Imperia's waterfront is filling up fast, and organisers are already calling this year's Sailing Week a record edition, before it has even started. More than 60 vessels have entered the Historic Sailing Yacht Rally, while the 12 Metre World Championship has drawn ten crews, six of which are already going head to head on the water.
The race course has been pushed as close to shore as the club and race officials could manage, making use of one of the more scenic stretches of the Mediterranean coastline. Spectators watching from land will be able to follow the action along the shore between Capo Berta and the Torre di Prarola.
The event has grown well beyond a simple regatta this year. It now spreads across Imperia itself, with museums, historic villas and guided visits extending the atmosphere past its usual home at Calata Anselmi. A free shuttle bus links the various sites around town.
This is the 40th anniversary of the Historic Sailing Yacht event, now expanded and rebranded as Imperia Sailing Week. The programme opens in two stages: a welcome ceremony for the 12 Metre Class on 28 August, followed by the full opening ceremony for the Historic Sailing Yachts on 1 September, complete with the band of the Carabinieri and a flag-raising ceremony.
Racing for the 12 Metre Class runs from 29 August to 1 September, with the Historic Rally races following from 2 to 5 September. The 12 Metre fleet carries plenty of America's Cup pedigree this year. Patrizio Bertelli is steering his reigning 12 Metre world champion himself while also bankrolling Luna Rossa's Naples 2027 campaign, and Maurizio Vecchiola takes the helm of the gold-hulled Kookaburra III among those lining up on the water.
Among the talks and appearances scheduled is one with Mauro Pelaschier, godfather of the 2026 edition, plus a presentation marking 130 years of the Sangermani shipyard. That anniversary converges this year with the 40th birthday of Vele d'Epoca and the 70th of the Sangermani-built yawl Artica II. Tug-of-war on the docks remains a fixture too.
5 September is shaping up as the big day. The Elegance Parade runs in the morning, prize-giving and the closing ceremony follow in the afternoon, then music and fireworks that evening. The next day, 6 September, a Sailing Cooking Experience closes out ten days of racing and dockside events on a lighter note.
The Italian Navy's training ship Palinuro will be open to visitors from 3 to 5 September at Banchina Aicardi, Calata Cuneo, sailing alongside other historic training vessels including Stella Polare on the racecourse. Also open for visits is Over the Rainbow, a 1930-built yacht with a history worth hearing in person, with bookings through the event office.
Evening entertainment runs the gamut, from DJ sets and live music, including an unusual electronic-and-violin pairing, to a Burlesque & Moulin Rouge show and a family-oriented pirate ship performance called "La Nave del Corsaro." The Sail Party on 4 September brings three DJs to the stage, among them Dj Prezioso. The week wraps with fireworks over the water set to music on the night of 5 September, visible from four points around the city.
A cultural programme runs alongside the racing too, from a Disney comics workshop for kids featuring Elisabetta Dami, the author behind Geronimo Stilton, to photography exhibitions and live painting sessions in the Expo Salso area.
The free shuttle runs 1 to 5 September, 5pm to midnight, linking Borgo Prino, Calata Anselmi and Calata Cuneo. A cycle path covers the same route for those who would rather make their own way along the coast.
