Euroflora 2022 in Genua/Italy finally returns (23 April to 8 May)

The event can rely on the cooperation of important partners, including the Italian Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies, the Ministry for Ecological Transition, the ICE Agency for foreign trade - bringing in buyers from various international markets -, Italy’s Associazione Nazionale Vivaisti Esportatori (National Association of Nurserymen Exporters), and Associazione Florovivaisti Italiani (the Italian association of floriculturists and nurserymen). As far as art and culture are concerned, alongside the permanent Deco and Modern art collections on display at the museums of Nervi, Euroflora will have the honour this year of hosting a series of concerts by the Carlo Felice Opera House, celebrating the rarities on display with the beauty of classical music, and making the event not only a feast for the eyes but also for the ears.

Launched for the first time in 1966 and now in its twelfth edition, Euroflora is organised by Porto Antico di Genova SpA and promoted by the Municipality of Genoa, in collaboration with the Liguria Region and Genoa Chamber of Commerce. The event also boasts the strategic support of the trade associations and the Municipality's associated companies, first and foremost ASTer Genoa, which will supervise all stages of the event, together with AMT and AMIU.

A grand network of streams and water fountains and large oval areas will blend in with the park’s evocative landscape, offering visitors breathtaking views of rare plants, unique specimens, extraordinary collections, and productions of outstanding quality, all over an area of 86 thousand square metres and an extended itinerary of pathways through the gardens and villas overlooking the sea.

Water features and large oval areas at the heart of the project

Designed by Studio Lavarello, who already staged six editions of the event from 1971 to 1996, the project has been approved by the local Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape. It is based on a new geometric principle of space configuration, consisting of large ellipses enriched by circular shapes, conceived to create new temporary paths to supplement the existing ones, and to outline the layout of the exhibition areas. All these elements are further enhanced by the presence of water as a visual element and noise breaker, with 16 fountains. Large landscape combinations within the three large villas that make up the entire Parchi di Nervi exhibition area will result in a pleasant geometric continuity, featuring specific variations in shape and give the project a harmonious and unified quality. The very nature of the ellipse works perfectly with the pre-existing layout, characterised by pathways and clusters of sinuous vegetation, typical of Romantic landscaping, that contribute to further highlighting the monumental trees and permanent plant species of the Parks.

In Parco Gropallo, the two main sequences of ellipses highlight two small glens that make up the grounds, becoming new directional routes and natural settings for the most important areas of the exhibition; in Parco Grimaldi, the large elliptical space designed on the grassy parterre enhances the relationship with the villa’s elegant architecture. These large ovals will feature an element of great symbolic value, currently not present in the parks, bound to amaze and enrich the experience of Euroflora visitors: water. Each elliptical space will include a system of circular pools connected by streaming channels; the pools have a series of water jets, in some cases concentric, in others vertical, and in others a combination of the two. The simple layout of the pools, their inclusion in the elliptical design and their reiteration across the three parks makes water a new element that seamlessly accompanies the public's experience of Euroflora, both visually and acoustically, through the sound of burbling streams.

Art and music: topiary sculptures and the partnership with the Carlo Felice Opera House

In addition to being an area of great natural value, the Parks of Nervi are surrounded by a major museum network that includes the Gallery of Modern Art, the Frugone Collections, and the Wolfsonian museum. To forge an even stronger bond between flowers, plants and nature, on the one hand, and the world of art, on the other, the flower compositions on display inside the Museums will be complemented outdoors by topiary sculptures in dedicated outdoor areas of the exhibition. The Carlo Felice Opera House orchestra and choir have already announced their presence, with a rich programme of concerts in the most evocative spots of the Parks, to offer a truly magical experience.

Mercato Verde - The Green Market

The Green Market, i.e. the commercial area where visitors can purchase plants and flowers, will be located in the upper part of Parco Gropallo, close to the main exit.

Consistency with the Parks restoration and enhancement project

After the 2016 tornado and the subsequent loss of trees in the Parks, combined with the devastating effects of the red weevil, a restoration project is currently underway. Developed by the Dodi Moss design firm, the project includes the planting of a considerable number of trees and shrubs, replanting of ground cover plants and turf, and the pruning of incongruous specimens in five different plots, one each year and scaled so as not to interfere with the event. Some areas of the park will be undergoing restoration during Euroflora and will be showcased as a display of the works in progress.

Competitions and international juries

In keeping with its tradition, Euroflora 2022 will organise competitions for all exhibitors, with the aim of rewarding the best Italian and foreign participants. The competitions are divided into honorary, design and technical competitions. The first category, dedicated to foreign countries and to regions, will award individual or collective displays in the various exhibition areas; design competitions will reward the beauty, originality, and artistic presentation of the plants on display; while technical competitions will assess the quality, vigour and novelty of the flowers, plants and trees on show. There will also be a specific competition to award those displays which are best maintained throughout the event.

The President of Euroflora International Judging Panel will be Arturo Croci, one of the leading international experts in flower farming and nursery gardening, while the Technical Judging Panel will be chaired by Ettore Zauli, agronomist, former director of the Landscape Department of Genoa City Council, university professor, and a longstanding leading figure of the event. The members of the jury were selected with the utmost transparency from among highly qualified experts in the fields of botany, agronomy, landscape design, composition and art. Among them is the General Secretary of AIPH, Tim Briercliffe. A dedicated section of the website introduces the judges to the general public. The juries will meet to cast their votes on 22 April.

For Micropaesaggi, the special competition reserved for designers, a jury of experts has selected ten projects, 5 by individuals under 30 and 5 by over 30s. The chosen common denominator was the use of regular wooden structures to create creative and sustainable solutions on irregular surfaces of 60 square metres.

Euroflora as a business opportunity

To help the industry recover, Euroflora will, for the first time, become a tool to promote trade through its partnership with the ICE Agency and AICG (the Italian Association of Gardening Centres), which brings together over 120 national Garden Centres.

ICE missions

As part of the plan to promote “Made in Italy” products sponsored by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the ICE Agency will organise two buyer missions from international markets, identified by matching the interests of floriculturists and nurserymen with actual market potential. During the first and second weekends of the event, one-to-one meetings will be held alongside presentations of the main national production districts.

AICG

The co-marketing activities carried out with AICG include the presence at the event of AICG members, in their capacity as buyers, so as to offer direct contact with exhibiting companies; the organisation of a technical meeting in partnership with other trade associations; and the promotion of the event at retail outlets throughout Italy.

Participations. The process of profound renewal undertaken in 2018 sees a significant leap in quality for this twelfth edition. The first acknowledgement came from AIPH, the International Association of Horticultural Producers, which, after years of absence, has once again welcomed Euroflora among its members and listed the Show in its official calendar. Participation in Euroflora, as per the international floralies regulations, is completely free of charge. Plots are assigned by the organisation following approval of the individual participant's project, based on production specifics and consistency with the general exhibition design.

New entries for the 2022 edition include the presence of Russia, of the city of Columbus (Ohio), and of the Italian Ministry for Ecological Transition with an exhibit, curated by Federparchi, dedicated to national parks. The Netherlands, the world's leading floriculture market, the Principality of Monaco, China and the Spanish city of Murcia will be returning for this edition, and Italy's regional excellences will be almost fully covered with the presence of major regional collective displays - Liguria, Piedmont, Marche, Lazio, Campania, Apulia, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia - of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, of ANVE (the National Association of Nurserymen Exporters), and of the Italian Floriculturists Association, of Tuscany's Flower Market, and of leading industry players. The Floralies of Nantes, now twinned with Euroflora, will also be back.

A step forward towards sustainability

Euroflora 2022 is committed to reducing, whenever possible, the use of plastic and plastic-derived materials, in both the exhibits and the refreshment areas, and to increasingly relying on online communication channels. As for transportation, the successful choice made in 2018 that saw the exclusive use of public transport will be repeated, enabling the majority of visitors to reach the Parks by train. Parking spaces will be reserved for visitors with disabilities in the vicinity of the Parks.

Waiting for Euroflora

The City and the Region are getting ready to welcome visitors to the Show, under the coordination of the Department for Commerce, the Department for Culture, the Department for Territorial Marketing, the Department for Tourism, and the Chamber of Commerce. Two particularly interesting exhibitions will be held at Palazzo Ducale: "Monet. Masterpieces from the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris”, 50 masterpieces representing some of the finest examples of Monet's artistic production and illustrating the entire artistic career of the Impressionist Master; and "A superb Baroque”, a selection of works by the Genoese masters who most influenced the city’s artistic evolution, from the key role played in the early 17th century by Giovan Battista Paggi to the mid-18th century visionary experience of Alessandro Magnasco. Information on events in Genoa can be found at www.visitgenoa.it, on events in Liguria at www.lamialiguria.it.  

Euroflora 2018 figures

The eleventh edition of Euroflora – the first not to be hosted at Genoa (now former) Exhibition Centre - counted 285,000 visitors in 16 days, with a record number of admissions to the museums: 92,335. There were five sold-out days. 250 exhibitors took part in the Show, including nurserymen, master florists, floral decorators and designer, with international participants from France, Spain, Taiwan, China and the United States, alongside consular representatives from 55 countries.

Euroflora on-line

The website www.euroflora.genova.it is now online. The platform is designed to provide important information and on-line ticketing services, and to assist exhibitors in all stages of their relations with the organisers. In addition to the website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts are up and running. The ticketing service is exclusively online and allows the purchase of fixed-date tickets only - as successfully tested in the last edition - in order to comply with daily capacity restrictions.

Opening hours and tickets

Euroflora will be open to the public from Saturday 23 April to Sunday 8 May from 8.30am to 7pm.

Tickets allow visitors to travel to the Show, throughout the day of ticket validity, using the public transport services of Trenitalia and AMT (except for Navebus and Volabus), including the round trip shuttle bus service from the interchange car park in Piazzale Kennedy to Genova Brignole station and the shuttles from the bus stations in Corso Europa.

Tickets: the number of daily admissions will be limited. Tickets can be purchased online at www.euroflora.genova.it.

Full ticket: €23 + €1.50 booking fee for all visitors aged 17 and over.

Concessions: €16 + €1.50 booking fee for all visitors aged 9 to 16 and visitors with a proven disability between 67% and 99%.

Free admission: children up to age 8, visitors with a proven disability of 100%, people accompanying a person with disability, only with proof that the disabled visitor is entitled to a caregiver.

Groups: €21 + €1.5 booking fee for groups of at least 25 people. One free ticket for every 25 participants.

For ticket info contact: ticket@euroflora.genova.it

Visitors with disabilities: parking spaces will be available in the vicinity of the parks of Nervi, subject to availability.