Barcolana58 presented by Generali brings the whole of Friuli Venezia Giulia together
by Barcolana 3 Oct 17:37 UTC
2-11 October 2026
Barcolana Young Trofeo Optimist Italia Kinder Joy of Moving - Day 1 © Gabriele Crozzoli
From the Gulf of Trieste to the Grado Lagoon and the Lago dei Tre Comuni, Barcolana58 presented by Generali is now in full swing, bringing water sports across Friuli Venezia Giulia today.
In Grado, more than 200 paddlers took part in the fourth edition of the Barcolana Grado SUP Experience; in Trieste, the 318 young sailors competing in the Barcolana Young Trofeo Optimist Italia Kinder Joy of Moving returned to the water for their second day of racing, while the Barcolana Village opened in Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia. At the Lago dei Tre Comuni, sport, nature and entertainment marked the opening day of the second edition of Barcolana Lake Up.
Barcolana Grado SUP Experience - More than 200 entries and 138 paddlers crossing the finish line: the fourth edition of the Barcolana Grado SUP Experience was held today in ideal weather conditions.
The easing Bora accompanied the paddlers through the first section of the course, shared by both the competitive and amateur fleets, allowing them to make fast progress towards the entrance to the Mandracchio channel. From there, the two groups split: the amateur paddlers headed directly for the finish to complete the 4-kilometre course, while the competitive fleet tackled the 7-kilometre course, which included a lap around the island of Schiusa.
In the competitive race, Hungary's Gabor Kovacs, a keen paddler from Lake Balaton, took the win, followed by Daniele Cani and Slovenia's Bojan Bernard. In the women's fleet, Slovenia's Natalija Fon claimed victory ahead of Croatia's Natasa Cesar and Antonija Frkovic.
The amateur race featured a family battle, with Giacomo Feltrin taking victory ahead of his father Mauro Feltrin, winner of the first three editions of the Barcolana Grado SUP Experience. Ezio Ferin finished third. In the women's standings, Hungary's Nikolett Ferenczi took the win, followed by Croatia's Gaia Tomazic and Eleonora De Marchi.
Full results by category are available on the Barcolana website.
"Well done to everyone," said Mitja Gialuz, President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. "It was a challenging and enjoyable race, first with some waves and then, once inside the channel, with a headwind. The Barcolana Grado SUP Experience continues to grow with every edition, and seeing more and more people choosing to take part and experience Barcolana on the water is extremely rewarding. Thank you all for joining us for this fourth edition, and long live Barcolana Grado!"
The prizes were presented by Dean Bassi, Vice President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano. Val Lubiana, the top Under-14 finisher in the amateur race, received a SUP board offered as a prize by the Camera di Commercio Venezia Giulia Trieste Gorizia.
The prize-giving ceremony and traditional pasta party at the Antiche Terme brought the day in Grado to a close.
Barcolana Young Trofeo Optimist Italia Kinder Joy of Moving - Day 2 -The 318 young Optimist sailors returned to the waters off Bacino Zero in Trieste's Porto Vecchio for their second day of racing in the fourth national event of the Trofeo Optimist Italia Kinder Joy of Moving.
Following yesterday's opening day, which was marked by the Bora and ended with two races completed for Division A and one for Division B, both divisions were able to complete two races today in light winds.
Updated information is available at optimist-it.com
Tomorrow, Sunday, 4 October, the final day of racing will decide the winner of the Trieste leg of the Trophy. The first race is scheduled for 11:00 am, with the prize-giving ceremony at 5:00 pm at Magazzino 26, Sala Luttazzi.
Barcolana Lake Up - Day 1 - Sport on the water and in the air, nature and music took centre stage at the Lago dei Tre Comuni today, as the second edition of Barcolana Lake Up got under way with the support of Acqua Dolomia and Mega Intersport.
Activities began in the morning with Canadian canoe excursions. Instructors from Scuola Kayak & Rafting Friuli, together with nature guides, accompanied participants on tours exploring the lake environment and surrounding area.
Radio-controlled sailing also featured prominently, with an open day dedicated to model sailing boats and the second day of racing in the Italian 10R Class Championship at ASD Nautilago. In the skies above the lake, Volo Libero Friuli staged "Acropazzie", with paragliders performing aerial manoeuvres over the water.
The afternoon programme continued with sailing tours, a DJ set at the "Al Faro" kiosk and a concert by Doro Gjat and his band.
Barcolana Lake Up continues tomorrow from 11:00 am with raftball, paragliding, the Barcolana Modelvela regatta and another afternoon of music and activities on the shores of the lake.
BARCOLANA Waterpolo - Barcolana Waterpolo got under way this afternoon at Trieste's Bruno Bianchi swimming pool. The international 4-on-4 water polo tournament, organised with Pallanuoto Trieste and HaBaWaBa, features 12 international teams competing under a new format devised by Ratko Rudic.
The group stage was played today, while the finals are scheduled for tomorrow from 9:00 am to noon.
BARCOLANA Village opens in Piazza Unita - Barcolana58 presented by Generali moves into the heart of Trieste: the Barcolana Village opened to the public this afternoon in Piazza dell'Unità and will host the event's partners, activities and programme through Sunday, 11 October.
Barcolana Sea Project - Seabed Clean-Up - From 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, Trieste's Sacchetta hosted a new initiative dedicated to protecting the marine environment and cleaning the seabed.
IL LIBRO DI BORDO - Aboard MSC Fantasia, moored at Trieste's Stazione Marittima, the afternoon was dedicated to stories of the sea through writing, sailing and cinema, in partnership with Il Piccolo and moderated by Maddalena Rebecca and Alberto Bollis.
Writers Marco Valle and Alessandro Mezzena Lona discussed the art of travel writing, while sailing took centre stage with Lisa Vucetti and Vittorio Bonifacio, the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano's mixed 470 crew, and Andrea Caracci, an aeronautical engineer and ocean sailor.
The event concluded with a screening of the documentary Ali sull'acqua, presented by co-producer Elena Pellegrini together with director Gabriele Donati, with music by Riky Anelli.
Barcolana in the Neighbourhoods - ROIANO AND SAN GIACOMO - Barcolana58 continues to involve neighbourhoods across Trieste. "Aspettando Barcolana a Roiano" got under way in Piazza Tra i Rivi, with an arts and crafts market, activities and food stalls. The programme will continue through Tuesday, 6 October.
In San Giacomo, meanwhile, Barcolana Skate Up returned for its second day. Following yesterday's opening event in Altura, the San Giacomo sports ground hosted skateboarding, biking and roller skating from 4:30 pm, accompanied by a DJ set from Radio Deejay's DJ Aladyn.
Earlier in the day, at the Museo delle Lavandere di San Giacomo in Monte, AMIS scout volunteers brought "La Barcolana in Orna" to life with readings of stories about ships, sails and steamers, rounded off with the traditional Trieste-style Spritz.
Barcolana Fun - Meanwhile, Barcolana FUN continues - the free, borderless online national ranking connecting kiters, wingers and windsurfers from Italy and Slovenia. Each athlete competes on their home waters - at sea or on inland waters, including lagoons, lakes and rivers - and uploads their GPX track to the GPSFormula platform, which processes performance over 100, 200 and 500 metres.
Five disciplines are being contested: directional and twintip kitesurfing, kitefoil, wingfoil, windsurf slalom and freeride, and windsurf foil.
In the current provisional standings, Luka Pozar leads the wingfoil category, with top speeds of 31.67 knots over 100 metres, 31.33 over 200 metres and 30.63 over 500 metres. Matej Vidmar leads the windsurf slalom standings, while Nat Pegan is currently first in windsurf foil.
Giovanni Baldassi remains at the top of the twintip standings, with 32.23 knots over 100 metres, 32.17 over 200 metres and 28.86 over 500 metres. Tommaso Feri leads SurfKite, while Felice De Nicol heads the kitefoil standings.
Project partners are Reptile, Kitelife, GPSFormula, CKWI and SVBG. Two days of competition remain: Barcolana FUN will conclude on 5 October, with the prize-giving ceremony scheduled for Thursday, 8 October at Local in Trieste. In 2025, Barcolana FUN attracted 124 athletes, who uploaded a total of 233 tracks.
Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Veloce heads towards Trieste - The Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Veloce fleet is racing towards Trieste. The non-stop offshore race of more than 1,500 nautical miles started from Genoa on 25 September and is expected to reach the Gulf of Trieste on 8 October, at the height of Barcolana58 presented by Generali.
The race crosses the Mediterranean from west to east, following a course through the Tyrrhenian, Ionian and Adriatic Seas before finishing in Trieste.
Ten double-handed crews are racing aboard Beneteau Figaro 3 monohulls, with Italian and international sailors from Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as teams representing the Italian Navy and Italian Air Force.
After an opening section marked by steady winds and a closely packed fleet, the race has now entered a more tactical phase. Having passed the Aeolian Islands, the crews are heading towards the Ionian Sea, before sailing on towards Taranto and then north up the Adriatic.
Their arrival in Trieste will bring the protagonists of one of the Mediterranean's longest offshore races into the heart of Barcolana, at the end of a non-stop passage that began in Genoa almost two weeks earlier.
The crews' routes and positions can be followed live via the Marina Militare Nastro Rosa Veloce online tracker.
Entries - Almost 1,330 boats are now entered in Barcolana58 presented by Generali, scheduled for Sunday, 11 October.