DEERFIELD BEACH, FL — Mapei, a global manufacturer of flooring installation systems and concrete restoration products, has partnered with VeronaFiere, one of Italy’s leading trade fair companies and an American Institute of Architects Continuing Education System (AIA/CES) provider as well as an active member of the Marble Institute of America (MIA). The partnership demonstrates Mapei’s support of the Italian stone industry through co-sponsorship of VeronaFiere’s successful continuing education course on stone materials for architects. A special “10th Anniversary” edition of this course was held in Verona, Italy, in early October during Marmomacc, one of the world’s largest exhibitions of marble, stone and related technology. This special course was designed for alumni of the first nine courses.

This year, Mapei hosted the 10th-anniversary architects and their guests in Milan on the first day of the course. The morning encompassed a tour of the Duomo di Milano in Milan as well as other architecturally significant sites built with marble and stone. In the afternoon, the architects visited Mapei’s Research & Development facilities and attended a seminar on installation techniques for exterior cladding. Prior to the seminar, Dr. Giorgio Squinzi, the CEO of Mapei Group worldwide, addressed the architects briefly. 

Mapei Americas’ Architectural Resources Manager, Don Miller, and Commercial Projects Manager, Heather Yario, assisted in the seminar and joined the architects for the further educational phases of the 10th-anniversary course in Verona. “We are delighted to work with the VeronaFiere team and to be a part of the Marmomacc experience,” said Miller. “We strongly support the work they are doing to educate American architects on the use of stone in constructing lasting and beautiful buildings, and we want to demonstrate how Mapei installation systems can add to that beauty and durability.”

Only 16 U.S. architects are accepted each year for the regular VeronaFiere educational course, which was recently recognized as a “Best Practices and Trends” program by the AIA. Architects compete for scholarships that cover tuition, meals, hotel accommodations and local transportation. Participants are responsible for their own transportation between the U.S. and Verona as well as a small administrative fee.