Talking about Euroflora today is just an ordinary thing. The term itself, “Euroflora”, which evokes a great spectacle of plants and flowers, has become part of everyday vocabulary. However, Euroflora’s birth was not easy at all: like all great events, it originated from a brilliant insight and had to overcome many difficulties.

The idea flashed to the president of Genoa International Fair, Carlo Pastorino, who, back in the mid-Sixties, bet on the future of Euroflora. But, before that, he made sure he could gain the agreement and the co-operation of the floriculturists of Genoa and Liguria. They were those who first believed in the event, and set up the initial group. The preparation was fast and the problems were overcome one after the other: even those related to the organisation, which were undoubtedly the most difficult ones.

The first edition of Euroflora was a great success. It was 1966. The show was attended by 250 thousand visitors, and 263 exhibitors from 19 countries took part in it. One thing was immediately understood: Italy had carved out a fixed niche for itself in the context of the greatest international flower exhibitions.

From then on, there was an escalation of success, both in terms of participation and of international prestige. Data speak for themselves: 4,400 exhibitors from all over the world have taken part in the seven shows held to date. 3,197,000 is the total number of visitors. The record was achieved in 1986, with 730,000 people.

Euroflora was born drawing inspiration from the famous flower displays of Gand. It was immediately clear that if such goals were to be reached, it was necessary to come into contact with A.I.P.H., the International Association of Floriculturists, which organised the calendar of events and gave permission to have be included on the basis of sound credentials. And the Genoa Fair wanted to enter the elite of the nursery gardening ‘from the front door’. The bases for the relations with A.I.P.H. were therefore laid the year before Euroflora’s debut.

The decisive date was August 27th 1965, when the president of A.I.PH., Emile Debrois, granted, from Brussels, the authorisation for the show to take place.This was an important stage, because it acknowledged Euroflora’s prestige, leading to a domino effect on the European countries having a great tradition in nursery gardening: these decided to take part in the newly-born Italian flower show. From then on Euroflora was held every five years.

Euroflora brings the whole of the nursery gardening productions into competition: more than 5 thousand technical and aesthetic competitions have been held since 1966. All of this would not have been accomplished without the contribution of the exhibitors, who are the protagonists and the creators of the show. Its success depends greatly on them, who devote whole months of work to Euroflora, in order to take part in the event at the best of their possibilities.

Euroflora’s exhibitors are first of all the producers, who participate on an individual basis or gathered in associations, under the aegis of the Chambers of Commerce and of the provincial and regional administrations. But there are also the municipalities, who participate with institutional spaces, and foreign countries, whose participation gives great prestige to the show, as it emphasizes the comparison between the different national productions. Equally important are the design and the content of Euroflora, which are closely intertwined: from the general layout emerge the main themes the show centres around.

Euroflora is universally considered the greatest means for nursery gardening promotion Italy has ever had. Originally the show was primarily addressed to the producers of cut flowers and indoor plants, and was then extended to the sector of outdoor nursery. It was the latter which gradually developed, gaining more and more ground, and becoming a very important component of Euroflora. Outdoor nursery is the major attraction in the outdoor areas of the fair ground, besides representing the main item in Italy’s floricultural exports.

Euroflora achieves two objectives, of which one is the direct consequence of the other: it spreads the culture of parks, gardens, and flowers, and, at the same time, it is an extraordinary incentive to improve production and boost sales.