Evolution

The Florence event continued along its path to escalating renown and success until 1977 when, due to the unavailability of Palazzo Strozzi, it was forced to move temporarily to Palazzo Giuntini, now the Grand Hotel. During that period, in 1986, Guido Bartolozzi replaced the Bellini brothers as Secretary General and the fair took its permanent name of Mostra Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato or International Biennial Antiques Fair. A man of great poise and wisdom, Bartolozzi held the Italian Antiquarian Association together and lent his enthusiastic support to the Gazzetta, the prestigious Association publication founded in 1959.
The occasion finally presented itself in 1997, when Palazzo Corsini sull’Arno became available. The 16th-century style design for the building, which was begun by order of Bartolomeo Corsini in 1650, was presented by the architect Alfonso Parigi the Younger; he was followed in the next decade by Ferdinando Tacca, who coordinated the works until 1671. At Bartolomeo Corsini’s death in 1685, his son Filippo commissioned Antonio Maria Ferri, set designer, planner and engineer, to continue the works. It is to Ferri that we owe the final layout of the Palazzo in three wings embracing a central courtyard and the grand staircase (1694) leading up to the piano nobile, the magnificent Throne Room, the Aurora Gallery, the Ballroom and the enchanting Nymphaeum. Today, this splendid cornice of halls, unique in the city in terms of style and architectural features, is the equally unique bi-yearly venue for the International Biennial Antiques Fair of Florence.