Salone del Mobile opens in Milan

(ANSA) - Milan, April 12 - This year's edition of the international furniture fair at the Rho exhibition centre near Milan kicked off on Tuesday with 2,310 exhibitors, of whom 30% from overseas.
    The Salone del Mobile runs until Sunday.
    "It is from the furniture fair that Milan and the Italy of entrepreneurship began to show their international capability and capacity for beauty," Milan Mayor Giuliano Pisapia said at the opening. The furniture and furnishings sector "is a point of excellence" for Italy, with "elements spread throughout the country", the outgoing president of the powerful industrial employers' confederation Confindustria, Giorgio Squinzi, said. "The Milan fair is a unique global event," Squinzi added. The Salone del Mobile has three side events, dedicated to the philosophy of living, classic furnishings and architectural finishings.
    There is also an exhibition on design before design, with a short documentary made by Italian film director Matteo Garrone.