Cersaie 2025: A show of resilience amid global pressure – Nov 2025

By Meg Scarbrough

Facing a turbulent global economy and persistent geopolitical uncertainty, the 42nd edition of Cersaie once again proved the tile industry’s resilience. Held September 22 to 26 in Bologna, Italy, the world’s largest exhibition for ceramic tile was spread over 16 halls covering 1.67 million square feet and hosting 627 exhibitors.

Over five days, the show drew 94,577 visitors-just 0.8% below last year. Pre-pandemic, attendance peaked at 112,000 in 2019. This year, Italian attendance was up 3% to 49,671, while international visitors declined 4.6% to 44,906, partly due to transport strikes on the first and last days. Even so, foreign attendees still accounted for nearly half (47.5%) of total traffic.

“Cersaie’s enduring appeal enabled exhibitors to maximize their investments,” said Augusto Ciarrocchi, chairman of Confindustria Ceramica. “Our companies were particularly impressed by the quality of the distributors, architects, installers and real estate professionals they met in Bologna.”

For organizers and Italian leaders, the show underscored the country’s position as the design and innovation benchmark for the global tile sector, even amid headwinds.

“We are living a different difficult international and market situation, but we were able to grow as a show in terms of exhibiting spaces,” said Armando Cafiero, managing director of Ceramics of Italy.

As attendance held steady, the mood on the show floor reflected quiet confidence. After several years of economic turbulence, Italian manufacturers leaned into what they do best-design, innovation and storytelling through materials.

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY: TEXTURE VS. LIMESTONE

If there was one word that defined Cersaie 2025, it was texture. From soft-touch limestone looks to deeply striated concrete surfaces, tactility was everywhere-proof that Italian producers continue to use cutting-edge technology to blur the line between natural and manufactured materials.

“Innovation requires investments both in the product and the process,” Cafiero said. “This is the key element that makes a difference between our companies and the competition. But this is what also allows our company to sell products worldwide at an average price that is almost double of the closest competitor.”

New York-based designer Anna Guaglione said the shift in tone was unmistakable. “Everything’s moving toward a warmer, more natural feel,” she noted. “Glossy finishes are definitely taking a back seat to matte and tactile surfaces with the aim of mimicking the feel of a natural material. The color palettes are softer and earthier, focusing on warm neutrals instead of the cold greys we’ve been seeing for years.”

Guaglione also noted a strong push toward large-format tiles, which, she said, “can make spaces look cleaner and more cohesive.” She described the booth designs as “a reflection of each company’s history and unique sensibility-more authentic and grounded, less about perfection and more about honesty in materials.”

Manufacturers showcased a wide range of finishes that invited touch-matte, honed and leathered effects delivered through advanced digital glazing and 3D surface technology. 

Tile makers have refined the ability to create not only the look but also the feel of stone, wood and plaster, often mixing multiple textures within a single line.

Cafiero noted that such investments enable Italian tiles to command a premium price, reflecting both design leadership and innovation.

Still, consultant Joe Lundgren said the visual story felt familiar. “This year, to me, it was a limestone show. Everybody had limestone and a version of limestone. The technology is fantastic-it looks so real I sometimes can’t tell what’s stone and what’s tile. But the industry could be doing more creatively.”

He added that neutral palettes dominated the halls-taupe, sand, bone and chalky white-with only limited pops of saturated color or pattern. “The decorative side felt a little restrained,” he said, noting that the most memorable designs came from smaller exhibitors experimenting with bold geometrics and layered surfaces.

Lundgren pointed to wall tile as a bright spot. Elongated subways, ribbed surfaces and dimensional relief patterns were everywhere.

“It was a big show for what I call small-unit or rectangular-size wall tiles,” he said. “That’s where distributors can really make margin.”

Standout booths included Wow, which created immersive walk-through vignettes, and Iris Ceramica Group, which pushed the boundaries of fabrication and sustainability. “They’re looking outside of the tile box-fabricating ceramic tile into pots, experimenting with hydrogen kilns-those are the kinds of innovations that separate them,” Lundgren said. 

Guaglione singled out Cimento as a personal favorite. It was the company’s first Cersaie appearance and one that earned it an ADI Booth Design Award. “It blew me away,” Guaglione said. “It felt like entering a sculpture gallery rather than a typical product display. What made it truly unique wasn’t just the aesthetics but the narrative behind it-the materiality of concrete and what you can do with it beyond what’s currently available. The product highlighted movement, depth and a refined balance between art and architecture.”

For American distributors and retailers, the aesthetic direction at Cersaie signals both opportunity and restraint. The dominance of warm, chalky neutrals and limestone looks dovetails with ongoing U.S. preferences for natural, livable surfaces in both residential and light commercial settings. Textured finishes-once a niché luxury-are becoming mainstream, especially as consumers seek tactile variety in open, minimalist spaces.

Wall tile, meanwhile, is gaining traction across the U.S. market, driven by kitchen and bath remodels and the influence of boutique hospitality design. The elongated subway and fluted formats shown in Bologna fit neatly into American interiors, offering retailers accessible upsell opportunities. Yet Lundgren noted that while realism and performance continue to advance, color and pattern remain cautious-a reflection, perhaps, of a market still defined by economic uncertainty.

TARIFFS, IMPORTS AND GLOBAL TRADE

Even as design innovation stole the spotlight, business realities remained close behind. Tariffs, currency fluctuations and shifting import dynamics continue to shape the global tile trade-and nowhere more than in the vital U.S.-Italy channel.

A flat 15% tariff on Italian tile exports to the U.S., finalized this summer, has brought a measure of predictability after months of uncertainty.

“At least now we have stability,” Cafiero said. “Now it’s possible for our companies and their trading partners in the U.S. to make reasonable forecasts.”

The euro’s 15% rise against the dollar this year, however, has added new cost pressures for American buyers. Cafiero also warned of potential dumping effects from countries facing higher tariffs, which could distort pricing in both the U.S. and European markets.

Lundgren described the broader import picture as the most volatile he’s seen in decades. “We have not seen an unstable import market like this in my whole time in the business,” he said, pointing to India’s uncertainty and the U.S. reliance on imports for 70% of its tile consumption.

SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN LEADERSHIP

Sustainability remains central to Italy’s industrial identity-and it was a consistent theme across the show floor. Cafiero said the country’s tile producers are investing heavily in energy efficiency, emissions reduction and responsible sourcing, often in collaboration with European partners setting stricter performance benchmarks.

“The main part of our investments are going on energy efficiency and reduction of emissions,” he said. “We are fully committed both as a trade association and as companies.”

At the European level, the sector continues to work within the framework of the EU’s Green Deal and its evolving decarbonization policies. Cafiero acknowledged that while the environmental goals are sound, the implementation can be challenging.

“The Green Deal is very much right in its objectives,” he said, “but the application was a little bit out of reality. We need a stable environmental legal framework to continue these unique efforts.”

Italian producers showcased those efforts in Bologna through new materials and production technologies-from hydrogen-powered kilns to recycled raw material content and water recovery systems. Several exhibitors emphasized end-of-life circularity, presenting tiles designed for eventual reuse or mechanical recycling rather than landfill disposal.

Confindustria Ceramica chairman Augusto Ciarrocchi noted that evolving EU regulations such as the Emissions Trading System (ETS) can drain resources from innovation by diverting capital toward compliance. Still, Italian manufacturers continue to view sustainability as a competitive differentiator rather than a cost burden.

“Our industry’s future depends on balancing decarbonization with design innovation,” Ciarrocchi said. “That balance is what defines true sustainability for the ceramic sector.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Cersaie 2025 reflected both optimism and realism: Italy’s tile leaders showcased resilience through innovation, premium positioning and sustainability, while consultants highlighted the headwinds of flat attendance, cautious design trends and global trade volatility.

With Spain’s Cevisama moving away from being an independent fair in 2026, more visitors could be funneled to Bologna next year, but attendance alone doesn’t define progress. The real measure of resilience will be whether Italian producers use their unmatched technology to re-ignite design daring-turning the precision of their craft into products that surprise as much as they perform. 

Related Topics: CERAMICS OF ITALY, CERSAIE