TRIESTE, Italy – New routes, a new spirit of participation, and new events are in store for the 53rd Barcolana yacht race, scheduled for Sunday, October 10th, and preceded by a rich bill of events both onshore and online starting on October 1st. In keeping with a tradition that began seven years ago, the first official communication of the new edition is the presentation of illycaffè’s poster for the event.
After Michelangelo Pistoletto (2015), Gillo Dorfles (2016), Maurizio Galimberti (2017), Marina Abramović (2018), Olimpia Zagnoli (2019) and Lorenzo Mattotti (2020), illycaffè entrusted with the artistic direction of the poster, chose the renowned designer, architect and artist, Ron Arad for the 53rd Barcolana.
To represent Barcolana53, Ron Arad, who likes to conceptually re-draw shapes and structures, exploring different techniques, has created a minimalist poster in which essential, sinuous lines give life to the very essence of a regatta: the sea, the boats and their sails. Sailing thus takes on new forms, thanks to the aesthetic and innovative characteristics of the poster, which Ron Arad designed with a special brush that can reproduce traditional painting techniques in a digital medium. Through lines, colours and images evoking nautical charts and maps, he invites us to begin a conscious journey along new routes.
“Le Nuove Rotte” [“New Routes”] is also the motto of the 2021 edition, highlighting the innovation Barcolana is bringing about, creating new events both on land and at sea, new opportunities for local development, and new directions for the issues it strongly believes in – environmental sustainability and gender equality – and wants to promote through sport and a passion for sailing and the sea.
“This year, illycaffè chose a designer for our poster – explained Mitja Gialuz, president of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano yacht club, – and it was the best possible choice to represent Barcolana’s new routes – because through his precise lines, Ron Arad highlights the essence of sailing, the sea, and our regatta. And when the essential is clear, it is possible to focus on what’s important, evolve, and put forward what is both new and indispensable. This is how Barcolana53 introduces itself: the essence of the event, the tradition that brings sailing enthusiasts together, and the innovation that will take us far, all of us, in the name of the sea. We have many new developments planned, regattas and events to promote Trieste and welcome sailing enthusiasts. Registrations begin on June 29, and on that date, starting with the essence that Ron Arad and illycaffè have pointed us towards, we will sail new routes together”.
“We are happy to renew the partnership between illy and Barcolana for this 53rd edition. Ours are deep ties that have endured for over 20 years and are embodied in the rite of designing the poster, which this year was entrusted to Ron Arad, a great contemporary artist and an icon of international design, who had already designed one of the illy Art Collection pieces back in 2017” says Massimiliano Pogliani, CEO of illycaffè. “Sea and navigation as a source of artistic inspiration, masterfully interpreted by Ron Arad’s creative genius, who managed to create a unique and deeply contemporary poster in terms of its aesthetic impact. An act of beauty and art, to pay tribute to the city of Trieste, the world of sailing, and the love of good coffee”.
Barcolana is scheduled for October 10th 2021 in the Gulf of Trieste, starting at 10.30. Online registration begins June 29 at www.barcolana.it. Today, 400 flyers and 4000 postcards with the poster’s design will be sent from the headquarters of Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano and addressed to yacht clubs and shipowners who participated in past editions, to promote the event directly among its protagonists.
Ron Arad, an architect and designed, was born in Tel Aviv in 1951. He was one of the founders of the One Off design agency in 1981 and in 1989, together with Caroline Thorman, he founded Ron Arad Associates, an architecture and design firm. He is currently Professor of Product Design at the Royal College of Art in London. The name Ron Arad is synonymous with constant experimentation with materials and radical conceptual re-design of forms and structures in furniture, and this has made him one of the leading lights of contemporary design. His professional activity is focused on limited edition pieces. His work has been featured in major museums and art galleries, often as part of famous collections such as those of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and the Vera Design Museum in Germany.
Barcolana is the world’s largest sailing regatta and is held every year in Trieste on the second Sunday in October. Organized in partnership with the Municipality of Trieste, the Friuli Venezia Giulia regional government, and its main sponsor General, and with the support of numerous partners, the 50th annual regatta, which took place on Sunday, October 14, 2018, saw the participation of 2869 yachts, a new world record for a sailing regatta. The 50th edition brought over 300,000 people to Trieste, underscoring how it is one of the most popular events in Italy, which brings dividends in terms of image. The 51st regatta was won by the yacht Way of Life. Barcolana was one of the few sporting events to take place in Europe during the Covid pandemic, from 3 to 11 October 2020. For the first time in its history, the event had a cap on the number of yachts that could participate, in order to comply with the health regulation in force at the time: 1424 yachts traveled to Trieste, but ultimately, they were unable to race, as the Bora – Trieste’s infamous wind, which was blowing at over 45 knots on the morning of October 11 – forced the organizers to cancel the regatta.
illycaffè is an Italian family-owned company, founded in Trieste in 1933. Its mission has always been to offer the best coffee to the world. Illycaffè produces a unique 100% Arabica blend, combining 9 of the best varieties in the world, selected by illycaffè: every day 8 million cups of illy coffee are served in over 140 countries around the globe, in the cafés, restaurants and hotels, in single-brand cafés and shops, at home. As a result of its innovations, illycaffè contributes to the coffee technology progress at global level. In 1991, the “Premio Ernesto Illy de qualidade sustentavel do cafè para espresso” was launched in Brazil for quality espresso coffee. Illycaffè has contributed to the sharing of the know-how, paying growers a premium price for the best quality selected by illycaffè. Since 2016, with the “Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award”, the company has celebrated coffee growers all over the world that, according to illy, have produced the best sustainable coffee. Since 2013, the company has been in the list of the World Most Ethical Companies. In 2019, it enhanced its commitment to pursue a sustainable business model integrating the interest of people with the environment, adopting the status of Società Benefit (Benefit Company) and adding this commitment into its own bylaws. In 2021, illycaffè was the first Italian company in the coffee sector to obtain the international certification as B Corp as a result of its commitment to comply with the highest standards of social and environmental performance. The company also founded the University of Coffee, which has the objective of sharing culture at all levels, offering a comprehensive and practical training to growers, baristas and coffee lovers. Everything that is “made in illy” is about beauty and art, the founding principles of the brand, starting from its logo, designed by artist James Rosenquist, up to illy Art Collection cups, decorated by over 100 international artists. In 2020 the company employed 1291 people and posted consolidated revenues of € 446.5 million. There are 261 illy single-brand shops in over 40 countries all over the world. In 2021, Rhone Capital became a minority shareholder of illycaffè with the aim of contributing to the company’s international growth plans.
