MIDA 2024 – the 88th International Crafts Fair – Presented in Rome, at the Headquarters of the Ministry for Business and Made in Italy

Exhibitions

Florence, 23rd November 2023 – Yesterday (Wednesday, 22nd November), MIDA – the 88th International Crafts Fair, set to take place at the Fortezza da Basso, in Florence from 25th April to 1st May 2024 – was presented for the first time at the headquarters of the Italian Ministry for Business and Made in Italy, in Rome.

This event, created as part of a collaboration between MIMIT and AEFI (the Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association) to enhance the excellence of the Italian trade fair system, saw the participation of representatives from various embassies, such as Algeria, Bahrain, Bolivia, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Egypt, El Salvador, Kosovo, Indonesia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Mali, South Sudan, Ukraine, Uganda, and Tanzania.

The opening speech was given by Lorenzo Becattini, President of Firenze Fiera, who illustrated MIDA, the first crafts fair in Italy, boasting 450 exhibitors, 28 foreign countries on an exhibiting surface of 34,000 square metres, and 65,000 visitors registered for the 2023 edition.

“I warmly thank the Ministry for Business and Made in Italy and AEFI for giving us the opportunity to present MIDA – the 88th International Crafts Fair, the first crafts fair in Italy – for the first time inside these prestigious premises. This event carries on a long tradition that has ancient roots – every spring, at the Fortezza da Basso, the excellence of Italian crafts is combined with that of many countries from the whole world. Since the 14th century, the union between arts and crafts – added Becattini – has always been at the heart of the beauty and of the economic life of our city, with the creation of the first guilds of Arts and Crafts, and with a great development from the Renaissance onwards. A change in taste made the fortune of crafts in Florence. And let us not forget that, on 1st February 1770, the most ancient Chamber of Commerce in Italy was established in Florence. Promoted by the ‘enlightened ruler’ Peter Leopold II of Habsburg-Lorraine, and defined as ‘House of the Enterprises’, still today it has a very close relationship with this Ministry”.

In his welcome speech, Maurizio Montemagno, General Director of Industrial Policy, Innovation and SMEs for the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, stressed the importance of this first “national presentation of MIDA – the Florence International Crafts Fair – at Palazzo Piacentini, as further evidence of MIMIT’s commitment to develop and support artisan businesses that form an important part of the national productive fabric, consisting of many micro and small enterprises”. “The ‘Made in Italy’ draft law – continued Montemagno – goes right in the direction of enhancing activities of craft businesses through concrete and highly strategic measures, such as the Sovereign Wealth Fund, and supporting strategic supply chains”.

Montemagno has also spoken of the importance of the battle to introduce information on geographical indications also on industrial and artisan products in Europe. “We fully supported this measure in Brussels in order to increasingly protect our excellence”.

“Our association has always supported the Italian trade fair system – added Loredana Sarti, Secretary General of AEFI – the second most important one in Europe, and the fourth one in the world, with an exhibiting surface of 4 million square metres, 200,000 exhibiting companies, and 20 million visitors, generating an impact of 22.5 million Euros per year on territories for an annual added value estimated at 10.6 million Euros, equivalent to 0.7% of GDP (AEFI research /Prometeia 2022). MIDA is the leading handicrafts fair in this country, and handicrafts in Italy are critical to the success of Made in Italy and Italian design. We hope that the idea of bringing attention back to our creativity will mark a recovery in these difficult moments”.

“It is no coincidence that crafts are being relaunched and enhanced by Florence with MIDA, the International Crafts Fair, commented Gabriele Rotini, Head of Cabinet of CNA at national level. Florence is the art city par excellence, and Tuscany is the only Region that created a purpose company such as Artex, aimed at promoting artistic craftsmanship.

“In Italy, craft businesses are over 1.3 million, 200,000 of which deal with artistic craftsmanship, with an average of 1.2 employees per company. This means that these enterprises are objectively small – they incorporate ancient and identity-based savoir-faire, and they act as a driving force for experiential tourism. CNA is determined to seize this special moment of enhancement for craftmanship, encouraged by the ‘Made in Italy’ draft law passed by the Government, and by the regulations on Non-Food Geographical Indications published by the European Union”.

“88 editions demonstrate the full depth of craftsmanship’s roots, but also its vitality and contemporaneity, added Bruno Panieri, Director of Economic Policies for Confartigianato at national level.  In addition to well-made products and excellence, craftsmanship expresses highly topical values – attention to sustainability, to people and communities, and new self-realisation opportunities for new generations. These are all elements that belong to the DNA of handicrafts and that can be a winning model for economic and social development”.