New York, NY, United States
Tuesday, May 14th, 2019
for immediate release:
The Italian Renaissance Fund helps Palazzo Te
The Italian Renaissance Fund announces a general campaign for Palazzo Te in Mantova, Italy, designed and constructed by Giulio Romano (1499 - 1546) between 1525 and 1535 - known as 'The abode of the Gods'.
About Palazzo Te
Palazzo Te is one of the most extraordinary examples of a Mannerist Renaissance Villa. Built for Federico II Gonzaga (1500 - 1540), features include open walkways looking over vast gardens and green spaces to emulate Roman Villas. The lake surrounding it has since been drained to make way for civic buildings and residential homes. The architectural structure and external façade of the building is characterized by ashlar stone-masonry work punctuated with large, Doric columns.
The Palazzo is set around a large square court-yard, enclosed on all four sides with smooth ashlar walls and Doric semi-columns, supporting a classical entablature featuring metopes and triglyphs. Giulio Romano conceived of everything, from the architectural structure of the building, to the splendid cycles of decorative frescoes, the fireplaces, the ceilings, the floors of every room; overseeing every minute detail of execution undertaken by a series of his most trusted collaborators. Though traces of frescoes remain on the exterior, it is the interior frescoes that give visitors a glimpse of some of the most remarkable examples of refined stuccos.
Palazzo Te – The Campaign
The ‘Palazzo Te Campaign’ aims to expand the museum’s value proposition to its local, European and global community of constituents, as a forward-looking and sustainable cultural institution. With the help of the Italian Renaissance Fund, Palazzo Te has announced a general campaign to raise up to €2,000,000 in US-originated donations.
Planned improvements include:
1. A new Arrival Experience for Guests
A standalone ticket office will be built as a new external structure in the garden, with the arrival experience providing guests with a detailed history of Mantova, the Gonzaga’s and Palazzo Te.
2. A New Event Space called ‘The Stories of Palazzo Te’
3. 'The frescoed rooms'
This section will feature seating so that visitors can listen to their audio guide descriptions at leisure whilst taking in the marvelous array of frescoes.
4. Manuscripts
This section will be dedicated to manuscripts that give insights into the social, political, artistic and religious environment in Mantova from the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries. The manuscripts are derived from the museum’s historical acquisition activities, retained assets and research conducted by the Giulio Romano Study Center.
5. Palazzo Te Museum Store
The store will map its merchandise and content to current and permanent exhibitions, in order to ensure high turnover of stock.
6. Children’s Center
Education programs for school-aged children will be developed and expanded.
7. Opening the grounds of the Palazzo to the General Public
This initiative will allow for non-ticket holders to enter the grounds of the Palazzo via the court-yard, so that everyone will feel welcome to come and study the history of Mantova, visit the grounds for leisure, or to dine at the cafe. This will also encourage more partner-driven, outdoor free concerts, events and activities.
8. Conversion of the Secret Garden Apartment into a Library & 'The Gonzaga Study Center'
9. 'The Orchard’
The Orchard is a proposed 8500 sq ft exhibition space. The Museum wishes to create an open, multi-functional space with maneuverable walls and ad-hoc lighting so that it can transform itself with each exhibition or installation housed, accessible to the public from the grounds of the Palazzo.
10. Convertible Conference Space
Renew the seating and infrastructure; in keeping with the style of the original architect, (Poltronieri) create a divisible, multi-purpose space accessible to the public from the grounds of the Palazzo.
11. Smart-phone app enabled audio/visual guided narrative and equipment acquisition
The audio/visual guide and relevant signage will be strategically sequenced in order to direct guests through a coherent path honoring the extraordinary narrative which includes themes of love, the majesty of horses and birds, love and the stars, to name just a few.
12. Improvements to the Palazzo’s Administrative, Maintenance and Storage facilities
With expanded capabilities such as these, Palazzo Te will be able to position itself as an
international research hub that can share best practices on art conservation, as well as provide
expanded heritage & cultural site appreciation programs for children and seniors alike.
Donations made online or by checks payable to the ‘Italian Renaissance Fund’ will be forwarded to the Palazzo Te Campaign as ‘donor-advised funds’, less the pass-through commission tariff’s listed below.
All donations received are tax-deductible and will be acknowledged with a gift receipt letter.
Donation Amount/Commission Tariff:
$0-$150K – 7%
$150K-$500K – 6%
$500K-$1M – 5%
$1M+ - 4%
To donate to IRF USA's 2018 General Campaign for Palazzo Te, please visit our 'WAYS TO GIVE' page on our website at:
http://www.italianrenaissancefund.org/ways-to-give.html
Financial and other information about the Italian Renaissance Fund's purpose, programs and activities can be obtained by contacting:
Brendan Moffitt
Executive Director (USA)
T: +1 (917) 836-8920
E: brendanmoffitt@italianrenaissancefund.org
or, for residents of New York, from:
The Attorney General Charities Bureau
120 Broadway,
New York, NY, 10271
TAX ID
EIN - 22-3883037
Contributions are deductible for federal income tax purposes in accordance with applicable law.
Registration in a state does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation of Italian Renaissance Fund
by the state.
To learn more, please visit:
The Italian Renaissance Fund
www.italianrenaissancefund.org
Palazzo Te
www.palazzote.it
Palazzo Te Foundation
www.fondazionepalazzote.it