Cersaie 2022

The most important international exhibition for the world of ceramic tiles, bathroom furnishings, architecture and design is back in Bologna from 26 to 30 September 2022.

As from 26 September, the 39th Cersaie is back in the Bologna Exhibition centre with a packed programme of events. The fully sold out floor space and the presence of 624 exhibitors, including 38% non-Italian companies from 26 different countries, confirms the show’s global interest and appeal.

Following the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony in Piazza della Costituzione, Cersaie’s first appointment is the Inaugural Conference to be held in the Europauditorium of Palazzo dei Congressi on Monday 26 September at 11.00 a.m. The speakers at the event, entitled “Ceramic manufacturing: sustainability and responses to the energy crisis”, will be the Minister for the Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani, ISPI Executive Vice President Paolo Magri, the President of the Emilia-Romagna Regional Government Stefano Bonaccini and the Chairman of Confindustria Ceramica Giovanni Savorani.

The Ceramics of Italy International Press Conference beginning at 6.00 p.m. in the Palazzo dei Congressi will explore the current state and future prospects of the ceramic industry. This will be followed by the invitation-only Cersaie Reception evening in the Ex Gam Bologna Congress Center, which will host the presentation of the Confindustria Ceramica Distributor Awards to four distributors who have excelled in their dealings with the Italian ceramic industry (this year from Belgium, France, Germany and Italy). Finally, the Young Distributor Award will be presented for the second year to two young US distributors who have shown a special passion for Italian tiles, while veteran international “Cersaie-Lovers” will be honoured with the newly launched Pioneer Award.

Cersaie 2022 will welcome numerous well-known guest speakers as part of the “building, dwelling, thinking” cultural programme. A conference entitled “The sustainable beauty of restoration” will be held at 11.00 a.m. on Tuesday 27 September in the Palazzo dei Congressi in Bologna. The event will be moderated by architecture historian Fulvio Irace and will consist of two parts. In the first part, award-winning Italian architect Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo will present the Casa Asilo project, which involved redeveloping a former infant school and converting it into a private residence. In the second part of the conference, architect Giovanni Cappelletti will present the Palazzo Butera project in Palermo, a sumptuous private villa which has been restored and opened up for public use by the city’s residents as an art workshop.

At 3.00 p.m. on Wednesday 28 September in the Palazzo dei Congressi, renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta will speak at a conference entitled “Building Peace”, again with the participation of Fulvio Irace.

The programme will continue the next day, Thursday 29 September at 11.00 a.m. with a conference hosting Bergmeisterwolf, the Brixen-based practice founded by architects Michaela Wolf and Gerd Bergmeister, winners of numerous awards including the Italian Architect Award in 2019. 

This will be followed at 3.00 p.m. by a talk given by German architect Manuel Herz, again in the Palazzo dei Congressi. One of the new features of this year’s show is Cersaie Upstairs, an upper-floor walkway connecting the existing exhibition halls with the newly built pavilions.

Gallery 21/22 will host Archincont(r)act, the exhibition designed for the world of architecture and contract design now in its third edition, which this year will see the participation of 6 major architectural firms (Lombardini 22, Pininfarina, One Works, Noa*, Iosa Ghini Associati-IGA and Handel Architects). The atmospheric location inspired by air and water is based on the concept of the archaeological site of Stonehenge. Each of the practices will also hold a conference on the topic of sustainability.

The elements of earth and fire will take centre stage in Gallery 25/26. In a 1,200 square metre space, visitors will be immersed in a warm and relaxing atmosphere inspired by the two natural elements.

Once again this year, Cersaie is hosting Tiling Town, the meeting place for Italian and international tile laying professionals located in a more than 400-square-metre space in Hall 32. For its 10th edition, Tiling Town will offer visitors the opportunity to attend large ceramic slab installation showcases given by master tile layers, technical seminars on large-size tile fixing aimed at architects and designers, and the Tiling Town Matinées, a series of company initiatives devoted to tile laying organised by Assoposa’s technical partners (Fila, Mapei and Raimondi).

A large area of Tiling Town is occupied by Assoposa, which is organising three specific spaces. The first is the Academy devoted to extra-large slab installers and an exhibition of washbasins made from large slabs, as well as a work in progress illustrating the cladding of a complex volume with ceramic mosaic tiles. A second area is devoted to outdoor spaces with demonstrations of raised and exterior floor installation. Assoposa in Rosa is a third area devoted to women working in the world of construction, especially in retail outlets.