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| Carlo Scarpa Foundation | |
|---|---|
| Name | Carlo Scarpa Foundation |
| Native name | Fondazione Carlo Scarpa |
| Established | 1986 |
| Founder | Gianantonio Stagi |
| Type | Cultural heritage foundation |
| Headquarters | Venice |
| Location | Veneto, Italy |
Carlo Scarpa Foundation The Carlo Scarpa Foundation is an Italian cultural institution dedicated to the preservation, study, promotion, and dissemination of the legacy of the architect Carlo Scarpa. Located in Venice, the Foundation engages with museums, archives, universities, and preservation bodies across Europe and beyond to document Scarpa's built work, drawings, and pedagogy. It collaborates with galleries, biennials, and research institutes to support exhibitions, publications, and conservation projects.
The Foundation was founded in the late 20th century by scholars and patrons connected with the Veneto art scene, responding to renewed interest in postwar Venicean architecture and modernist heritage. Early supporters included figures from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, curators from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and conservators associated with the Museo Correr and the Fondazione Querini Stampalia. The Foundation’s archives grew through donations from collaborators, clients, and estates linked to Scarpa’s projects for institutions such as the Museo di Castelvecchio, the Banca Popolare di Verona, and the Brion Cemetery. Over decades the Foundation forged partnerships with the Università Iuav di Venezia, the Politecnico di Milano, and the Victoria and Albert Museum to support cataloguing, symposia, and joint conservation campaigns.
The Foundation’s mission focuses on safeguarding Scarpa’s material and intellectual patrimony while promoting scholarly access and public engagement. Activities encompass archival management with cataloguing protocols used by the International Council on Archives, collaborative exhibitions with the Venice Biennale, and advisory roles for restoration commissions at the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio. It organizes conferences with partners including the Getty Conservation Institute, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the American Institute of Architects, and contributes expertise to UNESCO heritage discussions concerning Venice and its lagoon.
The Foundation maintains an extensive corpus of primary materials: original drawings, measured surveys, correspondence, models, and photographic records related to Scarpa’s commissions for the Castelvecchio Museum, the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, the Galleria d’Arte Moderna Ca' Pesaro, and private villas. Holdings include working drawings linked to collaborators such as Gianfranco Frattini, Mario Botta, and clients like the Venetian Republic’s contemporary institutions. The archive is catalogued following standards comparable to collections at the Archivio Storico delle Arti Contemporanee and is consulted by researchers from institutions such as the École des Beaux-Arts, the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and the Scuola Normale Superiore.
The Foundation curates exhibitions at venues including the Palazzo Fortuny, the Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, and international spaces such as the Musée d'Orsay and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. It publishes catalogues raisonnés, monographs, and exhibition catalogues in collaboration with presses like Electa, Skira, and Thames & Hudson. Scholarly journals that have featured Foundation-led research include Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Casabella, and Architectural Review. Retrospectives and thematic shows have juxtaposed Scarpa’s drawings with works by contemporaries such as Lucio Fontana, Giorgio de Chirico, and Le Corbusier.
The Foundation runs internships and fellowships for postgraduate students from the Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, the Royal College of Art, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It hosts doctoral seminars in partnership with the European University Institute and summer ateliers that attract participants from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and the Technical University of Munich. Programmatic focus areas include measured drawing, archival methodology, and material culture studies, taught alongside visiting lecturers from the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Institute of Conservation.
A core activity is the technical study and conservation of Scarpa’s works, undertaken with specialists from the Getty Conservation Institute, the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro, and regional conservation offices such as the Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici. Notable interventions advised or documented by the Foundation include conservation campaigns at the Brion Tomb, interventions at the Querini Stampalia reading room, and treatments for stone, metal, and glass elements at the Castelvecchio Museum. The Foundation disseminates conservation reports at symposia hosted with the ICOMOS and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property.
The Foundation is governed by a board composed of architects, curators, conservators, and academics drawn from institutions such as the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, and international universities. Funding derives from a mix of patronage, project grants awarded by bodies like the European Commission and the Ministero della Cultura, sponsorship from foundations including the Cariplo Foundation and private donors connected to the Venetian cultural network, and revenue from publications and ticketed exhibitions. Collaborative grants and research contracts with museums and universities supplement endowment income to support long-term archival conservation and programming.
Category:Foundations based in Italy Category:Architectural archives Category:Cultural organisations in Venice