Our interest in the Bologna Show arose last year when visiting an Italian friend in Rome. Gianluca, a dealer of South American amber, told us that until a few years ago mineral collecting in Italy was almost non existent. However due to a few individuals, including Maurizio Varoli, Giovanni Signorelli and Giuseppe Siccardi the activity is now thriving and the Italians have become some of the keenest collectors in Europe. The key catalyst has been the creation by the above organisers of two world class mineral shows, Bologna and Genova. Since Bologna is the earlier and larger of the two, we decided to pay a visit.

After a very pleasant Thursday morning flight from Stansted directly to Bologna, we took a taxi to our hotel. This being early March there was still plenty of evidence of the winter just past, the surrounding hills thinly covered by a blanket of white snow. The city itself, however, basked in warm sunshine and one of the first things we did was to walk from our hotel to the centre enjoying the afternoon sun. Unfortunately, the main arterial road into town is a busy and noisy highway, but as soon as it reaches the outer perimeter of the old city, the character within changes to outstanding beauty.

Bologna has a very long and rather turbulent history. The region was first settled during the Bronze Age, over three thousand years ago, by tribes known as the Villanovese. These people were conquered by Etruscans, who were subsequently conquered by the Celts, who in turn were driven out by the Romans. The town, now renamed Boronia, was a Roman colony for more than 400 years until the Empire fell into decline and Boronia was attacked from the north by a succession of barbarian tribes including the Visigoths, Huns, Goths and Lombards.

After the arrival of Christianity the warring continued, but this time between a long succession of Popes and Holy Roman Emperors. At the centre was Bologna's great strategic importance, controlling the prosperous routes to the east. Powerful rival families within Bologna sided either with the Popes or the Emperor, often resulting in bitter civil war. Eventually the city settled under papal control, until the arrival of Napoleon at the end of the 18th century. After his empire collapsed, the city passed back into the hands of the papacy, but Bologna once again proved itself to have a mind of its own. Most of the population supported the growing calls for all of Italy to unite under secular control, and in 1860 Bologna and the rest of the region joined the newly formed Kingdom of Italy.

Bologna's cathedral of Saint Petronino	Statue of Neptune in Piazza Maggiore

In spite of the turbulent history, and undeniably because of it, the city has been endowed with many architectural and scenic treasures. The first of these are the forty kilometres of porticos and covered colonnades. Buildings were constructed to overhang the streets, supported by sculpted columns, so that the pavements are shaded from the intense summer heat. These porticos are the most celebrated it the whole of Italy. Another architectural marvel is the central cathedral of St. Petronio. This is an immense 14th century building, whose central vault reaches 45m in height without any support. This is one of the highest unsupported roofs in the world. The front façade is dominated by an enormous round stained glass window designed and built by Giandomenico Cassini in 1655.

Lastly, Bologna is famous as the city of towers. Although now only about a half dozen remain, there were once more than 200 of these fascinating buildings. The craze begun sometime in the 11th century when leading Bolognese families started the competition to build taller and taller structures. The height reflected the wealth and came to symbolise the social standing of each family. According to tradition the tallest of these was built by the Asinelli family and is still known by their family name as the Asinelli Tower. However, unlike the other family-built towers, this one was probably erected by the town people themselves to act as a watchtower. Constructed during the first decades of the 12th century it is pencil-thin but stands 98m high. Visitors can reach the top by climbing a rickety, wooden, almost endless staircase. So this is precisely what we did. However the climb is not for the fainthearted. The staircase is little more than a ladder with a token handrail, and as the individual elevations rise to the top, the central shaft becomes an ever deepening abyss. The void is only broken by two landings allowing groups of visitors to pass each other depending on whether they are climbing to the top or descending.

Needless to say the vista from the top is breathtaking. On a clear day, it is said, the view stretches to the Adriatic. Although this wasn't the case on the day of our visit, the scene before us was amazing. Far below us were the characteristic brick-red slate-covered roofs of Bolognese buildings. Extending away from the base of the tower were perfectly straight roads radiating towards the old city gates. Nestling in between, were small squares dotted with colourful umbrellas set out to shade the café customers beneath. The massive cathedral looked much less imposing from above as even the bell-tower is dwarfed by the Asinelli Tower. Before descending we counted six other city towers nearby but none with the magnificent height of the one on which we were standing.

The amazing Asinelli Tower	Bird's eye view from the top

The following day was Friday and the first day of the Mineral Show. The venue is a modern exhibition centre at Piazza della Costituzione, located approximately 1km north of the city centre. We were very lucky because the Hotel we stayed at, the Holiday Inn, is almost next door to the show, so our walk was less that 150m. We planned our stay this way so that we could bring purchases back regularly rather than carrying specimens around all the time. Unlike the other large European shows there is no separate dealer day and the public is admitted during all three days that the show runs. We lined up at the ticket window and discovered that the entry fee was €7. We thought that this was a bit steep, especially as no three day visitors pass was available. Basically if you want to visit on all the days the show is open you have to pay out €21, no discounts.

Bologna Mineral Show	What you need for mining gold

The theme of this year's show was gold. In front of the hall was a towering display of prospecting tools including a mine truck and a number of gold-pans scattered around the floor. Once inside, the entrance foyer was occupied by an impressive exhibit of around 30 glass-fronted cases showing examples of the metal from locations around the world. These included the USA, Australia and South Africa, but there were also a number of excellent specimens from European locations including the famous Aosta Valley in Italy. Apart from nuggets and dust, a couple of cases showed superb examples of crystalline gold including one particularly fine dendritic crystal cluster on snow-white quartz. To one side of the hall were other cases displaying metals related to gold, namely silver and copper. Whilst less showy than their precious cousin these nevertheless provided a very interesting selection of specimens, particularly having unusual habits. Lastly there was a large central case showing artefacts made in ancient times from these various metals including coins, personal adornments, figurines and domestic utensils.

Gold dust from the Aosta Valley	Ancient gold adornments

Moving through impressive doors we entered the main exhibition area. Here were the dealers of the best specimens but before descending the short flight of stairs we were faced with two further display cases. However instead of gold the first held quite stunning specimens of pink Fluorite from the Argentiere Massif in France. These were on loan form the University of Milan and a large crowd of people had gathered around to look. Directly opposite was a double case showing mineral fakes and other adulterated specimens. Amongst these were the brightly coloured crystals of copper sulphate often sold as genuine Chalcanthite. Also on show were a number of specimens where the crystals had been falsely polished and faceted, including one particularly impressive rock crystal variety of quartz. Next to these was a group of artificially coloured agates and also geodes whose centres had been filled with galena. Lastly there was Chinese "Turquoise", which in reality is some white amorphous mineral, probably Howlite, soaked in blue dye and sold as the genuine material. All very fascinating stuff and a warning to the unwary collector.

A view from the balcony of the Main Hall	Display of mineral fakes, forgeries and frauds

Entering the hall proper we were immediately impressed by the quality of specimens on show. Of the forty or so dealers many were selling large Rhodochrosite clusters from Sweet Home Mine, Colorado. Although the mine has recently ceased production, significant numbers of specimens have recently come onto the market, but at very high prices. The cheapest specimen we saw was €3,000, rising to €15,000 for one absolutely stunning specimen. Other specimens in this price range included wonderful Amazonite-Smoky Quartz combos from Crystal Peak, also in Colorado; numerous Tourmalines and Aquamarines from Pakistan and Afghanistan; and large Zeolite combinations form Poona, India. Amongst these were very showy plates of white Stilbite acting as matrix for large splays of cubic green Apophyllite. Finishing the main hall we noticed that whilst the specimens on show generally were of first superb quality there were very few if any new finds. Possibly the sole exceptions were a new find of Pentagonite near Poona, yellow Tourmalines from Minas Gerais in Brazil and blue Spodumene from Kunar in Pakistan.

Stunning Rhodochrosite with a price to match	A rare Amazonite-Smoky Quartz combo

Behind the Main Hall, and separated by a refreshment bar selling drinks and delicious-looking baguettes, was a smaller area filled mostly by Italian dealers. There were, however, relatively few Italian specimens on show and most of these dealers were selling foreign minerals, but of lower quality than the principal hall. Unfortunately, having seen the high prices being charged there, these dealers seem to have hiked up their own, so that even quite ordinary specimens were very expensive. Consequently Chinese fluorites were priced upwards from €400 and Indian zeolites averaged around €500 a piece. We agree these were good quality specimens but it's difficult to justify the prices when considering the fact that the prices directly from local wholesalers are less than a quarter of these. Also, in the hall were a couple of dealers selling mineralogical books and publications, most of these in Italian, several sellers of fossils and a small number of dealers selling mineralogical paraphernalia including plastic stands, display boxes, cutting and polishing materials, and one selling stereo microscopes. At very competitive prices we have to say.

At the side of the hall were a small dark doorway and a sign directing visitors to another area of the show. Stepping through we were immensely surprised and delighted to see that the connecting passage had been made up to look like a mine tunnel. Sloping sides, wooden supports and dim lights led into the distance, and after a 100m walk we emerged into yet another exhibition area. This was a huge tent-like structure filled to capacity with a mixture of Italian and overseas dealers. We quickly established that this was the part of the show where local and European specimens were to be found, both minerals and fossils. Amongst specimens we quickly snapped up were a suite of great Italian silicates including Vesuvianite from Val Pellice, Andradite from Val di Susa, Epidote from Val Varaita, Albite from Val Varaita and truly excellent milky quartz from Valle d'Aosta.

The miner's tunnel linking display halls	The outside hall held plenty of interesting things

By now it was getting late in the day, so we decided to go back to our hotel, examine all our purchases and rest. Having done so, the following day, before going back to the show, we decided to visit Bologna's mineralogical museum. The Luigi Bombicci Museum of Mineralogy and Petrology is located at Piazza di Porta San Donato in the northeastern part of the city centre. Surrounded by several other scholarly buildings the museum was created in 1860 as part of the Natural History museum, also comprising departments of Botany and Zoology. Early in the 20th century the mineralogical museum became an independent body and moved into its current premises. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 Italian and foreign specimens of minerals and rocks. One of the most interesting displays is the collection of systematic species including almost 3,000 minerals arranged according the Dana classification.

Other exhibits included a large display of fluorescent minerals and a collection of over a hundred meteorites, among which is the rare carbon chondrite from Renazzo found in 1824. We were very impressed by a large case of Sicilian amber, and another housing an outstanding Italian gold nugget weighing 230 grams. However one of the most interesting finds was somewhat tucked away at the back of the museum and was a collection of over 400 specimens from the countryside surrounding Bologna. Rather understated, amongst these were numerous examples of local Quartz, Gypsum and Barite. Having spent a very informative couple of hours we left and headed back for the mineral show.

One of the most striking aspects of the show is that the organisers have put in place a very strict policy excluding sellers of carvings, healing crystals, baubles and beads. Consequently the show is almost exclusively dedicated to minerals and as such is of extremely high quality. This is a lesson that many other shows could adopt, as there has been a rapid influx of these kinds of dealer over the years. We feel that the trend has had a significant negative impact on the attendance by "real" collectors and therefore what Bologna is doing is absolutely the right thing to do. For this reason the attendance on both days we were there was very high and at times it was difficult to move.

Meanwhile as this was our last day here, and having seen the impressive gold display at the entrance, we decided to try and find an Italian specimen of this precious metal. This proved hugely more difficult than we thought. Most dealers had not seen a specimen on the market for a long time. Others had a few examples in their own collections but were unwilling to sell. Undaunted we continued on our search, following rumours and hearsay until we hit a warm lead. Eventually we ended up at a small table at the back of the Main Hall. After exchanging greetings, the dealer, under a veil of great secrecy lifted out a box from underneath and after ceremoniously opening the lid showed us the contents. On a bed of red felt lie three specimens of snow-white quartz with fantastic protrusions of yellow dendritic gold. We were told that these were from the Fenillaz Mine in Val d'Ayas. The mine had closed in 1912 and that these were from an old collection that has recently been broken up. After prolonged good-humoured negotiations we acquired two of these.

Having thus struck gold, as the saying goes, we decided to wrap up our visit to Bologna. But before leaving, we visited the long gallery upstairs, which was the last major area of the show. To our surprise we saw the usual crew of Chinese, Moroccan and Indian dealers. However, in addition there was a large group of Romanians, selling really quite spectacular specimens of black quartz and white calcite from Cavnic. Also on their tables were the famous sulphides from Herja including Sphalerite, Chalcopyrite, Jamesonite, Manganite, Marcasite and Tetrahedrite. We bought several examples of each. However the most interesting find was a couple of specimens of Freibergite and Parajamesonite that one farsighted dealer had brought. We struck up a real friendship and he will be sending us more. The tables of the Chinese and Indian dealers were very well provisioned, with good quality specimens, but nothing that was new or we hadn't seen before at Munich or Sainte Marie.

Reflecting on the next purchase	Extinct mineral dealers?

So what is our final opinion of Bologna? Overall we thought that this was a first class show, easily on the same par as Europe's other leading shows. The number of dealers was large and diverse, and the quality of specimens excellent. Another great positive was the absence of beads and crystal healing, encouraging the attendance of "real" collectors, whose numbers were consequently high. Finally, the show is well-organised, easy to get to, and provides plenty of space for browsing and meeting like-minded people. On the downside are the lack of multi-day entrance discounts, the relative absence of new mineral finds, and the absence of educational presentations in the programme. Above all else, the prices at the show were expensive, being some of the highest we have ever seen. This continued inflation is not doing collecting any favours, especially as the number of collectors in Europe and the world is falling. All that is happening is that existing collectors buy fewer specimens from fewer dealers, and potential collectors are put off by the high prices. We hope that this situation changes in the future. However, any negatives are far outweighed by the quality of this show and we recommend it most highly to anyone thinking of visiting in the beautiful city of Bologna and its remarkable mineral event.