Florence opens 35th International Antiques Biennale: 80 galleries from around the world, Michelangelo’s San Lorenzo drawing in the spotlight

FLORENCE – The Florence International Antiques Biennale (BIAF) opened its doors today, Saturday, September 26, 2026, at the historic Palazzo Corsini on the Arno, as Florence Daily News reports. The 35th edition of one of Italy’s oldest international antiques fairs runs until Sunday, October 4, 2026, open daily from 10:30 to 19:30.

Around 80 Italian and international galleries take part in this edition — from Milan, Rome, Florence, Naples, Bologna and Veneto, as well as London, Paris, Munich, Geneva, Lugano and Palm Beach. This is the first edition under new secretary general Bruno Botticelli. The fair was founded in September 1959 by brothers Giuseppe and Mario Bellini, sons of antiquarian Luigi Bellini, who in 1953 had first brought together Florence’s leading Italian antiques dealers.

The exhibited works cover a wide range: gold-ground paintings and old master canvases, wood and marble sculptures, period furniture and decorative arts, alongside works by great 20th-century and contemporary artists.

In the spotlight is Michelangelo’s drawing for the unrealized façade project of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence — a work on loan from Casa Buonarroti, to be exhibited in the Throne Room on the first floor of Palazzo Corsini. The same hall will host the program of talks, lectures and book presentations with art historians, scholars and representatives of international museums.

The Biennale extends beyond Palazzo Corsini: at the San Marco Museum two Medici porcelain vases donated to the museum will be presented, while thanks to collaboration with Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Biennale ticket holders get a discount on entry to the “Broken. The Power of the Fragment” exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi.