The 39th edition of Cersaie 2022, the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings, has just come to an end after a packed five-day calendar at the Bologna Exhibition Centre from 26 to 30 September. With 91,296 registered visitors, including 44,215 foreign operators, the event counted a 50% growth compared to the 2021 edition, approaching the 112,340 admissions of 2019, before the pandemic period.
It is an exhibition with an international scope that confirms, this year more than ever, the perfect partnership between the exhibition centre and the city. The Cersaie Bologna duo, in fact, ties the historic centre to the belt of the nearby urban suburbs, building a bridge of continuous cross-references between what happens inside and outside the exhibition centre. “In this historical context of great difficulty for companies and families, Cersaie showcases the ingenuity and industriousness, beauty, culture, art and sustainability of a sector at the forefront of our manufacturing,” introduced Gianpiero Calzolari, President of BolognaFiere, the 39th edition of the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings.
For the occasion, the fifteen pavilions of the Bologna Exhibition Centre were fully occupied (140,000 square metres of total surface area) by 624 companies, including 354 from the ceramic tile sector, 88 from the bathroom furnishings sector, and 183 from the sectors of installation, raw materials, new surfaces, and service activities. The international connotation of the exhibition is also confirmed by the presence of 237 foreign exhibitors, corresponding to 38% of the total, and by the 26 countries represented.
With an increasingly rich programme, the Cersaie trade fair proceeded throughout the week to the rhythm of talks and appointments. Among the rendezvous not to be missed, the one on Tuesday 27 September, “The sustainable beauty of recovery”, presents the Casa Asilo project with Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo, Giovanni Cappelletti talks about Palazzo Butera in Palermo, or again Mario Botta described the experience of a church built in Ukraine with “Building Peace”. An important confirmation of the exhibition, on its tenth birthday together with “Cersaie Disegna La Tua Casa”, was the “Città della Posa” (City of Laying) occupying an area of over 400 square metres in Hall 32, where during the five days of the event there were demonstrations of laying large slabs and workshops. Cersaie Upstairs, on the other hand, was a pedestrian pathway on the first floor linking the historic pavilions with the newly built ones.
The appointment with the Café della Stampa di Domus was, instead, on Wednesday 28, involving for the occasion one of the leading experts in the field of sustainability: architect and urban planner Stefano Boeri, former editor of the magazine in 2004. The special conversation between him and Simona Bordone will focus on the theme “Green Obsession” to which Boeri himself has dedicated his latest book (2021, Actar Publishers).
“Ceramic tile continues to increase its share on international markets thanks to the intrinsic characteristics of the product, such as healthiness, hygiene and durability,” concludes Giovanni Savorani. “The commitment to the sustainability of Italian ceramics was the leitmotif of the entire event and was also concretely reflected in the meeting held at the fair with regional and territorial institutions to monitor the progress and results of the district's voluntary agreement on limiting emissions”.
Browse the gallery to discover the ceramic industry novelties on offer during the five-day event.