The Italian National Trust (FAI) is giving its best in finding funds to restore, manage and give value to the Italian heritage safeguarding goods that would otherwise run the risk to deteriorate.
Giulia Maria Crespi, the founder of the Italian National Trust
Giulia Maria Crespi was born near Lecco in 1923 in a wealthy family, who owned the famous Italian newspaper “Il Corriere della Sera”.
She inherited from her family the love for art and the environment.
Giulia Maria Crespi considers “the cure and health of the Earth a fundament for the health of the human being”.
As a matter of fact she is also the founder of the Association of Biodynamic Agriculture, which is applied in the farm.
The foundation of the Italian National Trust
In 1975 Giulia Maria Crespi founded the FAI with Renato Bazzoni first with the aim of safeguarding the beauty and the wild nature of Sardinia.
She donated to the organisation 500.000.000£ and the “Roman-Longobardic Monastery” in Torba, near Varese.
What are the aims of the Italian National Trust?
“We must save the Italian beauty, and not only some woods”
The structure of the FAI resembles the one of the British National Trust, a private organisation that aims at safeguarding and renovating material, environmental and cultural goods.
The organisation is widely present on the Italian soil. There are as a matter of fact:
- 19 Regional Directions
- 128 Delegations
- 101 FAI groups
- 96 Youth FAI groups
- 4 “bridge between cultures” FAI groups
To give you an idea: the organisation includes 61 goods, palaces, monasteries, towers but also section of coast and woods. 30 jewels of the Italian heritage are open to the public.
In addition, the Italian National Trust counts 210,000 members, 500 companies which support the organisation and 7800 volunteers
What about giving a registration as a Christmas present?
The registration can be done online but also at the different FAI sites. It costs from 20€ for young people up to their 25th year. For a couple the registration costs 60€ and for a family with 2 children 66€.
The fee lasts one year from the moment you make it and gives you the possibility to visit all the FAI monuments for free.
We decided to enroll the FAI at the end of the touching visit at Casa Noha in Matera that made us realise how fundamental the function of the FAI organisation is.
And we were also given back the 12€ of the entrance tickets!
FAI International
It promotes the awareness of the extraordinary Italian cultural, artistic, and environmental heritage.
We mustn’t forget Italy was the aim of the Grand Tour because of this incredible richness.
“The places of the heart”
Every other year the Italian National Trust organises a survey to list the places that mustn’t go forgotten, and that will be preserved for the next generations
“The Gonzaga Chapel” is the “Place of the Heart” in Mantova and is in the beautiful “San Francesco Church”.
This place is a clear sign of the close connection of the Gonzaga to the Franciscan Order.
This is the place many members of the Gonzaga family chose for their eternal rest.
The frescoes that enrich the Chapel represent the Passion of Christ and the stories of Ludovico from Tolose.
For this reason Ludovico I Gonzaga is thought to be the client of the chapel.
Today the Chapel needs to be restored after the earthquake of 2012 and the frescoes need to be refreshed.
