For many national and international events, congresses and trade fairs, the Fiera Milano is the perfect space for companies to showcase their new products to the world, expand their commercial relations, create new business opportunities and open up to new markets. Fashion, decoration, design, hospitality, catering, art, locomotion and boating are just some of the sectors promoted by the Fiera Milano through its annual trade fairs and events.
Since you’ve chosen to go on a getaway to Milan, this could be a unique opportunity to visit Italy’s largest commercial exhibition centre and one of the largest in Europe. Discover its different spaces, architecture, history and the most highly anticipated events and trade fairs. Benvenuto to Fiera Milano!
Fiera Milano: an international benchmark since 1906
Milan’s major trade fairs are held in two different venues: Fieramilanocity, a complex of buildings in the heart of Milan, and Fieramilano Rho, a more ambitious complex located between the municipalities of Rho, Pero and Milan. Combined, they make up the largest and most important exhibition space in Europe, with almost 400,000 m2 of exhibition space.
Let’s now take a look at how and why these spaces came about:
In 1906, a universal exhibition was held in the space now occupied by Fieramilanocity to commemorate a historic milestone in the world of communications: the opening of the Simplon Tunnel railway that runs beneath the Alps and connects Italy with Switzerland, which remains fully functional to this day.
The exhibition was held across two sites located two kilometres apart that were connected by a little train that no longer exists. These were the Vecchia Piazza d’Armi, which is now known as Parco Sempione, and the Nuova Piazza d’Armi, which became the venue for the city’s various events and trade fairs. It was first called Fiera Campionaria, before being referred to as Fiera d’Aprile and finally Fieramilanocity, which was the name given to the four-hall complex built in the 1990s.
Fieramilano Rho, a new exhibition space built on the outskirts of Milan designed by architect Massimiliano Fuksas, was inaugurated in 2005. The space is built around a pedestrian axis that stretches more than one kilometre long, with a series of pavilions on either side. As a unifying element between the pavilions and the space, there is a sinuous structure made up of more than 40,000 different panes of glass. With twenty pavilions and more than 345,000 m2 of exhibition space, this is one of the world’s largest centres of its kind.
Events at the Fiera Milano
With more than 160 congresses, four-and-a-half million visitors and 36,000 exhibitors per year, there are three main trade fairs held in Milan’s Fieramilanocity and Fieramilano Rho:
Salone Internazionale del Mobile de Milan, or the ‘Milan Furniture Fair’
This event dedicated to furniture and decoration has been held every year since 1961. It is internationally renowned and represents a key date on the furniture and design calendar. Since 2005, the week-long annual event has been held every April at Feriamilano Rho.
What can you find at the Milan Furniture Fair? A wide range of manufacturers of furniture, electrical appliances, structural and cladding materials, home automation and innovative technologies to furnish all the rooms —both indoors and outdoors— of a house, with the latest in designer furniture.
Fuorisalone during the Milan Design Week
Whether you’re a professional or an amateur, you should know that the Fuorisalone event coincides with the Milan Furniture Fair. This annual event takes place all over the city, running parallel to the “official” event, bringing the latest in design, architecture and interior design to the city’s various districts.
Unlike the Salone Internazionale, the Fuorisalone does not claim to be a large fair and neither does it have a central administration or institutional management. Rather, it is a spontaneous movement that originated in the early 1980s. More and more companies from a wide range of sectors such as art, fashion, locomotion, culture, etc. are now participating in this parallel event. Everyone is welcome at Fuorisalone!
Over one week, more than 1,000 events of various kinds fill the city: outdoor installations, children’s activities, conferences, fashion events, parties, etc. The culture of design can be found in every corner of Milan, although the highest number of events are concentrated in two areas: Brera, known as the Brera Design District, and Zona Tortona.
HostMilano, the leading event for the hospitality industry
Do you need a space to succeed in the world of hospitality and catering? At HostMilano, the world’s leading hospitality event, you’ll discover everything you need to triumph, ranging from raw materials to semi-finished products, machinery and equipment, furniture for your business and an in-depth analysis of future trends. All of this comes from the hand of expert entrepreneurs and chefs who will be delighted to share their success stories and knowledge with the audience through a series of talks, conferences and cooking shows.
Useful information
Website: https://www.fieramilano.it/
How to get to the Fiera Milano:
- By metro. Your best bet is to take the M1 red line and get off at Lotto or Amendola station. From there, you can easily cover the remaining distance by foot.
- By train. The nearest stop is Domodossola FN station, which is a ten-minute walk from the main entrance of Fieramilanocity.
- By car. Enter “Viale Lodovico Scarampo 19” in your GPS and follow the directions off the ring road in the direction of Viale Certosa and the direction of the city centre / Fieramilanocity.
How to get to Fieramilano Rho:
- By metro. The M1 red line connects directly with the Rho Fiera station.
- By train. You can reach the trade fair on various lines (S5 Varese-Treviglio, S6 Novara-Treviglio, Trenitalia when travelling from other provinces and even Eurocity trains when coming from other European countries). The station is always the same: Rho Fiera.
- By car. Enter one of the venue’s car parks into your GPS, such as “Viale di Porta Ovest, Rho” or “Viale di Porta Est, Rho” and take the A4 Turin-Milan-Venice-Trieste or the A8 Milan-Como-Varese moorway, exit Rho Fiera.