“When the first Florence Biennale was held, more than 40 years ago, it was a trailblazer for the international art market, attracting scores of foreign dealers, 120,000 paying visitors and another 40,000 invited guests. But in the decades that followed, it lost ground to rivals as the Paris Biennale established a reputation for chic glitz and the small Dutch town of Maastricht attracted the world’s most important dealers, collectors and curators to its art fair.” Italy’s draconian art export laws are so tough, they have played havoc with the biennale.