Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d'Arte

The Cologni Foundation for Artistic Craft Professions (Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d'Arte) is a private non-profit institution established in Milan in 1995 by Franco Cologni, who is its Chairman. The Foundation’s initiatives, which are geared towards generating a “new Renaissance” of the Métiers d'Art (or Artistic Craft Professions), are mainly aimed at young people. Training new generations of artisans and saving outstanding craftsman activities from the risk of oblivion which threatens them has always been one of the Foundation’s main aims. The Cologni Foundation also works on the identification of the new Métiers d'Art of our times, mapping them out and highlighting their defining characteristics and new features. To this end, it promotes, supports and finances a series of cultural, scientific and informative initiatives such as publishing books, organising conferences and exhibitions, and financing scientific research through the “Arti e mestieri” (Arts and professions) Research Centre, which Cologni Foundation has established in partnership with the Cattolica University of Milan.