VERONA, ITALY -- Marmomac, the most important world fair dedicated to the entire natural stone supply chain, from quarries to processed products, from technologies and machinery to instruments, returns to Veronafiere from September 26 to 29, 2023.

At its 57th edition, Marmomac continues its role as a platform for professionals in the sector, combining business and professional education to foster innovation.

In 2022, the fair saw more than 1,200 exhibiting companies and attracted 47,000 professional operators, 63% from 132 countries. Attending Marmomac means knowing the latest market trends and meeting a high-profile and competent audience: customers, partners, distributors, contractors, architects and interior designers from all over the world.

"In addition to its high international profile, one of the reasons for Marmomac's success is the choice to combine business with product culture, recognized as a universal added value for every Made in Italy production. Veronafiere, as the event organizer, focused on this unique and not reproducible competitive advantage, even in the marble system. Marmomac, for the 2023 edition, therefore further increases the segment related to design solutions, connected to the world of furniture, luxury and contract,”- Raul Barbieri, commercial director of Veronafiere, explains.

With this aim, the cradle of this year's experimentation will be Hall 10, where design, architecture and stone culture will meet business through exhibitions and a dense schedule of events, workshops and talks in the Forum area. The dominant theme is the relationship between natural stone and machines, in a dialogue between design and art, as summarized in the new campaign image. The entire space of Hall 10 will develop as a square-based district whose main axes intersect, giving rise to an installation, The Applaud: the idea of this project, curated by Giorgio Canale, is to enhance the process of creating a work, celebrating the contribution of the latest generation machines, the most modern technologies and man to natural stone.

Raffaello Galiotto will care for Herbarium Mirabile, an exhibition that proposes itself as an imaginary herbarium populated by a series of marble works inspired by the plant kingdom. The exhibition explores the potential of new digital tools in the advanced processing of natural stone and the developing of this new expressive language. The author draws inspiration from the fascinating variety of botanical forms to create a collection of fantastic sculptures of refined elegance and high precision through software and numerical control machines.

The academic training is entrusted to Giuseppe Fallacara, who, for the 2023 edition of Marmomac Meets Academies, will involve Italian and foreign universities and research centers. Architecture has no ancient or modern materials, but how we use, and shape matter makes it correspond to its time. This premise aims to give meaning to the prototypes made by the students in collaboration with the companies in the sector, which will be displayed under a giant "suspended vault" composed of stone elements. Many themes range from thin stone to stone recomposed or 3d printed to structurally optimized stone for an eco-conscious use of precious stone.

The lithic synergies will instead be proposed in Material Match Up by ADI Delegation Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige, a collaborative project that is aimed at the entire stone industry. Among the skills of a designer who designs products, interiors, fittings or visual communication, there is the ability to select and value the materials used. The idea of the classic mood board composed of heterogeneous materials evolves into a series of tables organized with natural stone: compositions of materials, colors, surface processing and finishes to show the entire exhibition proposal present at Marmomac.

Hall 10 will also host a Wine Bar, which functions as a meeting place and relaxation and will become a stone architecture project. Interpreted and designed by the Brand&Stone team under the

guidance of Danilo Di Michele, the Wine Bar represents the will to make dynamic and alive the design experience and experimental activity of the companies, also for the adjacent relaxation area is made in combination with an international design brand.

The space will then be completed with a restaurant and the Forum area, designed to accommodate the rich schedule of events, talks, conferences and awards that have always marked the four days of Marmomac.

In contrast to Hall 10, in a diametrically opposite position, is Hall 1, which this year is transformed into A Matter of Stone, curated in the concept by Elle Decor with layout by Calvi Brambilla. It is an actual commercial pavilion where companies will exhibit design projects and products, creating a creative space in which architects, interior designers and professionals called to decide on the use of materials in construction and furniture will find inspirations and applications that show the great potential of the stone industry.

Finally, the traditional appointments for companies and the public are back, including the Best Communicator Award dedicated to the booths that will stand out for the most incisive and original concept of exhibit design. The news this year is the involvement of students from the Exhibit Design, Publishing and Digital Graphic Design course of the IUSVE (Istituto Universitario Salesiano Venezia) invited to analyze the proposals and decree their personal winner who will receive a special mention.