A Short Biennale's History
The Mostra Internazionale dell'Antiquariato was launched in 1959 in the prestigious premises of Palazzo Strozzi. The Fair was the brainchild of Luigi Bellini Sr., designed to attract to Florence the very best in the international antiques world, and it made its name by offering the choicest selection in the collecting and antiques sector. The overwhelming success of the first Fair, and of those which followed, marked the start of a market season increasingly oriented towards the Antiques Fairs. The originality of the idea, accompanied by an astute selection of the antiquarians, transformed the Fair into a cultural and fashionable event that could not be missed, to the extent that the Florentine Fair was visited both by the members of the international jet set and by a crowd avid for curiosities, knowledge and marvels. The international triumph was triggered by the fact that it was held in Florence and was also accompanied for the entire duration by a series of highly attractive cultural and society events.
- Problems in the utilisation of Palazzo Strozzi, where adaptation work was being carried out, meant that in 1977 the antiquarians had to move to Palazzo Giuntini (now the Grand Hotel), after which they returned to the original site up to 1993.
Apropos this, we should recall the Biennale of 1987, when Guido Bartolozzi took over from the Bellini brothers as the General Secretary.
- When Palazzo Strozzi became definitively unavailable in 1995 the Fair had to be moved to the Palazzo degli Affari, a fine building designed by Spadolini, but entirely unsuitable for an antiquarian fair of the level of the Florentine Biennale. For the following editions of the Fair, the choice fell on Palazzo Corsini sull'Arno, the current premises of the event, where it has been held since 1997.
In 2001 the Management Committee appointed as Secretary General of the Florentine Biennale Giovanni Pratesi who, in addition to expanding the participation of colleague antiquarians on the Committee, also mapped out the strategy for relaunching the Fair. The project was accepted by the Committee and important decisions were taken, the most important being to entrust to Pierluigi Pizzi the assignment for making over the scenic design of the event. In addition, press offices were opened in the world capitals of the art market.
On this new basis, the invitation to take part in the Fair made by the Secretary General to his most prestigious Italian and foreign colleagues was enthusiastically accepted, re-establishing the Biennale as one of the most important Fairs in the world.
To place the Biennale at the level of the most prestigious international Fairs it was decided to:
• promote strict controls on the works displayed;
• modify the image of the Fair by entrusting the orchestration to the Maestro Pier Luigi Pizzi, who performed an authentic masterpiece of restyling, introducing a new pavilion in the entrance courtyard of the Palazzo;
• boost promotion by setting up specialised Press Offices in the major cities of the world (Wiesbaden, London, Paris, New York);
extend to the Italian exhibitors the same rights as their foreign counterparts, offering them advance examination of the works on display so as to provide them with export licences before the start of the Fair.
This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fair, and the organising Committee has scheduled an extensive series of events, detailed in the Programme of the Fair.