About
A Petit Musée de la Femme - a story of memory, family and enduring love.
Just a few steps from the Rialto Bridge, in the heart of Venice, Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo is housed on the piano nobile of Palazzo Valier, a historic Venetian residence associated with the Renaissance master Giorgione.
Founded and directed by Alexandra Mazzanti, the Fondazione grew from the cultural legacy of Maddalena Di Giacomo (Rome, 1950–2016) and her idea for a Petit Musée de la Femme. This intimate and personal origin has become the starting point for a wider research into memory and the ways in which human beings preserve and transmit the intangible.
At its heart is a collection spanning historical and contemporary art, portrait miniatures, antique perfume bottles, sentimental jewellery and objects created to hold affection, identity and remembrance. Together, they reveal the many languages and devices through which memory has been given material form across time.
Through exhibitions, research and multisensory programmes, these objects enter into dialogue with contemporary artistic practices, science, scent, sound and perception. The Fondazione continues to evolve as a living collection, gathering different memories and exploring how art can give presence to what cannot be held.
Mission
How do we preserve the intangible?
An evolving time capsule exploring the languages, codes and devices through which memory takes form and is transmitted.
Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo brings historical objects and contemporary artistic practices into dialogue to explore the traces through which human beings have sought to preserve affection, absence, belonging, identity and memory.
At the intersection of art, sensory heritage, science and curatorial research, the Fondazione investigates how perception and aesthetic experience shape the ways we feel and remember. Particular attention is devoted to scent, multisensory approaches, neuroscience and neurodivergence, and to the potential role of art in mental and emotional wellbeing.
Guided by an international Scientific Committee and developed through exhibitions, research and collaborations, the Fondazione approaches memory as a living presence: something continually preserved, transformed and transmitted across people, cultures and generations.
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Current Exhibition
La Nota Mancante
From 22/05/2026 until 21/11/2026
Opening on May 21, 2026 with a concert inaugurating the Fondazione’s programme, the Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo presents its first exhibition, La Nota Mancante, curated by Alexandra Mazzanti in collaboration with Caro Verbeek with the support of IFF directed by Bernardo Fleming. Conceived as a meditation on memory and on the subtle sensory traces through which the past continues to inhabit the present, the exhibition unfolds as a multisensory journey through the piano nobile of Palazzo Valier.
Collection Highlights
Young Cupid with Lover's Eye
Fatima Ronquillo
Octagonal Rebus Ring - “Aimez moi sans cesser”,
A Portrait of a Lady in an Ermine Bordered Lilac Coat with Pearls
John Smart
Still Life with a Basket of Fruit, Seashells and a Lizard
Jacob Marrel
