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06/10/2026

What an extraordinary week in Rome!
From May 23–29, members of the Balbianello Circle and Friends of FAI gathered in the Eternal City for a journey unlike any other - one that opened the doors to some of Rome's most remarkable and exclusive private palaces, villas, gardens, and collections.

Together, we explored hidden treasures rarely accessible to the public, including Palazzo Pallavicini, Villa Albani, Palazzo Odescalchi, Palazzo Taverna, and a number of exceptional private residences, art spaces and artists’ studios in addition to FAI - Villa Gregoriana in Tivoli, a FAI Property since 2002. Along the way, we experienced Rome not simply as visitors, but as welcomed guests and friends feted with glorious banquets fit for royalty.

A heartfelt thank you to our hosts, guides, and participants who made this journey so memorable, and especially to those whose generosity continues to support FAI's mission to protect Italy's cultural and natural heritage.

Interested in joining us for future journeys? Save the Date for our next tour to Piedmont in May 2027! Follow our social channels, visit our website, and subscribe to the Friends of FAI newsletter to be the first to hear about next year's tour and other exclusive events and opportunities: https://friendsoffai.org/

06/09/2026

On the occasion of World Environment Day, celebrated on 5 June, FAI - Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano drew attention to the growing vulnerability of Italy and its landscapes in the face of climate change.

Italy is increasingly affected by extreme weather events. Its territory is inherently fragile due to its geographical characteristics, making stronger actions for adaptation and resilience more important than ever.

Discover more here: https://bit.ly/GiornataMondialeAmbiente_2026 (article in Italian)

Photos: B. Verduci, L. Cicconi Massi, A. Pitrone © FAI

06/04/2026

Swipe through the gallery to see the "before and after" of the restoration work carried out in the gardens of FAI - Villa Rezzola.

This recovery project was made possible in part thanks to the tax donation that so many Italians chose to allocate to FAI - Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano.

Their support helped restore the beauty of the wisteria-covered pergolas, preserve rare botanical species, and revive the terraces overlooking the Gulf of Poets.

➡ Read more about the restoration work here: https://bit.ly/RestauriGiardiniVillaRezzola (in Italian)

You can support FAI and its mission to preserve the Italian Cultural Heritage and Landscape from the US too, by becoming a member of Friends of FAI. Find out more at https://friendsoffai.org/

04/18/2026

FAI - Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano and the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation present “Josef Albers: Meditations” at Villa e Collezione Panza in Varese, from April 9, 2026 to January 10, 2027. The exhibition features a selection of twenty-nine works by the German artist, including several masterpieces that have rarely been shown to the public. These works belong to the Variant/Adobe and Homage to the Square series and come from important public and private collections in Europe and the United States.

Discover more information on the dedicated page: https://fondoambiente.it/il-fai/beni/mostre/josef-albers-meditations-at-villa-panza/

FAI - Villa Panza
The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation

The exhibition is held under the patronage of Regione Lombardia. FAI thanks the Municipality of Varese for its collaboration, and expresses gratitude for the support of BANCOMAT and Seda International Packaging Group.

Photo: L. Chiaudano © FAI

04/11/2026

There are places that hold an entire world within them - like Casa Laura in Ospedaletti (Imperia), a remarkable treasure chest showcasing the deeply personal applied art collection of Luigi Anton and Nera Laura.

Around 6,000 exceptional pieces - Italian, European, and Chinese furniture, porcelain, sculptures, majolica, silverware, and Eastern antiques - carefully gathered through insightful collecting. From regular trips to Europe’s capitals to true adventures across the globe, reaching as far as the Middle and Far East.

A home where rare and diverse works of art and furniture come together with taste and expertise - never randomly, always intentionally - captivating guests and visitors with curiosity and wonder.

Have you ever visited? Casa Laura is open to the public through FAI - Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano, and you can visit with your Friends of FAI card!

📸 Ph. M. Govino, Arenaimmagini.it © FAI

03/02/2026

FAI - Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano presents the exhibition "Carlo Mattioli. Textures", curated by the Fondazione Carlo Mattioli in collaboration with the Olivetti Archives, and staged at FAI - Negozio Olivetti in Venice – owned by Assicurazioni Generali and entrusted to FAI’s care and management since 2011. The exhibition will be open until April 26, 2026.

This marks a return to Venice for Carlo Mattioli (Modena, 1911 – Parma, 1994), who in 1979 exhibited about ten works at the Olivetti Showroom in Piazza San Marco in a show organized by Olivetti Cultural Services, Portraits for a Little Girl. Only a small catalogue and a photograph taken by Giorgio Soavi remain from that exhibition. The photograph later became one of the artist’s most famous paintings, now housed at the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. The image shows Mattioli standing in the doorway of the shop, holding his granddaughter—a red-haired little girl—who today is an art curator and director of the foundation that preserves and manages the artist’s works: Anna Zaniboni Mattioli.

The idea for this exhibition came from her, and FAI enthusiastically embraced it. Beyond the opportunity to rediscover a painter who may be less widely known today, yet left a significant mark on 20th-century art, his story is deeply intertwined with this place, with Olivetti, with Venice, and now with FAI as well.

Learn more: https://fondoambiente.it/news/carlo-mattioli-textures-al-negozio-olivetti-a-venezia/ (article in Italian) ..

Image credits:

Giorgio Soavi, Carlo Mattioli with Anna, in front of the Olivetti Showroom in Venice on the occasion of the 1979 exhibition opening © Fondazione Carlo Mattioli
2–4. Olivetti Showroom, ph. K. Kamenska © FAI

01/27/2026

For some of us, there is an intimate connection with works of art.
FAI - Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan, built by Piero Portaluppi in the 1930s, is home to an extraordinary collection of artworks and objects.

Among the collections donated to FAI and displayed inside the villa, the one belonging to Claudia Gian Ferrari stands out. The collector shared a special, deeply personal bond with her artworks, and when she chose to donate them to FAI, she set one condition: that she could spend a few moments alone with them. For her, La amante morta (The Dead Lover) by Arturo Martini was an old friend.

The collection of sculpture, painting, and graphic works she bequeathed to the foundation is perfectly in harmony with Villa Necchi, reflecting the same historical period as the villa’s construction.

Carrà, Casorati, de Chirico, Morandi, Sironi, and Severini are just some of the artists represented—figures closely linked to early 20th-century art, particularly the Novecento movement, which sought a return to order and promoted a renewed interest in primitivism and classical tradition.

What are you waiting for? Book your guided tour now. With a Friends FAI membership, admission is free. Get your own on https://friendsoffai.org/

Ph. arenaimmagini.it, F. Bamberighi, A. Bortoluzzi, G. Majno © FAI.

12/06/2025

Inside the FAI - Castello della Manta, in the province of Cuneo, there is a fresco painted by an unknown artist.

It adorns the walls of the presbytery in the castle’s church and depicts the Passion of Christ. Created around 1420, the scenes unfold in a continuous narrative, with no breaks between one episode and the next.

What immediately stands out is the attention to the fashion of the time, to botanical details, to the psychological depth and expressive intensity of the characters, as well as to the architecture, which seems to echo the battlements and towers of the 15th century.

But who is the artist? Could it be the mysterious Master of Manta, author of the frescoes in the Baronial Hall? No - although there are similarities, the storyteller behind these scenes was likely one of his collaborators.

Plan a guided tour of the FAI - Castello della Manta to discover more. With a Friends of FAI membership card, entry is free.

Ph. R. Segattini, D. Fusaro, G. Lovera, R. Morelli © FAI.

12/04/2025

Starting Friday, December 5th, FAI - Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano will open Case Montana to the public, after a long and dedicated restoration project.

This historic rural building, which has overlooked the Kolymbethra Valley since the 18th century, has been restored, enhanced, and made accessible to visitors of the FAI - Giardino della Kolymbethra - a site entrusted to FAI by the Valley of the Temples Regional Park since 1999.

A traditional farmhouse from the Agrigento countryside: simple and humble, yet precious - a vivid and unmissable testament to the rural culture that shaped and cultivated this unique landscape for centuries.

Friends of FAI is proud to have contributed to this project, thanks to all its generous donors and supporters.

Learn more here: https://bit.ly/CaseMontana (in Italian)

12/02/2025

🌟 This Giving Tuesday, help preserve Italy’s cultural heritage with Friends of FAI! 🌟

As a US-based charity supporting FAI - Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano (the National Trust for Italy), we help protect Italy’s historic villas, gardens, abbeys, and the natural landscape - all whilst keeping them open and accessible to the public.

Your membership makes this possible. By joining, you:

· Support preservation of Italy’s priceless heritage
· Gain a Friends of FAI Card for free entry to all FAI sites
· Enjoy free access to over 1,100 heritage sites worldwide through INTO - the International National Trusts Organisation, including the National Trust of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland -, plus discounts at 2,000 Italian cultural sites.

✨ On this Giving Tuesday, stand with us to ensure Italy’s treasures are preserved for generations to come.

Explore all the benefits and join us here: https://friendsoffai.org/support-us/membership/

Ph. arenaimmagini.it @ FAI

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