Expo 2000 – Regional Fair for Industry, Crafts, Agriculture, and Tourism of Salento

One of the most important fairs in Southern Italy

Established in 2000, Expo 2000 – Regional Fair for Industry, Crafts, Agriculture, and Tourism of Salento has grown to become one of the most anticipated economic and popular events in Southern Italy. Organized by the Municipality of Miggiano, a small town in Lower Salento in the province of Lecce, the fair occupies the Permanent Exhibition District in the heart of the town, a space of over 40,000 square meters equipped with pavilions and large covered structures.

An entire economy on display

With over 250 stands, Expo 2000 showcases every productive sector of the region and beyond: home furnishings and interior design, artisanal furniture, industrial manufacturing, renewable energy, agricultural machinery, floriculture, food and wine, and tourism promotion. Over the years, the fair has attracted exhibitors not only from Puglia but also from Lazio, Sicily, Veneto, Sardinia, and Campania, confirming its now national reach.

The event is held under the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Puglia Region, Confindustria, and the Chamber of Commerce of Lecce, testifying to its institutional weight in the regional trade fair landscape.

More than just business: taste, culture, and community

Alongside the exhibition stands, Expo 2000 is also a great popular festival. The Quartiere del Gusto, set up in the former Covered Market, offers food and wine specialties from all over Southern Italy, from Sicily to Calabria and Salento. Not to be missed is the traditional and beloved Pork Festival, which enlivens the fair on Saturday night, along with show cooking, music, performances, and entertainment. An institutional highlight is the Miggiano Award, a recognition given to those who have distinguished themselves through their commitment to the local area.

An identity-defining event for Miggiano and Salento

For a town of a few thousand inhabitants like Miggiano, Expo 2000 represents much more than a fair: it is an engine of development, a moment of collective pride, and a formidable tourist attraction that brings over 150,000 visitors to Lower Salento every year, in a period—mid-October—that effectively extends the season. In recent years, the grounds have been completely redeveloped, with large free parking areas and the transformation of a former asphalt square into a lush public garden.

The fair is traditionally held in the week preceding the third Sunday of October, when the mild climate of Salento still invites visitors to stroll among the open-air stands and discover the industrious and hospitable face of this corner of Puglia.