions. It is a great commitment, but also a great honor.

What is involved in organizing an event like the Barcolana?

Organizing the Barcolana means coordinating a real crew. It has grown from 30 volunteers in the first edition to 700 people working between land and sea in the last 15 days. We have 300 events throughout the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, not only related to sailing. Last Saturday there was the SUP regatta in Grado, Sunday the Coastal Rowing in Lignano and the swimming competition with almost 400 participants. The goal is to turn the Barcolana into a festival of the sea, where sailing plays a central role, but expands geographically to include other sports, with a strong focus on inclusion. We have events related to sailing in all its forms: from kite and wing foil, to classic boats, culminating with the Barcolana on Sunday, a symbol of all this. “We are all in the same boat,” as Marina Abramovic said. We are all in the same boat : people with disabilities and able-bodied people together. This is the message of the Barcolana: to promote the sea and sailing in an all-round way.

The theme of this year’s poster, designed by Stefan Sagmeister, is “Positive Energies.” Can you tell us your story?

It’s a fascinating story. Sagmeister is an Austrian designer, now internationally renowned, who is pursuing a project in which he retrieves 19th-century paintings and oil paintings from flea markets and reinterprets them with infographics that show how, despite current global difficulties, people are better off today than they were 150-200 years ago. This is what “Positive Energies” is all about: showing how the Barcolana has grown over time. If you look at the poster, you will see a small sailboat, symbolizing the 50 entries of the first edition, up to 2689 in 2018 and 1773 last year. The Barcolana is an event full of color, diversity and inclusion.

Accessibility and inclusion are central themes for the Barcolana. This year, for the first time, a special area will be set up for the boarding and disembarkation of people with mobility difficulties.

That’s right. We are focusing on two fronts. The first is on mental barriers: this is the city of Franco Basaglia, the psychiatrist who closed asylums in Italy. This year marks the centenary of his birth, and on Saturday Marco Cavallo, the work that symbolized the revolution that broke down barriers in the way people with mental illnesses were conceived, will be in town. The other front is physical obstacles. This year we have organized special logistics to allow people with disabilities to embark and disembark safely.

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Will the Barcolana be linked to charity projects again this year?

Yes, I confirm. With Rete del Dono we have involved several associations that use the Barcolana as an opportunity to promote their projects. Those who register for the regatta can choose to support one of these projects financially as well.

At the Barcolana you register not only for the regatta, but also for gadgets and prizes. Is there anything new this year?

Yes, there will be a beautiful owner’s bag, in which the mug made by Illy with the Sagmeister poster returns, as well as the commemorative polo shirt and many other items to thank those who continue to be part of this great family that is the Barcolana.

Last Saturday Subsonica performed in Trieste for the Barcolana. What was it like to attend the concert of one of Italy’s best live bands?

It was wonderful. Piazza Ponterosso was packed, with thousands of people dancing all night. Subsonica wanted to return to the Barcolana after 24 years, they had been here in 2000, and despite the bad weather, they stayed in Trieste for the concert. It was an extraordinary moment, full of positive energy, because they made us dance and start a dance that will continue in these windy days until Sunday, the day of the Barcolana.

How many members are there to date?

We exceeded 1,600 members.

Do you think we can exceed last year’s numbers?

We shall see. It depends a lot on the weather conditions in the last few days. At the moment, meteorologists say Saturday and Sunday should be good weather, and that will affect a lot. In 2013, we had hundreds of entries on the last day, so it is difficult to make predictions. However, the numbers are record-breaking. We work a lot on quality. In front of me I see the Hansa, with almost 30 disabled athletes who came from all over the world; I see an extraordinary participation today and a lot of Positive Energies.

James Barbaro