by InTrieste
A new international event will spotlight the beauty and ecological richness of the Adriatic Sea as Trieste prepares to host its first-ever International Underwater Photography Competition. Titled “Sguardi dal mare” (“Views from the Sea”), the three-day event will begin on Saturday, April 12, 2025, as part of the broader Mare Nordest initiative, co-organized with the Municipality of Trieste.
The competition is organized by Mare Nordest SSD a r.l., a non-profit amateur sports association affiliated with ASI (Italian Sports and Social Associations), a national body recognized by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI). The event aims to raise awareness about marine biodiversity and promote environmental protection through the lens of underwater photography.
As a prelude to the main event, a marine-themed educational initiative took place earlier today to coincide with Italy’s National Sea Day. The initiative focused on engaging children in marine conservation efforts, a longstanding priority for Mare Nordest, which runs school-based environmental programs.
Held at the small beach area near the Cedas site along Barcola’s coastline, the event — titled “Little Eco-Explorers for a Clean Sea” — involved children from the “Delfino Blu” municipal preschool. The young participants joined a cleanup activity after volunteer divers, alongside police diving units and support boats, retrieved waste from the seabed. The children then helped sort and recycle the collected debris.
The cleanup effort yielded a wide array of waste materials, including plastic and glass bottles, aluminum cans, rubber gloves, fragments of fishing nets and ropes, tire remnants, fabric scraps, polystyrene, plastic sheets, tubing, metal pieces, and even unusual items such as a ski glove and children’s flip-flops.
The event was organized in collaboration with the Third District of the Municipality of Trieste (Roiano-Gretta-Barcola-Cologna-Scorcola), as well as the European Maritime Day (EMD), Europe Direct Trieste, and Logica Recycling. It was officially recorded as part of the EMD’s “European Maritime Day in my Country” program.
The broader Mare Nordest event continues through the weekend, combining sport, science, and education in celebration of the sea.
