i Saloni 2009

The 48th edition of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, held at the Milan Fairgrounds in Rho, which ended on 27th April 2009 along with the biennial Euroluce, and together with the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition and SaloneSatellite, was another record edition.

A huge number of specialist operators flocked to
the Saloni, making for a total of 278,000 presences.
The widely-hailed internationality of the Saloni is confirmed again this year by an even greater influx
of visitors from abroad: 153,456 from 152 different countries, the majority from Russia, Germany and France. 
The 124,544 Italian operators who also attended
the Saloni are testament to the fact that the sector is holding fast after the last few difficult years and despite the current financial crisis in particular.
Another 30,000 people converged on the Saloni on Sunday, the only day the Fair was thrown open to those not operating in the sector. There was also an impressive press presence, with 5,385 journalists from all five continents. All in all, therefore, visitors, members of the public and the press accounted for a massive total of 313,385 presences.

This success can also be ascribed to the packed programme of collateral events, running in tandem with Euroluce, which included the 10th edition of Designing Designers, the International Convention of University Courses in Design, entitled ''Where Does Light Move To?'' in which there were 252 participants, 60 of whom came from abroad.
For 205 operators, there was a hands-on chance to experiment with light as part of Practical Interior Lighting Workshop, devised in collaboration with the PLDA and APIL lighting designers' associations.
The two collateral events proved to be of great interest and really pulled in the crowds: these were the large ''Magnificence and Project'' Exhibition, which will run until 21st June 2009 on the piano nobile of the Palazzo Reale in Milan, featuring important and extremely valuable pieces of classical furniture alongside twentieth-century design pieces. The installation devoted to light and its scenographic qualities, entitled I=N=V=O=C=A=T=I=O=N (I call your image to mind), signed by the British artist Cerith Wyn Evans will remain on exhibit in the Triennale Garden, having been given on free loan to the prestigious Milanese institution by Cosmit.