BIAF 2026: Florence Welcomes Back the Great Season of Art and Collecting
From September 26 to October 4, Palazzo Corsini reopens its doors for the 34th Florence International Antiques Biennial. Eighty galleries, great Italian and international masters—including Michelangelo and Julian Schnabel—as well as talks, exhibitions, and an entire city involved in the event.
There is a time of year when Florence seems to remember, more than at any other time, that it is Florence: it is the end of September, when summer slowly gives way to the new season and the historic palaces come alive once again with exhibitions, openings, collectors, and international guests. It is also the time of the BIAF – Florence International Antiques Biennial, which returns to Palazzo Corsini for its 34th edition from September 26 to October 4, 2026.
Founded in 1959, the BIAF is now an integral part of the city’s cultural history. But the 2026 edition marks an important milestone: for the first time, the Biennale will be led by Bruno Botticelli, the new Secretary General, who has been called upon to carry on a tradition built over time by figures such as Giovanni Pratesi and Fabrizio Moretti.
The idea is not to change the nature of the event, but rather to broaden its scope. To bring it even closer to the city, involve new entities, and, above all, return to discussing the ancient for what it truly represents: something unique, authentic, made of material substance, and destined to last.
Palazzo Corsini, once again the heart of the BIAF
For nine days, Palazzo Corsini will become one of the most interesting destinations in the world for those involved in art and collecting. There will be approximately eighty galleries in attendance, featuring names from Italy’s leading art hubs and some of the most important international centers of the art market: Florence, Milan, Rome, Naples, Bologna, and the Veneto region will engage in dialogue with London, Paris, Munich, Geneva, Lugano, and Palm Beach.
Diversity is one of the elements that make the BIAF particularly fascinating. In the halls of Palazzo Corsini, visitors will encounter everything from gilded backgrounds to Old Masters, from wooden to marble sculpture, from historic furnishings to the decorative arts, all the way to 20th-century and contemporary works. This exhibition does not necessarily follow a chronological order but rather creates a series of dialogues. An antique painting next to a modern sculpture, a historic piece of furniture alongside a 20th-century work: such juxtapositions allow visitors to view the works beyond their own time and to understand how certain forms, techniques, and ideas continue to influence the way we view art even today.
The Selection Process: When Every Detail Counts
Behind the beauty of the Biennale lies a much less visible, yet fundamental, process. Before the opening, every work is reviewed by the Selection Committee, composed of 63 international experts, including conservators, curators, and museum directors.
Authenticity and condition are at the heart of this vetting process, which represents one of the event’s most important safeguards. For a fair dedicated to antiques, where a work’s provenance and history can be just as important as the work itself, this is an essential step.
The BIAF Leaves Palazzo Corsini
Perhaps the real novelty of the 2026 edition is this: the Biennale will no longer be confined within the palace; Florence will become an integral part of the program, with a series of events involving cultural institutions, museums, and iconic sites throughout the city.
One of the most eagerly anticipated projects is the one carried out in collaboration with the CR Firenze Foundation, which will bring Michelangelo’s Design for the Facade of San Lorenzo—currently housed at Casa Buonarroti—to Palazzo Corsini. The drawing will be presented to the public following a diagnostic assessment and prior to its restoration by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.
It is one of those small yet significant privileges that an event like the BIAF can offer: seeing up close a work that is part of Florence’s history and, at the same time, observing the scientific work that ensures its preservation for the future.
The Foundation is also offering two special openings of the Horne Museum, featuring the tour The Connoisseur’s Eye: Herbert Horne, an English Collector in Florence, scheduled for September 30 and October 2.
The Sculpture Garden at Palazzo Strozzi
From September 25 to 27, Piazza Strozzi will also become part of the Biennale’s narrative. Florence Secret Garden will bring an Italian-style garden to the heart of the square, populated by ancient sculptures on loan from several BIAF antique dealers and placed in dialogue with the Broken exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi.
A project that seems almost like a natural extension of the Biennale’s philosophy: bringing together works created in different contexts and periods and allowing them to meet in a contemporary setting.
Julian Schnabel and the Lorenzo d’Oro Award
Among the institutional events of the 2026 edition is also the return of the Lorenzo d’Oro Award, dedicated to figures from the worlds of cinema and music who have engaged with the visual arts. This year, the award will be presented to Julian Schnabel, an artist, filmmaker, and central figure in the international cultural scene, with a ceremony scheduled for September 26 at Palazzo Vecchio. The award will be crafted in silver by a Florentine master artisan, Gianfranco Pampaloni, the winner of the competition held to design it.
A significant detail: here too, the project looks not only to the past but also to Florence’s ability to continue producing culture and craftsmanship.
An Evening on the Lungarno
The BIAF will officially begin with an invitation-only preview on September 24, dedicated to international collectors, museum directors, and leading figures in the art world. Following a dinner by Gucci Osteria by Massimo Bottura at Palazzo Corsini, the evening will move to the Lungarno. The star of the show will be soprano Carolina López Moreno, who will perform two arias by Puccini linked to Florence and the world of art. Then, on the Arno River, a fireworks display inspired by the Medici festivals will bring the evening to a close. It’s hard to imagine a more Florentine setting.
A Catalog Worth Keeping
The Biennale’s official publication is also getting a makeover. The magazine is becoming a bilingual catalog, edited by Cesare Cunaccia, featuring essays and contributions from curators, scholars, and directors of major international museums. The intention is to transform it into something that goes beyond a mere fair guide: a volume to consult and preserve, capable of telling the story of the works and the people who shape each edition of the BIAF.
The New Look of Palazzo Corsini
At Palazzo Corsini, however, the change will also be visual. The set design by Matteo Corvino and the furnishings by Minotti will accompany a new concept for the booths, which will be more open and airy. The result should create a more natural flow, allowing both the artworks and the palace’s 18th-century interiors to breathe.
The presence of Gucci, the event’s main sponsor, fits into this same dialogue between historical heritage and the contemporary. So too does that of International Motors, the official automotive partner, which will bring the world of Range Rover to Palazzo Corsini. And, of course, there will also be fine dining. Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura will run the Biennale’s restaurant for the entire duration of the event, while Gucci Giardino will complement the days with a selection of cocktails.
Where Art Is Discussed
From September 25 to October 3, the Throne Room will be the centerpiece of the BIAF’s cultural program. Scholars, curators, museum directors, and leading figures from the art world will take turns participating in conversations, lectures, presentations, and meetings.
This is an important part of the Biennale, because the antiques market, even before it is a market, is about knowledge. Every work carries with it a history of attributions, restorations, collections, and changes of ownership that deserves to be told. And it is perhaps precisely here that the most contemporary meaning of the BIAF lies: not merely to display what we have inherited, but to ask ourselves how to continue preserving, studying, and passing it on.
For a few days, then, Florence will once again be the meeting point of international collecting, art, and Italian culture. With Palazzo Corsini at its heart, but with the entire city involved. While Michelangelo, the Old Masters, 20th-century art, and contemporary art come together in the Biennale’s halls, life in Florence will continue outside. The museums, the squares, the palaces, the restaurants, the Arno.
This, after all, is the privilege of the BIAF: to arrive in a city that doesn’t need to be transformed into a museum, because it already is one.
