The 43rd edition of Cersaie, the international exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings, took place on September 21–25, 2026, at the Bologna Exhibition Centre in Bologna, Italy. The event brought together global tile manufacturers, sanitaryware brands, distributors and architectural specifiers for five days of commercial exhibits and contract negotiations.

According to trade data reported by Stone Update on October 1, 2026, the exhibition occupied 145,000 m² of display space, completely filling all 16 exhibition halls across the Bologna fairgrounds. The fair hosted 595 exhibiting companies, of which 233 were foreign exhibitors representing 24 countries across European and overseas manufacturing regions.

Total attendance for the 2026 edition reached 92,352 visitors, down 2.4% compared with 2025. The contraction was driven primarily by domestic visitor flows, as Italian attendees declined 3.7%. In contrast, international visitor attendance proved essentially stable, down by less than 0.9% year on year across the five-day fair.

The attendance metrics confirm a diverging pattern between domestic Italian construction markets and export channels. While domestic buyer traffic contracted 3.7%, the steady presence of international specifiers and distribution groups limited the overall attendance decline to 2.4% across the exhibition period.

Augusto Ciarrocchi, chairman of Confindustria Ceramica, stated: "Cersaie once again confirmed its position as the sector's leading international exhibition".

Gianpiero Calzolari, chairman of BolognaFiere, described the fair's operational mission as being "to give companies access to markets, business relationships and new growth opportunities".

Exhibition footprint and new event features

All 16 halls were filled across 145,000 m². Foreign participants accounted for 233 of the 595 exhibiting companies, from 24 countries.

The 43rd edition incorporated several educational and workforce initiatives. Organizers staged a training course for sales staff from Italian showrooms for the first time. In addition, the Tiling Town demonstration area drew visits from several hundred industry professionals, while a dedicated career day connected exhibiting companies with recent university graduates.

Competitive context and next edition dates

For the stone sector, Cersaie is a useful window on product development across competing surface categories. The calendar alignment of major autumn fairs is evaluated in StoneTrades' survey of stone trade shows including Cersaie, Coverings and Xiamen.

Porcelain tile and large-format porcelain slabs continue to challenge quarried stone across flooring, exterior facades and kitchen worktops. Technical comparisons between quarried stone and ceramic surfaces are detailed in StoneTrades' marble vs porcelain slabs comparison, alongside performance assessments in natural stone vs sintered porcelain.

The next edition of Cersaie is scheduled to take place from September 27 to October 1, 2027, in Bologna, Italy.

What it means for buyers

  • Cersaie is a reference international showcase for ceramic tiles and large-format porcelain slabs that compete directly with natural marble, limestone and granite across commercial specifications.
  • Stable foreign attendance alongside a 3.7% domestic Italian decline reflects sustained international specification demand for Italian and European ceramic surfaces.
  • Stone importers and fabrication managers evaluating porcelain versus marble countertop lines can plan European sourcing trips around the confirmed September 27 to October 1, 2027 dates in Bologna.
  • Commercial buyers evaluating surface performance should weigh porcelain's stain resistance against the repairability and structural authenticity of natural dimensional stone.

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