BOLOGNA, Italy -- Yesterday was the start of Cersaie -- the annual international ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings exhibition -- and marked its 30th anniversary. The event will run until Saturday, September 29 in Bologna, Italy. Despite the economic troubles of recent times, today's show attendance of spectators and exhibitors has shown that the appeal of Italian ceramic tile will stay strong and overcome the hardships that international commerce has experienced.

Yesterday kicked off the 30th annual Cersaie show in Bologna, Italy. Many tile and bath products are being exhibited and wood-look porcelain tiles are standing out as the popular trend. Pictured here is "Woodstyle" by Ragno.

In the Bologna Exhibition Centre, which is comprised of 23 buildings, what stands out as the most popular trend of the time is wood-look and stone-look ceramic tile. Manufacturers from around the world, such as Ragno, Tagina, Fap and Seramikson, have all created beautiful tiles that mimic nature.

At the end of a long day filled with the excitement of new tile products and demonstrations, Ceramics of Italy held an international press conference where they awarded Anish Baja of the Inside Track, based out of India, with the Ceramics of Italy Journalism Award. Mentions were given to Joelle Letessier of Archicree from France, Catherine Osborne of Azure in Canada, and Anna Kolomiyets of Casa D'Elite of Kazakhstan.