The 45th fall edition of Mercanteinfiera, scheduled to take place at Fiere di Parma from October 3 to 11, 2026, will also be dedicated to objects as instruments of memory. The event, one of the leading international fairs dedicated to antiques, modern collectibles, historic design, and collecting, is expected to draw approximately 1,000 Italian and international exhibitors, 6,000 buyers, and 60,000 visitors. Alongside the exhibitors’ offerings, the fall edition features two new sections and four accompanying exhibitions dedicated to photography, pop culture, musical instruments, historical menus, embroidery, and public telephony.
The program kicks off with the new “Vintage Photo Parma” section, scheduled for October 3 and 4 and conceived by Fabio Castelli. The space is dedicated to vintage and anonymous photography and connects historical photography with contemporary photography through the reinterpretation of old archives, the presentation of historical and vernacular shots, and a selection of images from different eras. The section stems from the growing interest in vernacular photography among international collectors and from Mercanteinfiera’s desire to develop a new space for visual research.
The exhibition features works by contemporary artists who reinterpret anonymous photographs through manipulation and montage, alongside vernacular images produced from the invention of photography through the end of the analog era. Also featured are photographs—both anonymous and attributed—selected for their visual and conceptual impact, spanning from the medium’s origins to the mid-20th century. The project thus brings together images linked to memory, affection, and celebration, connecting materials from diverse contexts and periods.
Another new feature of the fall edition is ICONIC – Treasures of Pop Culture, created in collaboration with Luca Cena. The section will be open on both weekends of the event—October 3 and 4, and October 9, 10, and 11—and will feature a selection of comic books and movie posters related to pop culture.
Rounding out the cultural program are four collateral exhibitions that use objects and artifacts as records of social practices, customs, and forms of memory. The project *A World of Menus*, curated by Maurizio Campiverdi, Franco Chiarini, Giulio Fano, Matteo Ghirighini, and Roberto Liberi for GARUM, the Library and Museum of Cuisine, brings approximately 70 pieces to Parma, selected from a collection of 400 originals. The exhibition features the oldest known printed menu, dated 1803; one of the menus from the Titanic; a handwritten sheet with an autographed dedication by Gabriele D’Annunzio regarding the lunch for the Bersaglieri cyclists in Fiume; as well as the wedding menus of Charles and Diana and William and Kate. The exhibition catalog also received the 2025 Gourmand Award.
“Sounds and Horizons: A Journey Through Unexpected Instruments,” curated by Flavio Dassenno and Luigi Blesio, is dedicated to objects related to music. The exhibition brings together instruments from Africa, India, Tibet, Indonesia, and Burma, the result of decades of travel by the Brescia-based collector Luigi Blesio. Among the artifacts on display are santal lutes with anthropomorphic carvings, Burmese harps, Himalayan sarindas, and Afghan rebabs. These are handcrafted instruments, each with its own unique shape, many of which no longer exist even in their places of origin. In many cases, their function as musical instruments has been lost, yet the artifacts retain elements related to the craftsmanship, musical traditions, and cultures in which they were created.
The material culture linked to clothing and social relations is instead at the heart of “Embroideries of History: The Handkerchief Between Fashion, Memory, and Etiquette,” created in collaboration with Arcadia and curated by Ilaria Dazzi and Simona Palo. The exhibition spans three centuries of Italian and European history, featuring items dating from the 18th to the 20th century. On display are bridal handkerchiefs, handkerchiefs that belonged to noble families, and items bearing the signatures of soldiers from World War I. These objects document rituals of love, codes of etiquette, and social conventions, offering insights into the history of customs and relationships through an everyday accessory.
The fourth exhibition, “Hello, Who’s Speaking? The Evolution of Italian Public Telephony,” is curated by Leonmario Moretti’s Museum of Public Telephony and explores the transformation of public telephony through phone booths and handsets that were part of everyday Italian life for decades. Telephone booths, which have now largely disappeared, are presented as evidence of a technology that also served a social function: through these public stations, generations of Italians maintained long-distance contact, handled urgent communications, and nurtured personal relationships. The exhibition also explores the gradual disappearance of a form of communication tied to a specific time and place, when being reachable depended on the ability to receive a phone call at a public booth.
The common thread running through the four exhibitions is, therefore, the opportunity to interpret objects as evidence of practices, habits, and relationships. Mercanteinfiera’s offerings also include antiques, modern antiques, historic design, jewelry, photography, and pop culture collectibles, along with a special section dedicated to vintage books and posters, created in collaboration with Luca Cena.
“There are objects,” says Ilaria Dazzi, Brand Manager of Mercanteinfiera, “that pass through daily life without anyone really noticing them, until time reveals them as testaments. The exhibitions in this edition of Mercanteinfiera stem from this perspective on material culture as an unintentional archive of languages, rituals, and ways of living together. Because objects do not merely preserve the memory of things—they preserve the way people lived in their own time.”
Mercanteinfiera will be open to the public from October 3 to 11, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Sunday, October 11, hours will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the ticket office closing at 3 p.m. The days reserved for industry professionals are October 1 and 2, 2026. The event takes place at Fiere di Parma, located at Viale delle Esposizioni 393/A, Parma.
Prices:
Online: €12 + advance-sale fees;
At the box office: €16;
Children up to 12 years old (accompanied by an adult): free.
For more information: https://www.mercanteinfiera.it/
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| Mercanteinfiera returns to Parma with new sections and four exhibitions exploring the memory of objects |
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