by InTrieste
Housed under the grand arches of Trieste’s Civic Museum of the Sea, a new exhibition invites visitors to delve 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) into one of Earth’s final frontiers. Called Chronicles from the Deep, it is an immersive voyage into both art and science that visually dazzles through September 8.
Inaugurated on Thursday, the exhibition is housed in the Mario Marzari Library, nestled within the museum’s newly unveiled North Wing. The opening was attended by prominent figures, including Giorgio Rossi, Trieste’s Councillor for Cultural and Tourism Policies, and Luciano Del Prete, Commander of the Trieste Port Authority. Together with scientists and artists, they emphasized the exhibition’s significance in a city that has long thrived on its maritime identity.
“This exhibition resonates deeply with Trieste,” Rossi remarked during his speech. “It connects with our history, our environment, and even our identity as a city poised between land and sea. We are thrilled to see the Museum of the Sea evolving, with exhibitions like this that reflect the constant movement and innovation of the ocean itself.”
At the heart of the exhibition is a dialogue between science and art. Five young artists—Stefania Delponte, Paola Formica, Chiara Giorgiutti, Maria Luisa Petrarca, and Paolo Primon—were commissioned to visually interpret the ocean’s great unknowns. Their 20 illustrations, on display throughout the library, lead viewers from the seabeds of the Gulf of Trieste through the Mediterranean and across the planet’s oceans, touching on deep Antarctic waters and the mysterious Mariana Trench.
Accompanying the artwork are photographs and videos captured during expeditions by the Schmidt Ocean Institute. These stunning visual accounts, recorded from some of the most remote and unexplored areas of the world, create a multidimensional experience that links the viewer’s imagination to the furthest corners of the earth.
The exhibition has been organized by MareDireFare—an annual ocean festival—and developed in partnership with the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS) and the WWF. It represents a major collaboration between local institutions, the Municipality of Trieste, and several cultural associations. But it also reflects a global context, tying into the United Nations’ Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). The timing of the exhibition is no accident—it coincides with the 9th International Congress of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People), taking place in Trieste from August 30 to September 1.
Over 600 writers, illustrators, educators, and librarians have converged on the city to share ideas on children’s literature and reading promotion. The exhibition has become a symbolic touchstone for the congress, tying together the ocean’s mysteries with the act of discovery that literature can inspire.
Maurizio Spoto, Director of the Miramare Marine Protected Area and one of the exhibition’s collaborators, noted that the project was an opportunity to make the wonders of marine science more accessible to the public. “We wanted people to feel a sense of wonder about the ocean and also understand the importance of its preservation,” Spoto said. “The exhibition invites us to think about the future of our oceans, especially as we enter a critical decade for marine sustainability.”
In one particularly striking section, the illustrations of the Mariana Trench—a location renowned for its depth and its darkness—are juxtaposed with the story of Trieste’s own legacy of ocean exploration. The bathyscaphe Trieste, a vessel that famously descended into the Mariana Trench in 1960, holds a special place in the city’s history, with artifacts related to this voyage displayed as part of the museum’s permanent collection.
The juxtaposition of history, science, and art culminates in a cohesive vision that beckons visitors to see the ocean not only as a scientific frontier but as an artistic and cultural one as well. The exhibition also takes the opportunity to showcase some of the museum’s prized possessions, including the 1980 ROV Pluto UX, a pioneering underwater robot that helped push the boundaries of marine exploration.
As attendees of the IBBY Congress and local visitors alike explore Chronicles from the Deep, the message resonates: The ocean is a place of wonder, but also one of fragility. In a city where the sea is ever-present, the exhibition serves as both an homage to Trieste’s rich maritime legacy and a call to protect the oceans for future generations.
