The road construction fair returns to BolognaFiere on 7-10 October with 140 exhibitors, a new hall and a live resurfacing site built around high-RAP mixes
Italy has more than 800,000 kilometres of roads to keep in working order, and much of the network is ageing. Maintaining it means more than laying fresh asphalt: it takes better materials, recycling, digital monitoring and the ability to intervene before a defect becomes an emergency. That is the agenda Asphaltica 2026 has set for itself.
The international exhibition for the road supply chain, organised by BolognaFiere with SITEB, the Italian Roads and Bitumen Association, runs from 7 to 10 October 2026 in Bologna.
A bigger edition
The numbers are up across the board. The show will host 140 exhibitors, 18 of them from seven foreign countries, an 18% increase on 2024. Net exhibition space grows to 9,800 square metres from 7,300, and organisers expect more than 8,000 visitors from across Europe, with foreign delegations adding to the international profile.
The fair moves to BolognaFiere’s new Hall 37, one of the most technologically advanced halls on the site.
On the machinery side, the exhibitor list includes Wirtgen Group, Ammann, Marini, Bomag, Dynapac, CGT (Cat), CAMS and Bernardi Impianti, alongside energy companies ENI and Italiana Petroli, additive specialists Mapei and Iterchimica, road safety suppliers and engineering firms. PIARC, the World Road Association, will also be present.
“During these four days, BolognaFiere will become the elected venue for manufacturers of machinery, plants, materials, and solutions to meet those who design, build, and manage infrastructure,” said Raul Barbieri, Director of Asphaltica.
A live resurfacing site
The most practical feature for contractors is the Sustainable Construction Site (Cantiere Sostenibile), presented by InFrastrade. It will demonstrate the full road resurfacing cycle with next-generation machinery: soil stabilisation and compaction, laying high-RAP (reclaimed asphalt pavement) mixes, low-emission technologies, mobile laboratories and circular economy practices.
For paving crews and plant operators, it is a chance to see how high recycled content behaves on a real surface, not just on a data sheet.
Conferences and the European angle
The programme includes 40 conferences and workshops and three SITEB Agoràs, covering investment and maintenance (“General States of Road Construction”), the move from traditional to smart roads, and sustainability and ESG in road building. A training course on CAM Strade, Italy’s minimum environmental criteria for roads, closes the event on 10 October.
For the first time, the European Asphalt Pavement Association (EAPA) will hold its Autumn Technical Committee at Asphaltica during the first two days, focusing on sustainability, digitalisation and health and safety.
Other side events include a preview of vintage machinery for the 80th anniversary of ANAS, Italy’s national road agency, and a new manual on luminous road signs from Assosegnaletica.
Rules and planning
SITEB’s General Manager Stefano Ravaioli linked the technology shift to policy. “To accompany this transformation, stable planning of interventions, clear rules, and an increasingly close dialogue between institutions and operators are needed,” he said.
Next stop: Rome
After a 2025 event in Bari, the organisers will launch Asphaltica World in Rome on 20-21 October 2027, a conference and exhibition format at the Salone delle Fontane aimed at dialogue between industry and institutions.
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