Just a few days before the start of the Convegno d’Autunno 2025, Paolo Ferrario, who, together with Rossana Prola, organizes this event dedicated to the pool industry, took some time to answer a few questions about this new edition, which will take place on November 4–5 at the Grand Hotel Dino in Baveno on Lake Maggiore.
What were the main criteria behind anticipating the event by one month compared to previous editions and bringing it back to the North, specifically to Baveno on Lake Maggiore, after the 2024 edition was held in the South?
The Convegno d’Autunno has been held annually since 2014, except in 2020 due to the pandemic. One of its key features is that it changes location every year. Since 2019, we have adopted an alternating pattern: a larger event in Central-Northern Italy, where most of the country’s pool companies are based, from Tuscany upward, and a smaller one in Central-Southern Italy.
We also decided that the larger event would be held in odd-numbered years, when there is no Lyon fair, which is much larger than any other industry event. In even-numbered years, we move south for smaller, more familiar gatherings.
As for the dates, we decided to move the Convegno d’Autunno 2025 forward to better meet the needs of some companies who see this period as ideal for what we call the pre-season, encouraging their clients to plan early and place their first orders before the pool construction season begins. It is an experiment.
This year’s edition boasts record numbers of exhibitors and demo areas. How were the exhibition spaces organized, and what concrete opportunities does this growth offer to participants?
In terms of industry participation, we have never had so many exhibitors. That tells us the format, location, and timing are working, and it gives us great confidence. We are monitoring registrations daily and have already seen a 20% increase in attendance.
Of course, the numbers are still modest, as ours is a conference, not a trade fair, but we expect around 600–700 participants, which exceeds our initial goal of 500. So we are very satisfied.
The increase in exhibitors also represents a great opportunity for professionals, especially those from the South or small companies looking to open up to international markets.
What sets the Convegno d’Autunno 2025 apart from previous years in terms of speakers and topics?
We have a very high professional profile among attendees. Our event is the only one in Italy that grants access exclusively to pool industry professionals, and we aim to offer them the highest quality professional interactions.
The topics covered by our speakers are unique in Italy, and we guarantee exhibitors a perfectly targeted audience, ideal for focused commercial proposals and effective marketing.
Of course, the program itself is central, but equally important is creating opportunities for professionals to connect in a friendly, collaborative atmosphere.
Rossana Prola, founder of Professione Acqua, creator of the Convegno d’Autunno, and scientific director of its conference program, always says she wants the event to be beautiful. That is how she describes it: beautiful. She knows participants face two intense days with challenging topics, so she insists the event take place in a comfortable setting, rich in breaks, moments of relaxation, and social interaction.
For example, this year we will host a magistrate who oversaw a tragic case involving a child’s death in a swimming pool. He will speak candidly about the consequences of unsafe pool construction or management, but he will do so in what is probably the most beautiful hotel we have ever chosen.
What added value do initiatives like APERIPOOL MANAGER or the specialized training sessions for pool managers bring to the sector community?
For the Convegno d’Autunno 2025, there will be two extra sessions, one before and one after the main event.
The evening before, there will be a meeting of Acquanet members, one of Italy’s two pool builders’ associations, followed by a convivial dinner. On the final day, we will hold the Aperipool Manager, an informal gathering reserved for pool managers to exchange ideas. It will be a small, intimate event of around 30 people.
We aim to create something different: two days, one overnight stay at most, in a warm and welcoming environment. We offer a lot, with three conference halls, an exhibition area, a demo area, and plenty of freedom of movement. But the key is that participants go home with both fond memories and new insights.
We also believe the Conference is ideal for foreign companies. We participate in all the European technical committees that draft standards, and we see that every country builds pools differently, with unique habits, needs, and climates. Every nation has something to teach and to learn.
Therefore, the Convegno d’Autunno can be the perfect occasion to define strategies, assess whether the Italian market suits a product, and allow Italian builders to meet international players who would otherwise be hard to reach.
Our goal is to become a major, nationally recognized event open to international companies as well, as some already follow us. A meeting place for dialogue, networking, and collaboration. Because, in the end, at the Convegno d’Autunno, talking matters more than exhibiting. There is no room for huge products, only for meaningful encounters.
What are your ambitions for the next edition? Can you share any previews or new developments?
For the 2026 edition, which will be an even-numbered year, we have not yet decided on the location or date, as we are waiting for feedback from this year’s event. We have identified a few potential venues, and I can say for sure we will return to Central-Southern Italy to reach audiences that are less served and often cannot easily attend specialized industry events.
Our aspiration for the next edition is to make the Convegno d’Autunno a real opportunity for exchange among professionals from different countries. Already this year, we have speakers from three nations: Spain, Germany, and Finland. So our goal is to further increase the number of international speakers and, hopefully, the participation of foreign companies as well.
In two years, we would like to host a more international event, perhaps in partnership with a reference country, and begin building, even in the pool sector, a truly united Europe.
