by InTrieste
For three days this September, a rare opportunity awaits visitors in the northern Italian port city of Trieste: the chance to step aboard the Laura Bassi, the country’s only oceanographic icebreaker, which recently set a world record for venturing further south than any ship in history. As part of the Trieste Next scientific research festival, the Laura Bassi will be open for guided public tours from September 27 to 29, offering an inside look at one of the most advanced vessels operating in polar seas.
The 80-meter-long icebreaker, owned by the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS), gained international attention in January 2023 after reaching a latitude of 78° 44.280’ S—deep within the Bay of Whales in Antarctica—during Italy’s 38th National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA) expedition. The voyage established the Laura Bassi as a critical tool for Italy’s polar research efforts and oceanographic exploration.
The ship, designed to endure the most challenging marine environments, is a hybrid of heavy-duty cargo capabilities and high-tech research facilities. Weighing 4,028 tons, with a width of 17 meters, the vessel features dynamic positioning systems, enabling precision movement and maneuverability in the Arctic and Antarctic, where shifting ice poses constant challenges.
Named in honor of Laura Bassi, an 18th-century Italian physicist and the first woman to hold a university chair in Europe, the ship continues a tradition of groundbreaking achievement. As the only icebreaker of its kind in Italy, it serves as a platform for research on climate change, marine biology, and geophysics in polar regions. The ship also supports missions from other national and European organizations, providing crucial data on the rapidly changing polar ecosystems.
Visitors to Trieste Next will have the opportunity to explore key areas of the Laura Bassi, including the command bridge, the engine control room, and the ship’s expansive research laboratories. The tours, which are expected to attract both science enthusiasts and the general public, will also offer insights into Italy’s contributions to polar science, an area of increasing global importance as climate change reshapes the Arctic and Antarctic landscapes.
The ship will remain docked at Molo IV, a quay in the heart of Trieste’s harbor, for several days after the festival. Before departing for its next mission in New Zealand via the Panama Canal, it will allow visitors to learn firsthand about the extreme conditions of polar expeditions and the cutting-edge technologies that make them possible.
Those interested in joining the tours must book online by Thursday, September 26, through the festival’s official platforms. While the Laura Bassi tours are free, space is limited, and early reservations are encouraged.
In Trieste, a city with a long history of maritime exploration and scientific achievement, the arrival of the Laura Bassiduring Trieste Next is a fitting tribute to its ongoing role as a hub of international research and collaboration. As Italy’s scientific ambitions grow, the ship remains at the forefront of the country’s efforts to understand and protect the most remote and vulnerable ecosystems on the planet.
For more information and to reserve tickets for the tours:
- Sharper – Researcher’s Night (Friday, September 27, afternoon only)
- Eventbrite – Trieste Next 2024 (Saturday and Sunday, September 28-29)
