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  • Spring 2026

MIDA: 90 years of celebrating crafts

The 90th edition of MIDA, Italy’s longest-running international crafts fair, celebrated artisans at the Fortezza da Basso from April 25 to May 3.

Promoted and organized by Firenze Fiera in collaboration with leading institutions and trade associations, the event featured over 500 artisans from both Italy and further afield, confirming its position as one of the main European events dedicated to quality craftsmanship.

The festival is an annual opportunity to observe the best of artistic craftsmanship, covering clothing, design, furnishings, goldsmithing and more. With guided tours of the 16th-century fortress designed by Antonio da Sangallo, in collaboration with the Florentine Civic Museums and the MUS.E Foundation, live music and workshops galore, an atmosphere of celebration is created around quality crafts.

At this year’s edition, visitors got a sense of MIDA’s 90-year history with a dedicated display in the Cavaniglia Pavilion, curated by the Tuscany Region archives, detailing its founding in 1931 through today, with a remarkable nine decades of exhibitions within the Renaissance fortress making it the longest-running event of its kind in Italy and among the oldest in Europe.

The event is officially recognized by MIMIT (Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy) to celebrate National Made in Italy Day, a recognition of great institutional value that underscores MIDA’s central role in promoting artisanal excellence, the quality of products, and the know-how that make Made in Italy products unique worldwide.

President of Firenze Fiera, Lorenzo Becattini, commentend

"MIDA–International Handicraft Exhibition has always represented a privileged space for getting to know, promoting and helping the world of craftsmanship grow. It’s no coincidence that Florence hosts this event every year: a city where artisanal traditions have historically played a fundamental role not only in the local economy, but in the entire social and cultural fabric of the region. It’s an exhibition that carries the values of tradition, creativity and innovation in its DNA and in its long and successful history. MIDA is also an opportunity to give voice to the profound changes affecting the sector: from generational turnover to the rise of artificial intelligence. Technology is advancing at extraordinary speeds and cannot be ignored; yet, the sense of humanity, professionalism and the inimitable flair of artisans remain, and will continue to remain, at the centre of everything"

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