There is something deeply Tolkienesque about running on the Karst in winter. Paths between rocks and woods, the wind sweeping over the ridges, the sea in the background and that feeling of crossing a border, real and imaginary, which is the spirit of the Bora and Middle-earth Run. This is why the arrival in Trieste of the great exhibition “Tolkien. Man, Professor, Author” at the Salone degli Incanti is the perfect opportunity to combine running, travel and wonder in a single experience: during the day you explore the city and Tolkien's universe, on the race weekend you run between stone and sea on the paths of the Karst.
Discounted tickets for the exhibition, which are enclosed with this communication, are available for all registered participants of La Corsa della Bora. In addition, we have thought of a special gift that links your bib number to the entrance ticket even more. If you are a resident of Friuli Venezia Giulia, until 31 December 2025 you can visit the exhibition “Tolkien. Man, Professor, Author”, keep your ticket and upload from your runner profile the photo of the ticket with serial number and date clearly visible: we will give you a pair of Corsa della Bora sleeves, valid for all our races, whatever distance you choose. If you are coming from outside the region, the same conditions apply until 3 January 2026: visit the exhibition, upload the ticket photo in your runner profile and collect the sleeves in the Bora Village at the race. It is our way of thanking you for turning your trip into a true cultural journey, not just a sporting one, savouring that sweet cringe between culture and nature that has inspired so many authors over the centuries.
The exhibition at the Salone degli Incanti is a great all-round story about John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: the man, the Oxford professor and the author who reinvented the way of imagining worlds and stories. Set up in the spectacular space of the former Central Fish Market by the sea and open from 19 September 2025 to 11 January 2026, ’Tolkien. Man, Professor, Author“ brings to Trieste autograph manuscripts, letters, photographs, memorabilia, illustrations, maps and works of art inspired by his books, transforming the rooms into a true journey into Middle-earth and into the mind of the man who created it.
The exhibition is designed to reveal all facets of the Professor's life: his personal and family life, his wounds and experiences during the First World War, his academic work as a linguist and philologist at Oxford University, up to the Tolkien writer of “The Hobbit”, “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Silmarillion”, with first editions, rare materials and symbolic objects such as his academic robe. The exhibition places great emphasis on his ability to interweave ancient languages, myths and legends with a unique imaginative power, showing how behind every map, every name and every people of Middle-earth there is a very deep study of the real world.
Special attention is devoted to Tolkien's relationship with Italy: letters in which he declares his love for our language, memories of his trip to Venice and Assisi, contacts with Italian scholars and intellectuals, and the publishing history of his works in our country. Alongside this, an entire section of the exhibition is dedicated to what his books inspired in film, music, comics and illustration, from the first animated adaptations to Peter Jackson's film trilogy that has won audiences and awards around the world. The result is an immersive and surprisingly exciting experience even for those who have not read all the books or do not know every detail of the legendarium: you enter out of curiosity and leave with the feeling of having really met a person, not just a literary myth.
Visiting this exhibition during the days of La Corsa della Bora means experiencing Trieste in a complete way: a city of wind, stone and borders that for a few months also becomes a gateway to Middle Earth. In the morning you can run along the sea, among woods and cliffs, in the evening you can find yourself among display cases, manuscripts and maps, discovering how much the desire to walk, explore and overcome one's limits is the same that animates both runners and great authors of stories. We are waiting for you at the Salone degli Incanti and on the Karst trails: take home memories, photos, a medal, a pair of sleeves... and the feeling that you have taken part in something truly special.
