There are two main strengths of the second edition of “Art and Collecting in Rome”: the openness to international participation—with foreign collectors and institutions increasingly drawn to the high-quality work being done in Italy—and the new venue at Palazzo Barberini, home to the National Galleries of Ancient Art. The decision to host the fair immediately after the major Caravaggio exhibition marks, for Italy, the beginning of a new historical phase in the relationship between the public and private sectors.
It is a dream come true. But dreams don’t happen by chance. The days when the art market was seen as a threat to be warded off seem to be finally behind us. Even Italian art historians—once perceived as firmly entrenched behind their academic lecterns—are now increasingly lending their expertise to galleries and collectors, in a virtuous cultural exchange. The relationship with the market has become an essential part of their professional path, and participating in the top vetting panels of art fairs is now a badge of honor to be proudly displayed.
This edition also renews the collaboration with Roma Tre University. And then, there’s the city Rome itself, which makes all the difference. Because it’s not enough to simply be a major metropolis. After all, even London, New York, and Paris do not have a main fair dedicated to Ancient Art. More than the economy, the population size, or the wealth of its museums, what truly matters is a certain indescribable charme.
As happens in Florence, in Maastricht, or in Basel—queen of modern and avant-garde art alike—Rome, which by all rights deserves to be in the first group, belongs rather to this latter. Perhaps Naples and Milan could also be included here, as is evident when looking at how the galleries belonging to the Associazione Antiquari d’Italia are geographically distributed [as we discussed here, Ed.].
The capital that hosts the fair becomes an experience in itself—an element that somehow merges with the fair on a narrative level, even before it does on the level of cultural offerings.
Beyond artworks, our cities are filled with stories, as valuable as cultural heritage itself. And this is even more significant when we consider the many foreigners who, in recent years, have chosen to move to Italy—not only for tax advantages, but also, and perhaps more importantly, for the quality of life. Yes, we’re still talking about experience—the kind of experience that certain Italian cities still know how to offer.
And when politics becomes a thoughtful and engaged partner, then it becomes possible to look to the future with well-founded optimism—even amid a turbulent international conjuncture.
The 2025 edition of “Art and Collecting in Rome” will, in fact, be the first antiques fair to operate under the new 5% VAT regime. And our collectors know how to seize opportunities. They are driven by passion and are not afraid to go against the tide,—because they know that, in the long run, true quality in ancient art will always prevail. We are here to prove it.
It may sound like a paradox, but what is ancient cannot truly “grow old.” And thanks to the concentration of expertise that “Art and Collecting in Rome” offers to the public, these difficult times may become an opportunity to improve, to refine, to grow, to evolve—to truly build a better future, one that aligns more closely with the ways in which society itself is changing, rather than remaining disconnected from them.
My father used to say ‘people buy what they know,’” and that still holds true. That’s why our commitment also extends to universities, academies, and secondary schools—institutions to which the Associazione Antiquari d’Italia, together with the fair, has always sought to remain close.
Fostering generational continuity is a conditio sine qua non. For all of us, knowledge is the foundation for recognizing the opportunities the past offers as a resource—shielded from the overpowering megaphones of mass culture and the countless traps of digital conformity. If collecting art has always been, in part, a way of defending one’s identity—both individual and collective—then “Art and Collecting in Rome” is not merely a marketplace for artworks selected by the finest professionals in the field, but also a space for meaningful and lasting growth.
Bruno Botticelli is President of the Associazione Antiquari d’Italia and Secretary of the Biennale Internationale dell’Antiquariato of Florence. Art and Collecting in Rome is organized by the Associazione Antiquari d’Italia.
Here is the list of the exhibitors:
- 800/900 Artstudio
- AL Fine Art Antonacci Lapiccirella
- Alice Fine Art
- Altomani&Sons
- Antichità Alberto di Castro
- Antichità Giglio
- Paolo Antonacci
- Giovanni Asioli Martini Antiquario
- Bacarelli Antichità
- Benappi Fine Art
- Bottegantica
- Botticelli Antichità
- Maurizio Brandi Antiquario
- Brun Fine Art
- Burzio
- Roberto Campobasso
- Cantore Galleria Antiquaria
- Mirco Cattai Fine Art & Antique Rugs
- Colnaghi
- Copetti Antiquari
- Alessandro di Castro
- Miriam di Penta Fine Arts
- Fondantico di Tiziana Sassoli
- Enrico Frascione
- Galerie Canesso
- Galleria Berardi
- Galleria d’arte Frediano Farsetti
- Galleria Roberto Ducci
- Galleria Gomiero
- Galleria Marletta
- Galleria Russo
- Galleria Carlo Virgilio & C.
- Gallo Fine Art
- Gallori Turchi Antichità
- Michele Gargiulo “Antiquario”
- Giacometti Old Master Paintings
- Goldfinch Fine Arts
- Matteo Lampertico Arte Antica e Moderna
- DYS44 Lampronti Gallery
- Stuart Lochhead Sculpture
- Longari Arte Milano
- Lullo-Pampoulides
- Tommaso Megna
- Renzo Moroni
- Maurizio Nobile Fine Art
- Carlo Orsi
- Orsini arte e libri
- Parronchi Dipinti ‘800-‘900 S.r.l.
- Raffaello Pernici
- Piva & C., Porcini
- Reve Art
- Robilant + Voena
- Romano Fine Art
- Santa Tecla S.r.l.
- Scultura Italiana di Dario Mottola
- Secol-art Antichità di Masoero Davide & C.
- Rob Smeets Old Master Paintings
- Gian Enzo Sperone
- Valerio Turchi
- Verdini
7 July 2025
