Overview

RESTAURO — Salone Internazionale dei Beni Culturali e Ambientali returns for its 31st edition at Ferrara Expo, May 12–14, 2026, running Tuesday through Thursday. Organized by Ferrara Expo, a company within the BolognaFiere Group, in collaboration with Assorestauro, the event has been Italy’s leading international exhibition for the conservation, restoration, and enhancement of cultural and environmental heritage since its founding in 1991.

The 2026 edition operates under the theme “Innovare per Conservare” (Innovating to Conserve), reflecting an emphasis on the dialogue between traditional restoration practice and emerging technologies including AI, digital survey tools, and seismic engineering. The show brings together companies, institutions, associations, research centres, startups, and professionals across the full cultural heritage supply chain in a format combining exhibition stands, conferences, workshops, seminars, B2B meetings, and photographic exhibitions.

Focus

The 2026 edition centres on large-scale restoration projects, “I grandi cantieri nel restauro contemporaneo”, as its primary thematic axis. This reflects the significant volume of public funding recently directed toward architectural heritage conservation in Italy, including PNRR-funded interventions, which have activated interventions at a scale that requires revisiting both theoretical and practical paradigms of the discipline.

A new dedicated area, “Saper Fare Italiano” (Italian Craftsmanship), occupies Pavilion 3 and celebrates artisanal excellence in restoration, combining live demonstrations, master craftsperson encounters, and applied technique presentations. This section frames traditional craft knowledge as an active, living component of contemporary conservation practice rather than a historical artifact.

Other thematic priorities include artificial intelligence applied to restoration, construction site safety, sustainability in restoration worksites, seismic risk reduction for historic buildings, and the digitization of heritage collections. The conference programme spans over 100 sessions across the three days.

RESTAURO affirms itself as a dynamic space for exchange and professional development, where tradition and innovation meet to drive new approaches to the protection and enhancement of historical, artistic, and environmental heritage.
Andrea Moretti, President of Ferrara Expo, 2026

Program

Stati Generali del Restauro — Opening Plenary

The opening session on Tuesday May 12 inaugurates the show with the “Stati Generali del Restauro,” a plenary debate gathering international experts and personalities around the 2026 theme of large-scale contemporary restoration sites. This has been a recurring format across recent editions and functions as the event’s intellectual keynote.

Day of Studies — Ferrara Cathedral

On the afternoon of May 12, the Technical Scientific Committee organises a dedicated study day titled “Il restauro della Cattedrale di Ferrara,” bringing together territorial heritage authorities, university researchers, and the design teams responsible for conservation and intervention planning at one of Italy’s most significant Romanesque monuments.

Ministry of Culture — Institutional Pavilion

The Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC) occupies a major institutional space in Pavilion 4, presenting work and best practices from its central and territorial institutes across heritage protection, conservation, and valorization. Topics include innovation and digitization, heritage accessibility, PNRR-funded restoration, training, and safety on public restoration sites.

International Delegations — B2B Programme

With support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ICE (Italian Trade Agency), the 2026 edition hosts 50 international delegates from over 15 countries for structured B2B meetings. In 2025, delegations came from Albania, Saudi Arabia, Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, Cuba, France, Greece, Iran, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, the United States, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, reflecting the show’s reach as an international reference point for cultural heritage practice.

Selected Programme Highlights

Intesa Sanpaolo organises a conference on the “Restituzioni” project (May 13, 2:30–5:30pm), its long-running initiative supporting the recovery of Italian cultural heritage since 1989. L’Immagine Ritrovata, the film restoration laboratory of the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, presents audiovisual conservation and the new Renato Zangheri Centre for cinema and photography preservation. The FAI-Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano presents a six-year restoration project involving over ninety 17th and 18th century portraits from the Castello e Parco di Masino. The Italian Army’s Historical Office contributes an institutional stand and three seminars on the military museum system, cultural heritage protection in armed conflict, and a significant recent restoration intervention. The University of Ferrara presents thematic exhibitions including “Drawing as Knowledge,” documenting Rajasthani fort architecture from India.

Governance

The show is guided by two bodies: the Technical Scientific Committee, chaired by Professor Alessandro Ippoliti (Pro-Rector for Architectural Heritage, University of Ferrara), which defines research, training, and scientific collaboration directions; and the Advisory Board, established in 2023 as an operational table of leading cultural heritage sector actors. The CTS has introduced from 2026 a Career Award for national and international figures who have made outstanding contributions to restoration studies and heritage culture.

Audience

The exhibition targets trade and professional audiences: restorers, conservators, architects, engineers, geologists, surveyors, urban planners, museum directors, public heritage authorities, university researchers, and companies across the architectural conservation supply chain. It also opens a dedicated space for students and emerging professionals through workshops, competitions, and interactive activities.

Event Details