CORTONA'S ANTIQUES FAIR
The oldest Antiques Fair in Italy

Fresh on the tail of the extremely successful Tuscan Sun Festival of performing arts that filled the city of Cortona with music throughout the month of August,  the Antiques Fair is perhaps beyond its prime but nonetheless an excellent excuse to visit the town where the mysterious smile – and life style- of the Etruscans  lingers on.

Cortona’s Antiques fair, can rightly be considered the mother of annual Italian antiques fairs.
Begun  in 1963 to act as a launching pad for the town’s flourishing restoration and furniture reproduction business, the show was dedicated to the “mobile antico” or antique furniture but over the years it has expanded to include art works, jewellery and other branches of the antiques world.
Looking back at the old catalogues in my library I realize that the annual visit to Cortona was always more than just a chance to admire (and dream about buying) antique furniture and art works. The catalogues were also tomes of knowledge full of helpful information.