About Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo
The Fondazione MDG was established in 2022 by the heirs of Maddalena Di Giacomo to crystallise hermemory and continue her significant cultural research by sharing an evocative collection of Art housed in the Piano Nobile of the 17th century Palazzo Valier in Venice.
Our Fondazione focuses on the history of sentimental arts and the recurring symbolism of creativity, paying particular attention to the Art of Remembrance in the contemporary international visual andsensorial arts scene.
About Maddalena Di Giacomo
A free and rebellious spirit, Maddalena Di Giacomo devoted her life to art and music, following her creative vocation rather than continuing her family’s entrepreneurial activity in the construction sector. A pianist trained at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, in the 1980s she developed a profound passion for classical ballet, coming into contact with some of the most eminent figures of the period, such as Rudolf Nureyev, Vittoria Ottolenghi, and Alberto Testa.
In 1981, together with her sister Maria Grazia, she founded Di Giacomo Editore, a publishing house specializing in classical ballet techniques and the history of cinema. Among its most significant publications were: Nureyev, aspetti di un ballerino (1981) by John Percival; Fonteyn e Nureyev (1981) by Alexander Bland; Il rito, la rivolta: il cinema di Nagisa Oshima (1984), edited by Enrico Magrelli and Emanuela Martini; Rosselliniana (1987), edited by Adriano Aprà; and B Dreams. I B Movies: RKO e Monogram. Anni ’30 e ’40 (1990), edited by Vito Zagarrio.
Thanks to its pioneering activity, Di Giacomo Editore quickly established itself within the Italian cultural landscape as a point of reference for dance, earning important recognition, including the prestigious Positano Léonide Massine Prize for the Art of Dance in 1993.
Portrait of Maddalena Di Giacomo by Isabella Watling, 2024, Oil on canvas, 50 x 60 cm
Portrait Of Maddalena Di Giacomo by Silvia Idili, 2022, Oil On Board, 50 x 55 cm
Her meeting with Denis Ganio, étoile of the Opéra de Paris, gave rise to both a lasting sentimental union and a passionate artistic partnership. Together, in 1995, they founded in Rome the Maison De La Danse, an international center dedicated to the training and promotion of young dancers. This partnership led her to collaborate in the production of numerous stagings, presented in prestigious theatres such as the Bolshoi in Moscow and the Arena di Verona.
A devotee of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century art, Maddalena Di Giacomo throughout her life assembled a collection of female portraits—both miniatures and oils on canvas—together with antique perfume bottles, painted fans, porcelain, and sentimental jewelry, with the intention of creating a Petit Musée de la Femme.
Through this precious and rich collection, she sought to recount the evolution of women’s roles in society, to celebrate the feminine universe, and to shed light on the forgotten works and stories of extraordinary women artists, so often eclipsed by their male contemporaries.
In 2007, following the conclusion of her publishing venture, she chose to contribute actively to the world of contemporary art, opening in Rome, together with her daughter Alexandra Mazzanti, born of her union with the scientist and philosopher Uranio Mazzanti, the Dorothy Circus Gallery. Guided by curiosity for new artistic trends and a desire to expand her collection, Maddalena Di Giacomo concentrated her research on emerging talents, especially women, on the international scene, promoting movements such as Pop Surrealism, which in her view fully reflected the complex dynamics of globalization.
Still Life for Maddalena by Marion Peck, 2026, Oil on panel, 30.5 x 40.5 cm
Portrait of La Più Bella di Napoli by Vincenzo Caprile, c.1892, Pastel on paper, 65 x 70 cm
Her gentle and noble nature always directed her entrepreneurial activities toward social engagement. Throughout her life, Maddalena Di Giacomo supported and assisted many artists and committed herself to numerous social causes, among them raising awareness of autism, a matter particularly dear to her because of her deep bond with her sister Maria Grazia, whose son is on the autism spectrum.
In 2016, Maddalena’s life was cut short prematurely at the age of 66. In her memory, and to keep aliveher visionary spirit, her daughter, nephews, and sister established the Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo, located on the piano nobile of Palazzo Valier in Venice. This institution not only promotes Maddalena’s cultural legacy, but also brings to life her project of the Petit Musée de la Femme, realizing her dream of recounting the feminine universe through art and memory.
Maddalena Di Giacomo in la Grande Bellezza
Image by Gianni Fiorito
Our Emblem
Inspired by 18th-century sentimental rings, it carries a message of memory, devotion, and continuity. At its heart, the profile of Maddalena Di Giacomo serves as a symbol of care, transmission, and enduring legacy.
Palazzo Valier & Our Mission
The Maddalena Di Giacomo Foundation is born, a place suspended between life and absence in Venice, which asks us: what are we without our memories?
A daughter's idea dedicated to her mother, as well as a collection of memorabilia and other people's objects that transcends the classic museum nature to become much more. It opens on May 21st, during the Biennale.
by Corinne Corci
April 17, 2026
About Palazzo Valier
The Foundation is headquartered just a few steps from the Rialto, the ancient and vital heart of Venice, on the piano nobile of the Renaissance Palazzo Valier, overlooking the Church of San Silvestro and the eponymous Campo. Built in the early sixteenth century in the Lombard style, the Palazzo takes its name from the Valier family, who purchased it in 1565. This illustrious patrician lineage, which in the second half of the seventeenth century gave the Serenissima two Doges, Bertuccio and Silvestro, retained full ownership of the building for nearly three centuries, until 1849, when a descendant sold part of the property.
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Within this historic edifice, the Foundation pursues its activities across approximately 500 square meters of space, distributed among four large halls, one dedicated to the permanent collection and three to temporary exhibitions, together with a library, an olfactory laboratory, a bookshop, and a guesthouse. The latter is intended to host residencies for artists, curators, and scholars, as well as provide accommodation for members of the Foundation’s board and for collector-patrons who support its mission.
Palazzo Valier still preserves a distinctive genius loci, connected not only to the dogal family but also—and above all—to Giorgione (1478–1510), the enigmatic protagonist of Venetian Renaissance painting, who, according to a long-established tradition, is believed to have lived in this very building. As Carlo Ridolfi recounts in Le Maraviglie dell’arte (1648), Giorgione of Castelfranco spent the final part of his life in a house-studio in Campo San Silvestro, where he would often entertain his friends by playing the lute. He decorated the façade of his home with frescoes depicting poets, musicians, and putti, which aroused such admiration that they earned him the prestigious commission to paint the façade of Palazzo Soranzo in Campo San Polo.
In the summer and autumn of 1510, when the plague swept through Venice, Giorgione contracted the disease from the woman he loved and died prematurely, at only 34 years of age, in his San Silvestro residence.
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From the mid-nineteenth century onwards, amid the renewed romantic interest in the figure of Giorgione—whose critical reception was then elevating him into a veritable myth—various guides to Venice, including those by Pietro Selvatico and Vincenzo Lazari, identified Palazzo Valier as the site of his house-studio. This association was not without foundation: at that time, fragments of a fresco depicting putti were still visible on the façade of the palace, recalling closely the description given by Ridolfi of the decorations executed by Giorgione for his home.
Even if certainty regarding his exact residence and the authorship of the frescoes has never been definitively established, Palazzo Valier remains, to this day, the place that tradition continues to regard as Giorgione’s final Venetian dwelling.
Acknowledging the historical and symbolic significance of its seat, the Foundation is committed topromoting research on the figure of Giorgione, paying homage to him through scholarly studies, exhibitions, and cultural initiatives.
The Renovation of Palazzo Valier
Video Credits: Damiàn Laing
The Foundation is housed in Palazzo Valier, overlooking the Church of San Silvestro and its namesake square. Built in the early sixteenth century in the Lombard style, the Palazzo owes its name to the illustrious Valier family of Doges, who purchased it in 1565.
The Foundation’s activities unfold across approximately 500 square meters, distributed among four grand halls—one dedicated to the permanent collection and three to temporary exhibitions—alongside a library, an olfactory laboratory, a bookshop, and a guest apartment intended to host residencies for artists, curators, and scholars.
In the conservation and restoration of the Foundation’s interiors, director and curator Alexandra Mazzanti collaborated with renowned British designer Rachel Chudley, giving life to a dialogue between contemporary taste and the identity of English Heritage, balanced in chromatic harmony and historical sensitivity. The design choices reflect a deeply eco-sustainable approach that respects tradition while engaging exceptional European and international artisans. Among them are Ornalys in Paris, which still produces bronze decorations from original eighteenth-century drawings; the Venetian team Porte Italia, specialists in trompe-l’œil and classically inspired furnishings; ARD, supplier of natural paints; and Moldart Design, a family-run Turkish company handcrafting refined decorative stuccoes. Silks and fabrics by James Hare, the prestigious English brand, complete an ensemble that celebrates the continuity between the Orient, innovative design, and material memory.
Palazzo Valier still preserves a distinctive genius loci tied to Giorgione (1478–1510), the enigmatic master of Venetian Renaissance painting, who—according to long-standing tradition—spent the final part of his life in a house-studio within the Palazzo, where he would entertain friends while playing the lute.
With the Support Of
Our Mission
Guided by a Scientific Committee, the Foundation stands as a museum institution dedicated to the study of memory in relation to art, the feminine universe, and matriarchal forms of storytelling.
At the core of its mission lies the exploration of art as a space of perception and transformation, where aesthetic experience can function as a tool for mental wellbeing and emotional processing.
Among the main pillars of the Foundation’s activity are the promotion of interdisciplinary research connecting art, neuroscience, and museum practices oriented toward multisensory experience, with particular attention to neurodivergence and the ways in which perception differs across individuals.
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The Foundation develops its programme through exhibitions, artist residencies, concerts, and symposia, alongside the publication of scientific and literary works, the creation of archives, and the establishment of partnerships with universities, academies, and conservatories. Particular attention is also dedicated to the conservation, restoration, and preservation of artworks, ensuring the transmission of both material and intangible heritage across generations.
This deeply personal project, a matriarchal narrative born from loss, engages directly with the experience of grief, not as a fixed condition, but as a space of transformation, reflection, and continuity.
It finds its first expression in the exhibition The Missing Note, which explores the theme of absence as a perceived presence, inspired by the “pauses” of Isabella d’Este.
The project involves renowned international art historians for catalogue essays and theoretical contributions, in dialogue with the Foundation’s Scientific Committee, reflecting the cosmopolitan spirit of Venice and its historical vocation as a crossroads of cultures, languages, and exchanges.
Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo
