Florence: BIAF 2026 at Palazzo Corsini—A Network with Cultural Institutions Is Launched

From September 26 to October 4, 2026, Florence will once again host the International Antiques Biennale at the 17th-century Palazzo Corsini, and it will once again be one of the most significant events on the international art market scene. The 34th edition of the Florence International Antiques Biennale features significant elements of continuity and innovation, starting with the debut at the helm of the Biennale of the new Secretary General, Bruno Botticelli, who was appointed last April to carry on the legacy of his predecessors, Fabrizio Moretti and Giovanni Pratesi, and to steer the event toward a phase of greater openness and strategic rethinking. The official presentation of the 2026 edition took place today at Palazzo Vecchio, where the main highlights of the event were unveiled, reaffirming its status as the oldest and most prestigious Italian art fair dedicated to the antiques sector. The edition will take place with the support of Gucci as the Main Sponsor, a fact that reaffirms the link between the excellence of Made in Italy, culture, and the international art market.

At the heart of the Biennale’s new direction lies a strong commitment to expanding dialogue with the local community and with Florentine and regional cultural institutions. With this in mind, a strategic network is taking shape that involves Fondazione CR Firenze, Casa Buonarroti, Opificio delle Pietre Dure, and Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, with the goal of creating a widespread cultural program capable of ideologically linking the BIAF to the city’s iconic sites of cultural preservation, restoration, and production, extending to include the region’s leading philanthropic institution.

Hosted at Palazzo Corsini, the event thus aims to present itself not merely as an exhibition and commercial event, but as a multifaceted cultural ecosystem capable of bringing together antiques, education, research, and heritage preservation. In a global context characterized by digital acceleration, artificial intelligence, and processes of dematerialization, BIAF 2026 aims to reaffirm the value of authenticity, materiality, and the uniqueness of the artwork, building a bridge between tradition and the contemporary world and strengthening the event’s role as an international platform for dialogue among collectors, museums, and the market.

Secretary General Bruno Botticelli underscored this vision with words that outline the Biennale’s new cultural approach, stating: “We must anticipate, change, and create—not just go with the flow. Art does not resolve the world’s conflicts, but it can act as a connecting element, as a bond between different worlds, diverse cultures, and distant eras. Just as in the ancient Japanese technique of Kintsugi, which repairs ceramics by highlighting the cracks with gold rather than hiding them, the Biennale aims to make the memory and layered history of these unique objects shine. We are not proposing a return to the past as a nostalgic refuge, but as a living and indispensable tool for understanding the complexity of our present.”

Alongside this new cultural vision, the 2026 Biennale is also strengthening its organizational structure through a high-profile selection committee tasked with reviewing all the works and objects submitted by gallery owners in the days leading up to the fair’s opening. The vetting committee, composed of 63 leading figures from the worlds of restoration, museum management, and international curatorship, will be responsible for guaranteeing the conservation quality and authenticity of the exhibited works, ensuring the highest scientific and professional standards.

For the 2026 edition, Palazzo Corsini will host approximately eighty carefully selected exhibitors, representing the major Italian and international art market hubs, including Milan, Rome, Florence, Naples, Bologna, and the Veneto region, as well as participants from London, Paris, Munich, Geneva, Lugano, and Palm Beach. The exhibition program features a broad range of genres and time periods, including paintings by Old Masters and works on gold leaf, wooden and marble sculptures, historic furniture, decorative arts, all the way to 20th-century masters and international contemporary art, in a curatorial journey that reflects the growing trend in global collecting toward creating a dialogue between the ancient and the modern.

Institutional collaborations, particularly with the Fondazione CR Firenze, play a central role in the Biennale’s programming. As part of this initiative, the event will feature the presentation of Michelangelo’s drawing “Design for the Facade of San Lorenzo,” housed at Casa Buonarroti. The work will undergo a delicate restoration entirely funded by the Fondazione CR Firenze and entrusted to the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. Preliminary diagnostic work will take place in August at the Opificio’s laboratories at the Fortezza da Basso, followed by the actual restoration phase.

Also as part of the collaboration with the Fondazione CR Firenze, two special open houses are planned at the Horne Museum, an institution founded by Herbert P. Horne. The guided tours, titled “The Connoisseur’s Eye: Herbert Horne, an English Collector in Florence,” will be reserved for collectors participating in the BIAF and will take place on September 30 and October 2, 2026, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Reservations can be made via segreteria@museohorne.it or by calling 055 244661.

The 2026 Biennale also marks the relaunch of the Lorenzo d’Oro Award, which this year celebrates excellence in Florentine silverwork. The award will be crafted by local master silversmiths and presented to a prominent figure from the world of cinema or culture who has distinguished themselves in promoting Italian art on the international stage. The jury will select the winning silversmith, and the official award ceremony will take place on Thursday, September 24, in the presence of Mayor Sara Funaro.

Among the most significant collaborations is the one with the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation. On the occasion of the exhibition “Broken. The Power of the Fragment,” a special event is scheduled for September 25 at Palazzo Strozzi, conceived as a dialogue between different artistic languages and as a bridge between the great tradition of sculpture and new contemporary forms of expression.

Another new development is the transformation of the Biennale’s historic magazine into an official catalog. The bilingual volume, featuring a refined graphic design, will be edited by Cesare Cunaccia and published by Gruppo Editoriale. The work will have a scholarly focus and will contain essays and contributions from curators, scholars, and directors of major international museums, serving as a tool for in-depth analysis and the ongoing promotion of the event.

In terms of exhibition design, the 2026 Biennale introduces a new exhibition concept designed by Matteo Corvino, with furnishings created by Minotti, which redesign the fair’s space according to principles of openness and comfort. The booths will be designed as open spaces, intended to facilitate engagement and dialogue between exhibitors and visitors.

The event will officially open on September 24 with two distinct events: at noon, the press conference and a preview reserved for the media, while the traditional invitation-only BIAF Gala will take place in the evening. Below is the complete list of exhibitors: 800/900 Artstudio (Livorno - Lucca), Al Fine Art Antonacci Lapiccirella (Rome), Alessandra Di Castro (Rome), Alessandro Cesati (Milan), Alice Fine Art (Rimini), Altomani & Sons (Milan–Pesaro), Antichità Giglio (Milan), Attilio Cecchetto Antiquario (San Vito di Altivole–Treviso), Bacarelli Antichità (Florence), Bottegantica (Milan), Botticelli Antichità (Florence), Brun Fine Art (London - Milan), Butterfly (Lugano), Callisto Fine Arts (London), Cantore Galleria Antiquaria (Modena), Carlo Orsi (Milan), Copetti Antiquari (Udine), Cortona Fine Art (Milan), ED Gallery (Piacenza), Enrico Frascione (Florence), Enrico Gallerie d’Arte (Milan - Genoa), Flavio Gianassi FG Fine Art (London), Fondantico by Tiziana Sassoli (Bologna), Frascione Gallery (Florence – Palm Beach, Florida), Galerie Canesso (Paris – Milan), Galleria Berardi (Rome), Galleria Carlo Virgilio & C. (Rome), Galleria Continua (San Gimignano – Beijing – Boissy-le-Châtel – Havana), Galleria d’Arte Frediano Farsetti (Milan), Galleria Gomiero (Montegrotto Terme – Padua), Galleria Marletta (Florence), Galleria Poggiali (Florence – Milan – Pietrasanta), Galleria Roberto Ducci (Florence), Galleria Russo (Rome), Gallo Fine Art (Milan – Solesino), Gallori Turchi Antichità (Florence), Giacometti Old Master Paintings (Naples), Gian Enzo Sperone (Sent, Switzerland), Giorgio Baratti Antiquario (Milan), Giovanni Asioli Martini Antiquario (Imola – Bologna), Goldfinch Fine Arts (Genoa), Hartford Fine Art – Lampronti Gallery (London), Iotti Antichità (Reggio Emilia), Leone (Naples), Longari Arte Milano (Milan), Lullo Pampoulides (London), Maison d’Art (Monaco), Matteo Lampertico Arte Antica e Moderna (Milan), Maurizio Brandi Antiquario (Naples), Maurizio Nobile Fine Art (Bologna - Milan), Mearini Fine Art (Perugia), Michele Gargiulo Antiquario (Naples), Milani Antichità (Solesino - Padua), Mirco Cattai Fine Art & Antique Rugs (Milan), Orsini Arte e Libri (Milan), Osart Gallery (Milan), Paolo Antonacci (Rome), Parronchi Dipinti ’800-’900 S.r.l. (Florence), Pennisi (Milan), Piva & C. (Milan), Raffaello Pernici (Rosignano Marittimo - Livorno), Renzo Moroni (Rome), Reve Art (Bologna), Rob Smeets Old Master Paintings (Geneva), Roberto Campobasso (Naples), Romano Fine Art (Florence), Romigioli Antichità (Legnano - Milan), Salamon & C. (Milan), Sandro Morelli (Florence), Santa Tecla (Padua), Scultura Italiana di Dario Mottola (Milan), Società di Belle Arti (Viareggio–Milan), Tettamanti Antichità (Florence), Tomasso Ltd. (London - Leeds), Tornabuoni Arte (Florence - Milan - Forte dei Marmi - Rome - Paris - Crans-Montana), Verdini (Rome), Voena (Milan – London – St. Moritz), Walter Padovani (Milan).

Florence: BIAF 2026 at Palazzo Corsini—A Network with Cultural Institutions Is Launched

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