Vele d'Epoca, the week the port changes its face

At Calata Anselmi, in the port of Porto Maurizio, for eleven months a year you'll find gozzi, the odd dinghy and the usual pleasure boats. Then August ends and the Borgo Marina quay fills with hulls that look as though they've sailed in from another century: hand-polished wood, brass burning in the sun, masts that make you tip your head back, the names lettered in cursive across the stern. These are the Vele d'Epoca — the vintage sails — and for me it's the finest thing that happens in the port all year.

Forty years of history

The gathering was born in 1986, from the idea of a man of ports, Pier Franco Gavagnin. The first time there were about thirty boats; today it's one of the most serious classic-sailing dates in the Mediterranean, the kind owners mark in their calendars a year ahead. In 2006 it hit a record, a hundred and thirty-two entries. In 2026 the gathering turns forty, and that alone would be enough to make it an edition to remember.

Vintage yachts at the Imperia gathering in a past edition, sails to the wind in front of the city.

The 2026 novelty: the America's Cup 12 Metres

But there's more, and it turns the head even of those who know little about sailing: the 12 Metre Class World Championship is coming. These are the boats that raced the America's Cup between 1958 and 1987, and here's something few people know: that "12" isn't the length. It's the result of a rating formula that combines length, beam, weight and sail area, and must always come out to twelve. That's why they're all different and yet race on equal terms.

For us Italians those boats carry one name in particular: Azzurra, the first to take Italy to the America's Cup, in 1983, with Mauro Pelaschier at the helm. Seeing them in the flesh, in Imperia, had never happened before. Kookaburra II is already confirmed, the reigning world champion, owned by Patrizio Bertelli — the man behind Luna Rossa.

The dates

The big week, the "Sailing Week", runs from 28 August to 6 September. Inside it there are two blocks: first the 12 Metres, racing from 29 August to 1 September, then the Classics and vintage yachts, from 2 to 5 September. The detailed day-by-day programme (displays, parades, prize-givings, the evenings ashore) is announced after the end-of-June press conference, so in July it's worth checking again on the official site.

Getting there: there's a free shuttle

The boats stay moored at Calata Anselmi, in Porto Maurizio, and that's where everything happens. The real racing is run offshore, in the gulf: for that you settle onto one of the seafront promenades with the sails on the horizon, and you realise they're not museum pieces — they're built to go fast.

Imperia has two souls, Oneglia to the east and Porto Maurizio to the west, with a couple of kilometres of sea in between. And here's the handiest thing of all: during the event a free shuttle runs, stitching together the main points and stopping right at Calata Cuneo, on Oneglia's harbour (Piazza De Amicis). Hop on there and in a few minutes you're at the Naval Museum of Porto Maurizio, steps from the boats, passing the Parasio, Villa Grock and the MACI museum.

When it runs: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 10:30 to 21:30. It's free, and it takes away the parking worry — which on a festival evening is a war.

Calata Cuneo, on Oneglia's harbour, with its arcades: it's also one of the free shuttle stops for the Vele.

If you'd rather do it yourself, the route is lovely by bike too, along the seaside cycle path, all flat and on the water — ten minutes and you're on the other side; or by bus between the two districts, or half an hour's walk by the sea. How to get around Imperia without a car I've told you in a separate guide.

And if you're wondering where to stay, here's my take: we put the house, Stella sul Mare, in Oneglia on purpose. You're a stone's throw from the Vele, with the free shuttle stopping at Calata Cuneo right below, but at night you sleep in the quiet, away from the traffic and the evening buzz of Borgo Marina. You go to the festival when you like, and come back to the silence.

The boats to watch

Over the years some of the most beautiful boats in the Mediterranean have passed through Imperia: the Mariette of 1915, the Sif launched as far back as 1894. Last year Crivizza won, a hull from 1966; the cup for the most elegant went to Barbara, a 1923 yawl, because here it's not only about who crosses the line first — it's also about how you sit on the water. And then there's Aria, an Eight Metre from 1935 that's a local fixture. When you hear these numbers — 1894, 1915, 1923 — and realise those boats are still racing, you understand what we're talking about.

I'm not going to invent a childhood memory for you. The simplest truth is that in Imperia the Vele d'Epoca have always been the event of the year: the week when the city stops being only a beach and remembers it's a port. Even people who know nothing about sailing go to see the boats, they're the talk of the bar, and for a few days wood and rigging become everyone's subject.

If you find yourself around here in early September, make it the reason for the trip: a morning on the quays at Porto Maurizio among the boats, lunch nearby, and the afternoon watching them race from the sea. In 2026, with the forty years and the America's Cup 12 Metres, it's the right year to do it.