The 34th Biennale Internazionale dell'Antiquariato di Firenze (BIAF) opens to the public at Palazzo Corsini from 26 September to 4 October 2026. For collectors of Italian painting, sculpture, furniture and decorative arts, it remains the principal Florence-based antiques fair with a stated focus on Italian material and a formal vetting process. This edition is the first under Secretary General Bruno Botticelli, appointed in April 2025 after Fabrizio Moretti.

Official hours, fees and programme details are published by the fair; the most recent city-wide updates appeared in early September 2026, less than a month before opening.

Dates, venue and admission

  • Public days: 26 September–4 October 2026
  • Venue: Palazzo Corsini, Lungarno Corsini, Florence
  • Hours: daily 10:30–19:30; ticket office closes at 19:00
  • Full ticket: €25
  • Reduced (€10): residents of the Metropolitan City of Florence; organised groups of at least 12 (reservation required)
  • Free: visitors under 15; visitors with disabilities and one accompanying person; Biennale VIP Card holders

Group bookings: +39 055 282635 / [email protected]. Cameras, large bags, umbrellas and animals are not admitted. Visitors may not bring objects into the fair for appraisal.

24 September is reserved for press and invited preview: press conference at 12:00 in the Salone del Trono, invitation-only anteprima in the evening, then gala dinner. 26 September, 10:30: inaugural ceremony in the Salone dei Cinquecento, Palazzo Vecchio, including the Lorenzo d'Oro award.

Who is exhibiting

Organisers expect about 80 galleries, mixing major Italian centres (Milan, Rome, Florence, Naples, Bologna, the Veneto) with dealers from London, Paris, Munich, Geneva, Lugano and Palm Beach. Offerings are described as ranging from Old Master and gold-ground painting through wooden and marble sculpture, historic furniture and decorative arts, into twentieth-century and selected contemporary work. Collectors who focus on Tuscan manufacture will find useful context in our notes on Florentine pietra dura and Italian marquetry furniture; silver buyers should keep hallmark practice in mind when comparing fair stock to documented pieces.

Vetting

Before public opening, a selection committee of 63 museum directors, curators and conservators is scheduled to examine proposed works for authenticity and condition. That scale of vetting is a practical reason international buyers still treat BIAF as a reference fair rather than an open trade hall. It does not replace independent due diligence: request condition reports, provenance notes and export paperwork for any serious purchase.

First Botticelli edition: institutional partnerships

Botticelli’s stated aim is to bind the fair more tightly to Florence’s museum system—an “Italian art week” model rather than a stand-alone trade show. Confirmed strands include:

Michelangelo drawing (Casa Buonarroti). In the Salone del Trono, BIAF will show the technical project for the unfinished façade of San Lorenzo, lent by Casa Buonarroti. Conservazione work is supported by Fondazione CR Firenze and carried out by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (diagnostic campaign at the Fortezza da Basso laboratories, then restoration).

Apollo del Belvedere bronze. A bronze after the Belvedere Apollo by Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi (Antico), c. 1498–1502, from the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti at Ca’ d’Oro, Venice, is announced as a loan, with restoration supported by Fondazione Venetian Heritage.

Civic museums and Palazzo Strozzi. Reciprocal ticketing and discounts are planned with Musei Civici Fiorentini (including Palazzo Vecchio, Santa Maria Novella complex, Museo Novecento, Museo Stefano Bardini, Brancacci Chapel) and Casa Buonarroti. Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi’s exhibition Broken. Il potere del frammento opens 26 September; a BIAF-linked event on 25 September and an Italian garden in Piazza Strozzi with sculpture supplied by fair exhibitors are planned—returning antiquarians, symbolically, to the square associated with the Biennale’s 1959 origins.

Museo Horne. Fondazione CR Firenze schedules guided visits for BIAF collectors on 30 September and 2 October 2026 (17:30–18:30), titled L’occhio del conoscitore. Herbert Horne un collezionista inglese a Firenze ([email protected]).

28 September city programme. Press coverage flags the presentation of two Medici maiolica pieces donated to the Museo di San Marco and a living-history initiative at Museo Bardini—useful for ceramics collectors already familiar with Italian maiolica regional traditions.

Gucci remains Main Sponsor. Fair design is credited to Matteo Corvino with Minotti furnishings; floral work with Mati Piante; scent by Lorenzo Villoresi. An airport welcome desk at Florence Airport is planned from 23 September with Toscana Aeroporti and the Comune.

Catalogue and talks

The fair’s former magazine is being issued as a bilingual official catalogue, edited by Cesare Cunaccia for Gruppo Editoriale, with essays by curators and museum directors. Talks in the Salone del Trono include book presentations (among them Celeste Dell’Anna interiors volume Lost & Found on 25 September; Lucia Cimini’s Finché tutto splende on 29 September) and art-history sessions into early October. Full talk lists may still be updated closer to the fair—check biaf.it before travel.

Practical notes for international collectors

1. Plan the city days, not only the stand route. Loans and museum pairings are part of this edition’s pitch; allocate time for Casa Buonarroti, Horne and Strozzi if those loans and shows matter to your research.
2. Use the vetting as a filter, not a guarantee. Ask for written condition and export status on any candidate purchase.
3. Compare categories you already study. Furniture, silver, ceramics and hardstone inlay seen at BIAF should be judged against the same construction and mark criteria you apply elsewhere.
4. Confirm last-minute schedule changes. Preview, gala and inauguration times are published; collateral events have been expanding in September press updates.

FAQ

When is BIAF 2026 open to the public?
26 September to 4 October 2026, daily 10:30–19:30 at Palazzo Corsini.

Who directs this edition?
Bruno Botticelli, Secretary General since April 2025—his first Biennale in that role.

How many dealers are expected?
About eighty, Italian and international, according to the Comune di Firenze presentation and subsequent press.

Is there a special loan?
Yes: Michelangelo’s San Lorenzo façade project drawing from Casa Buonarroti, plus the announced Antico bronze from Ca’ d’Oro.

Where do I buy tickets?
Official timetable and fees are on biaf.it; group reservations by phone or email as listed above.

Conclusion

BIAF 2026 is a short, high-density window for anyone who buys or studies Italian antiques at museum level. The calendar is fixed; the institutional envelope around Palazzo Corsini—vetting committee, CR Firenze–backed Michelangelo loan, Strozzi and civic-museum links—is the main change to track this year. Arrive with a category focus, read condition carefully, and treat the city programme as part of the research trip rather than optional tourism.