Great success at Fiere di Parma for the spring edition, with record attendance and sales even at the international level. Automotoretrò, confirmed for next year, enchants enthusiasts with Italian vintage cars and American vehicles.

(Parma, March 11, 2024) The 43rd edition of Mercanteinfiera at Fiere di Parma, a reference point for collecting worldwide, ended on March 10. The audience, including international enthusiasts and design, art, and vintage collecting addicts, has grown significantly. The spring edition proved to be one of the best ever, with nearly 60,000 attendees, 10% of whom were industry professionals.

Attendees of all ages, backgrounds, and interests explored the 40,000 square meters of Mercanteinfiera in search of unique pieces and curiosities. The event featured vibrant jukeboxes, magnifying glass-proof scissors, reinvented cheese-making vats as design objects, as well as vintage jewelry and clothing.

The collateral exhibitions were a great success, such as “Wake Up! Dreamsigners: Design Matchmaking,” realized in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Milan, School of Design along with Chinese universities, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and Jingyanuna. It was a collective project showcasing a new approach to fashion and Made in Italy, focusing on identity, innovation, and sustainability.

Another exhibition that sparked a lot of interest was “Masculine Jewelry: From Eighteenth-Century Splendor to Gender-Fluid Glamour,” curated by Mara Cappelletti, a jewelry historian. Also highly appreciated was the exhibition “Revival: Goodwood VS Maranello,” a collection of photographs by the German artist Uli Weber portraying the famous vintage car race Goodwood Revival, organized in West Sussex by the Duke of Richmond.

Throughout Mercanteinfiera, designer furniture and home accessories from the post-war period to the 1980s took center stage. These pieces were signed by universally recognized designers such as Gio Ponti, Gaetano Pesce, Franco Albini, to name a few. Finally, the four pavilions of the fairground also showcased antique jewelry, prestigious watchmaking brands (Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, Hublot), and the seductive allure of elegant and sustainable vintage fashion.

Enriching the fair was the presence of an entire pavilion dedicated to the collecting of vintage cars, branded Automotoretrò, featuring numerous Italian and American classic cars that thrilled and fascinated the audience and enthusiasts alike. Among the featured cars were: the Presidential Quattroporte Third Series AM330 4.9, the preferred car of President of the Republic Sandro Pertini; the Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 once owned by the Drake of Maranello; the 1958 Cadillac Cabriolet formerly owned by the Hotel Cipriani in Venice; and the iconic 1947 Lincoln Continental V12 convertible.

Mercanteinfiera will return in the fall from October 12th to 20th.