The Fiera di Bologna is the

business district Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessar ...

of the city of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, in central Italy. The area includes a trade exhibition centre and several office towers occupied by the regional government of

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

and various private companies.

History

19th century

The history of the Fiera begins in the 19th century. The first large trade fair was held in the city on May 7, 1888 in the Giardini Margherita, inaugurated by King Umberto I, Queen

Margherita of Savoy Margherita of Savoy (''Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna''; 20 November 1851 – 4 January 1926) was List of Italian royal consorts, Queen of Italy by marriage to her first cousin King Umberto I of Italy. She was the daughter of Prince Ferdinand ...

and the then Prime Minister,

Francesco Crispi Francesco Crispi (4 October 1818 – 11 August 1901) was an Italian patriot and statesman. He was among the main protagonists of the Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, and one of the architect ...

20th century

Trade fairs of national significance were held more constantly starting from 1927, the year in which the " Littoriale" football stadium, now Renato Dall'Ara Memorial Stadium, was built by the Fascist regime, with expositions taking place inside the stadium on a regular basis. After WW2, in 1947, the local chamber of commerce set up the Ente Autonomo delle Fiere di Bologna; however, it didn't have a fixed location yet, but trade fairs were held between

Montagnola Montagnola () is a small Switzerland, Swiss village in Collina d'Oro municipality. Located in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, it is close to the border between Switzerland and Italy. It looks over Lake Lugano and the city of Lugano upon it ...

park and Palazzo del Podestà. In 1961 EAF launched a contest in order to select a project for a first block of permanent pavillons. The winning project was that of architects Leonardo Benevolo, Tommaso Giuralongo and Carlo Melogran; works began in 1964 and the following year the 29th Fair of Bologna, inaugurated by the then Prime Minister

Aldo Moro Aldo Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and prominent member of Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democracy (DC) and its centre-left wing. He served as prime minister of Italy in five terms from December 1963 ...

, was the first to be held in a permanent venue. At the end of the 1960s the city authorities, worried by massive

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

and suburbanisation, asked Japanese starchitect Kenzo Tange to sketch a master plan for a

new town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

north of Bologna; however, the project that came out in 1970 was evaluated as way too much ambitious and expensive. Eventually the city council, in spite of vetoing Tange's master plan, decided to keep his project for a new exhibition centre and business district. At the end of 1978 the construction of a tower block and several diverse buildings and structures started. In 1985 the headquarters of the regional government of

moved in the new district.

21st century

In 2002 EAF turned into "BolognaFiere Spa", a

joint-stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareho ...

that is the fulcrum of a regional fair system that includes also

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

and

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

, with a combined total of 200,000 square meters of gross hall capacity, of which 105,000 in Bologna alone. In 2010 a new 22 story, 90 meters high tower has been completed. At the end of 2016 BolognaFiere Spa successfully carried out a €20m

seasoned equity offering A seasoned equity offering (SEO) or capital increase is a new equity issued by an already publicly traded company. Seasoned offerings may involve shares sold by existing shareholders (non-dilutive), new shares (dilutive), or both. If the seasone ...

with the aim to expand its exhibition grounds to 140,000 square meters. On October 30, 2017 (after the approval of a new €100m restyling project) demolition works of the old pavillons officially started.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiera District In Bologna, Italy Buildings and structures in Bologna Convention centers in Italy

History

19th century

20th century

21st century

See also

References