Antiques: see you at the BIAF

At the 34th edition of the BIAF – the Florence International Antiques Biennale, which opens its doors at Palazzo Corsini on the Lungarno from 26 September to 4 October 2026 – a new generation of collectors (the Millennials) will encounter masterpieces of ancient art and art from the last century for the first time.

What does a 17th-century coin cabinet mean to a young person who doesn’t use cash? Who are Arria and Peto? What name will be given to that family of refugees fleeing to Egypt on the back of a donkey?

Ancient art consists of images that cannot always be traced back to anything familiar. However, before the works of the Old Masters are recognised, they are viewed with the curiosity of someone stepping for the first time into a world waiting to be discovered.

First comes attraction, then the desire to understand. It is the contemporary perspective that breathes new life into the ancient, and as a key to interpreting this selection of works for sale, we follow Giuseppe Verdi’s advice to his student composers: let us look to the past, and that will be progress!