Florence, 15th November 2024. The UIA Associations Round Table Europe 2024 is successfully closing today at Palazzo degli Affari. Having now reached its 18th edition, for the first time it brought representatives from all over the world to Florence, offering an inspiring and constructive debate on the ‘best practices’ to be implemented for a significant change at global level, by sharing experiences and useful knowledge for an increasingly qualified management of organisations.
The event was promoted by the Union of International Associations (UIA) and organized by OIC Group, Destination Florence Convention Bureau, and Firenze Fiera. UIA is a research institute and an independent, non-profit and non-governmental documentation centre. Based in Brussels, since 1907 it has been a leader in researching, monitoring, and providing information on international organisations and associations, and on their global challenges.  The effective support of Toscana Promozione Turistica and Convention Bureau Italia also contributed to the success of UIA Round Table 2024.
The central theme of UIA Round Table Florence was “It’s Up to Us”, seeing the active participation of all the representatives on many perspectives related to associations (Professional Congress Organizers, convention bureaux, and congress venues). The focus was on aligning the main theme of the event with the UN Global Objectives and with the 2030 EU Agenda.
Among the various successful case histories presented during the two-day meeting, the synergic collaboration between Destination Florence Convention Bureau, Firenze Fiera, and OIC Group was particularly highlighted, as it led to win the bid for Vision 2025, the 15th International Conference of the International Society for Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation (ISLRR), to be held at Palazzo dei Congressi from 8th to 12th September 2025.
The event saw the participation of Ilenia Pasi (Sales &amp; Business Development for Destination Florence Convention Bureau), Annarita Buracchi (Sales Office &amp; Business Development for Firenze Fiera), and Ginevra De Bellis (International Relations for OIC Group), along Prof. Paolo Limoli, President of the Local Organising Committee for Vision 2025, and Prof. Gianni Virgili from the University of Florence, Chair of the International Scientific Committee of the congress, both awarded as Florence Ambassadors in 2023  for winning the bid for Low Vision 2025. This session analysed the special modalities that led to win the bid along with the important legacy that this event will leave to the territory.

The UIA Associations Round Table Europe 2024 Successfully Closing at Palazzo degli Affari

Florence, 8th November 2024. The new main entrance of Firenze Fiera, giving access to the Florence congress and exhibition centre in Piazza Adua, was inaugurated this morning.
This event saw the participation of Lorenzo Becattini, President of Firenze Fiera, joined by Sara Funaro, Mayor of Florence, Eugenio Giani, President of the Region of Tuscany, and Massimo Manetti, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Florence. The ceremony also saw the presence of numerous other personalities from the economic world and the local congress and exhibition sector.
Thanks to team work between the Municipality of Florence, the Region of Tuscany, the Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscapes of Florence, and Firenze Fiera, the construction project led to install a new large porch clad in steel in front of the access doors of Palazzo degli Affari, perfectly complementing the 20th-century architectural lines of the palace designed by architect Pierluigi Spadolini. The building was entirely renovated and reopened on 11th July 2022, and it is the spearhead of the Florence congress offer for associative and corporate events.
Used to protect accesses to the palace from the weather and as a resting place for visitors and congress attendees accessing the congress and exhibition centre, this new structure adds prestige and decor to the entrance of one of the most important congress and exhibition centres in Italy, redeveloping an area that was previously penalized by improper use during the day and the night, considering also its proximity to the Santa Maria Novella railway station. The structure was complemented by a sliding door for vehicular and pedestrian access, while a large pane of glass overlooking the garden was added towards via Valfonda. The latter can be used to further support promotional and communication spaces dedicated to events.
Designed and built by Architects Elio di Franco and Giuseppe Cacozza from Politecnica, the new Piazza Adua access is just the latest in a succession of projects carried out by Firenze Fiera in these last months, including the architectural concrete walkway to facilitate access to the three venues overlooking the garden (Palazzo degli Affari, Limonaia, and Palazzo dei Congressi), and to the new sanitary facilities in the Passi Perduti area, at Villa Vittoria.
“The new entrance in Piazza Adua combines prestige, decor, and safety within our congress and exhibition centre – said Lorenzo Becattini, President of Firenze Fiera – and it is only the latest step, in chronological order, in a long series of construction projects and investment carried out by the company in these last months and amounting to 650,000 Euros, to which we must add 1,150,000 Euros invested into renovations at the Fortezza in 2024, for a total amount of nearly 2 million Euros”. “I take this opportunity to thank our partners – Becattini concluded – as Firenze Fiera is about to close 2024 with a budget higher than in 2023 in terms of production value and final results. Thanks to this deep and close collaboration, we will continue to co-operate and discuss the company’s extraordinary items that need attention and constant support by its owners”.
“This new entrance &#8211; stated Sara Funaro, Mayor of Florence -is crucial to redevelop the main congress and exhibition centre of our city. This work was carried on by the Board of Directors, the President and all the whole technical department, and falls within all the redevelopment projects that we are carrying out inside the Fortezza. There is an agreement on schedule worth 68 million Euros, with important work already in progress. These projects will allow to enlarge spaces and to make this place increasingly central as an attractive congress and exhibition centre for important events&#8221;.
“I have always believed in Firenze Fiera – said Giani, President of the Region of Tuscany during his speech – as well as in the calling of Florence as a congress and exhibition destination. That is why, today I am delighted to participate in the opening of the new entrance in Piazza Adua. This project makes the congress and exhibition area even more beautiful, safer, and functional”. “In these last years, Firenze Fiera has essentially doubled its profits. After the Covid experience, during which some people even feared an inexorable decline, today we see a company closing its budget with a profit and making Florence the ideal showcase for any type of congresses and exhibitions. Some time ago, the Fortezza was only used to host Pitti and the Crafts Fair, while today we see an intense growth of new events, so much that the Region has prepared a recapitalization of 6 million Euros”.
“Battling decay and securing the safety of this “hotspot area” of the city is probably the best business card for the entrance to Firenze Fiera’s venues, and I think it is an important sign of what has been done and of how much the city cares for its congress and exhibition centre”, added Massimo Manetti, President of the Florence Chamber of Commerce.

Firenze Fiera Officially Opens Its New Entrance in Piazza Adua

Florence, 29th October 2024 – From film director Cinzia TH Torrini to Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, Prof. Stefano Mancuso, and microbiologist Rino Rappuoli, up to Carlo Fuortes, Superintendent of Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, to be awarded this year. These are just some of the “Ambassadors of the Florence Spirit”, awarded by the city in these last years during the Florence Ambassador Award, an event promoted by the Municipality of Florence, in co-operation with Fondazione Destination Florence and Firenze Fiera, and with the support of Triumph Group for this year’s edition. Year after year, this event has been growing, increasingly acquiring importance and prestige. It is now ready to celebrate its 8th edition on Thursday, 31st October 2024 at Palazzo Vecchio, paying tribute to all the excellent personalities in the academic, scientific, congress and cultural field, who helped to bring events of great relevance to the city thanks to their work.
This human capital contributes to celebrate Florence in the world by acquiring high-profile congresses and conferences. In 2024 alone, Florence won 14 international congresses, having an overall economic impact of around 36 million Euros, with 15,000 participants expected to attend the events. These initiatives are the result of work developed by Fondazione Destination Florence and Firenze Fiera. This year, they collaborated for 39 further bids concerning events on schedule from 2025 to 2029, that could bring over 26,000 attendees to the city. According to international consulting company Gaining Edge, Florence is the first city in Italy to co-operate with its academic and scientific fabric in attracting international congresses, with a harnessing ratio equivalent to 90%.
Having now reached its 8th edition, the Florence Ambassador Award will start today, at 18:00, inside the Salone dei Cinquecento. It will see the participation of Mayor Sara Funaro, Jacopo Vicini, Municipal Councillor for Economic Development, Tourism, Exhibitions, and Congresses,  Giovanni Bettarini, Municipal Councillor for Culture and Investee Companies, in addition to Massimo Manetti, President of the Florence Chamber of Commerce, Ersilia Menesini, Vice Rector for Teaching, Career Guidance, and Services for the students of the University of Florence, Laura Masi, President of Fondazione Destination Florence , and Lorenzo Becattini, President of Firenze Fiera.
WINNERS. This year, 14 awards will be given to as many prominent figures within the academic, scientific, and congress field. Among them, Roberto Ferrise, expert in climate changes concerning agriculture, Associate Professor at the Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental, and Forest Science and Technology of the University of Florence, applying mathematical models for a more resilient agriculture, Marco Bindi, Full Professor at the Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental, and Forest Science and Technology of the University of Florence, Mauro Guglielmin, Director off the Research Centre on Climate Change of the University of Insubria, expert in Permafrost, and particularly in the impact that climate change can have on this environment. Awards will also be given to Roberto Graglia, expert in computational electromagnetics, Full Professor at the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications of the Polytechnic in Turin, Giuliano Manara, Full Professor expert in Electromagnetic Fields at the Department of Information Technology of the University of Pisa, Giancarlo La Marca, Full Professor of Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Florence, and Deputy Scientific Director of IRCCS Meyer, Michele Piana, Full Professor at the Mathematics Department of the University of Genoa, Maria Sofia Randich, Research Executive at the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory of the National Institute of Astrophysics, Sergio Solinas, Researcher at the Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Sassari, Pietro Ubertini, Associate Director of Research at the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), Nicolò Pietro Paolo Macciotta, Full Professor of General Breeding Science and Genetic Improvement at the Agriculture Department of the University of Sassari, Antonio Toscano, Full Professor of Neurology at the University of Messina, and Giuseppe Lepri, founder and President of Newtours Spa, a historic reference point for the Florence Meeting Industry.
The Florence Municipality will appoint a special award to Carlo Fuortes, Superintendent of Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, for giving new vitality to this institution, making it a strategic asset of the city and combining culture and tourism with the congress world thanks to its multi-faceted soul. During the event, Fuortes and Giovanni Bettarini, Municipal Councillor for Culture, will be engaged in a dialogue on “La tradizione del nuovo” (The Tradition of the New).
Finally, Fondazione Destination Florence will assign an award to celebrate 40 years of activity of TC Group – Tecnoconference and Gerist &#8211; which, thanks to their professionalism and expertise, play a central role in the Florence Meeting Industry.
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The Award Ceremony of the Florence Ambassador Award 2024 to Take Place Today at Palazzo Vecchio

Florence, 7th October 2024. From 17th to 19th October 2024, all eyes will be on the 55th International Congress of SIDO (Italian Society of Orthodontics) taking place at the Fortezza da Basso. The congress will gather the most reputable specialists of Italian and international orthodontics in Florence, along with world experts of interdisciplinary treatment, and professionals dealing with new technologies and personalized therapies.
The two days of the congress – Friday, 18th and Saturday 19th October – will be preceded by an intense pre-congress day (Thursday, 17th October), during which focus will be on the “2nd Memorial IBO Sandro Segù” dealing with “Malocclusions in Adults” and “Angle-net comes ALIVE in SIDO Symposium”.
On Friday, 18th October, the study day will open with “Tiziano Baccetti Lecture” in conjunction with “Nikhilesh Vaid, Flavia Artese, and Stella Chaushu”. During the day, the following topics will be discussed: “Interdisciplinary Treatment” and “The Continuous Pursuit of Excellence”. On Saturday, 19th October, discussion will cover topics such as “The Future of Orthodontics”, with reports on new technologies, and the “1st Female Leadership Summit” with “In rosa” presentations.
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The 55th Edition of SIDO, the International Orthodontics Congress – Fortezza da Basso, October 17-19, 2024

Florence, 8th October 2024. The 27th Congress of the College of Italian Rheumatologists – CRel – will take place at Palazzo dei Congressi from 9th to 12th October 2024. The issues addressed will concentrate on rheumatic diseases through a multidisciplinary approach, technological innovation, and a focus on gender medicine.
The Congress will consist of over 50 sessions that will explore crucial aspects such as gender medicine, integration with oncorheumatology, cardiovascular risk, and the correlation between the environment and rheumatic diseases. This event will be characterised by the innovative use of advanced technology applied to health. The Digital Team Solution Healthcare project, launched by CReI, will be presented as a virtual agora for health workers and patients, through which one can learn to use digital tools to improve the management of rheumatic diseases.
The Congress embraces the One Health approach, placing the focus on the interconnection between human, animal, and environmental health, as highlighted by President Daniela Marotto, explaining how every year, unhealthy life conditions, aggravated by environmental pollution that negatively affects rheumatic diseases, can cause the death of millions of people in the world. The conference will end on 12th October by celebrating World Arthritis Day, an event that aims to become an open dialogue between patients and specialists, focusing on reproductive health.  
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Rheumatology and Global Health at the 27th CRel Congress – Palazzo dei Congressi, October 9-12, 2024

Florence, 2nd October 2024. From Friday 4th to Sunday 6th October 2024, the Cavaniglia Pavilion at the Fortezza da Basso will host the 31st edition of TUTTO SPOSI &#8211; the most important wedding fair in Central and Northern Italy. It will be an unmissable event for all the couples who are getting ready for their most beautiful day, with a wide offer of proposals and suggestions from all the companies participating and from sector professionals present at the Fair &#8211; ready to fulfill every desire.
As usual, this edition will also see a preview presentation of 2025 bridal collections, introduced at the fashion shows organized to be held during the three days of the Fair. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover a preview of the latest trends, along with the most innovative creations from the most prestigious bridal fashion designers, thus anticipating the trends that will characterize the wedding world in 2025. The programme will also include workshops and live shows.
Free admission for all visitors after registering online on the website: https://tuttosposifirenze.it/
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