10/01/2005
Antiquarians and buyers from around the globe will gather at a 17th-century Florence palace from September 29 to October 9 for the international antiques fair, Mostra Mercato Internazionale dell’Antiquariato, XXIV Biennale. The fair has been held every two years since 1959.
Artwork that spans the centuries
will be displayed in a setting that is in itself a showpiece of Italian
architecture and design. The Palazzo Corsini was renovated by Maria Maddalena
Machiavelli, wife of the Marquis Filippo Corsini, after she bought it in 1649.
Among those who have lived there was Lorenzo Corsini, who became Pope Clement
XII in 1730. Between 1692 and 1700, the Corsini family commissioned artists such
as Anton Domenico Gabbiani, Alessandro Gherardini and Pier Dandini to create
frescos and other decorations for the home. The family still oversees the
palace.Collectors and museum curators can peruse the fair’s offerings on September 29, and proceeds from a dinner that night will go toward restoration of artwork housed in Florentine museums. Officials from the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage will be at the exhibit to give immediate advice on whether an antiquity can be exported.