History

The fair’s lineage traces to the early Middle Ages, when the Fiere di San Prosdocimo and Santa Giustina flourished. The arrival of Sant’Antonio in 1232 shifted the fair’s identity; the Fair of the Holy endured through centuries of war and political upheaval.

In the sixteenth century, the fair occupied the square before the Basilica of Sant’Antonio. By the late 1700s, Andrea Memmo transformed the vast Prato della Valle—one of Europe’s largest squares—into exhibition grounds, with removable wooden shops designed by Domenico Cerato. On October 6, 1775, the Venetian Senate formally inaugurated the Fiera del Santo as a duty-free marketplace.

The nineteenth century brought innovation: the 1846 Exhibition of Plants and Flowers at the Botanical Garden preceded the groundbreaking 1900 International Automobile Fair, which attracted Bugatti, Isotta Fraschini, and Fiat. The 1919 First Trade Fair of Italy—the Campionaria—represented a qualitative leap. King Vittorio Emanuele III visited and declared the new fair “must be great.” By 1921 the current site was operational. Arturo Toscanini conducted at the 1920 opening; subsequent visits by both Mussolini and the King elevated the fair’s prestige. A 1935 film exhibition drew 250,000 visitors across 1,072 screenings.

Bombing in 1943 destroyed the fairgrounds; reconstruction followed. The post-war era established specialized exhibitions—Cold, Packaging, Public Services, Internal Transports—as autonomous sectors. In 2002, the fair became a corporate entity; in 2005, French multinational GL Events acquired a majority stake.