Total attendance 83,286 (+0.2%) including 25,000 international visitors
(+7.9%).
The 28th Cersaie, the international exhibition of ceramic tiles and bathroom furnishings, came to an end last Saturday in Bologna. Although the first signs of recovery are emerging, this remains a time of great difficulty for the international economy and real estate market. Nonetheless, the overall figures for Cersaie confirmed not only the show’s stability in terms of exhibitor and visitor numbers but also its importance at an international level for the represented sectors.

The exhibition space at Cersaie 2010 was once again fully sold out. The total space of 176,000 square metres hosted 1,012 exhibitors from 33 countries, including 263 from outside Italy.
Cersaie maintained its ability to attract visitors, largely due to cooperation with BolognaFiere, reporting a total attendance of 83,286, substantially stable with respect to the 2009 show (+0.2%).
The number of international visitors rose to 24,960 (+7.9%), while the Italian attendance of 58,326 was 4.25% down on last year’s figure due to the extraordinary numbers of visitors drawn by last year’s keynote lecture given by Renzo Piano. Italian attendance now accounts for 70% of the total. Although small (2,584), the number of paying admissions rose by 55.1%.
Attendance of journalists and cameramen was also high: 738 compared to 715 in 2009 (+3.2%), consisting of 462 Italians (+5.2%) and 276 non-Italians. The many events held during the show were well attended (for the complete programme see www.cersaie.it), as were the institutional events organised by Cersaie, including the TV and Web Village and the Ceramic Tiles of Italy International Press Conference on Tuesday 28 September.
One of the most popular events was the conference entitled “Climate change?” which saw the participation of the Vice Minister for Economic Development Stefano Saglia, the Vice Chairman of Confindustria Alberto Bombassei, the President of Regione Emilia-Romagna Vasco Errani, Professor Marco Fortis and the Chairman of Confindustria Ceramica Franco Manfredini.

This important edition of Cersaie repeated the programme of events entitled “Building, Dwelling, Thinking”. While targeted at professionals and specialists, these events also aimed to reach out to a broader audience consisting of journalists, students and the general public in line with Cersaie’s growing attention not just to products but also to architecture, design and cultural contributions capable of creating added value for the product. Young people in particular were in strong attendance at the meeting with Enzo Mari, at the keynote lecture given by David Childs and at the
conference by Renzo Piano Building Workshop devoted to Central St. Giles in London.
Young professionals were also in the spotlight at a packed programme of competitions and
associated exhibitions held during the five days of the show in the “Saper Fare” section promoting young talents in the fields of architecture, graphics and design. The poster for Cersaie itself, based on the theme of a Ceramic Eden, was designed by Alessandra Parodi, an architecture student at the University of Genoa.
Numerous events focused on the city of Bologna and the Emilia-Romagna region as a whole, from “Cersaie Downtown. The streets of design” – with exhibitions and events in the centre of Bologna – through to the competition of ideas entitled “Emilia-Romagna, Urban Polis Future”, which also involved the cities of Imola, Modena, Sassuolo and Reggio Emilia.

Next year’s appointment, Cersaie 2011, will be held from 20 to 24 September, a week earlier than the customary dates in late September and early October. Following on from Ceramic Eden, next year’s theme is Ceramic Evolution. This reflects the challenge facing the Italian ceramic industry, which at this year’s Cersaie demonstrated its ability to reinvent itself by combining tradition and innovation, functionality and design while maintaining its overall world leadership in terms of export value during this difficult period.