The Wolfson Collection

History

A short history of the Wolfsoniana

The opening of the Wolfsoniana marks the end of a process begun almost two decades ago. The protagonists have been Mitchell “Micky” Wolfson Jr., collector and philantropist from Miami with a special love for Italy and Genoa in particular, and the pre-eminent Genovese and Liguria institutions, including the City of Genoa, the Region of Liguria, and the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Genova e Imperia.
Micky Wolfson’s collection has been in the local public’s eye since the mid 1980s, but in 1993 its cultural significance began to be felt beyond city limits, when the study centre and repository was opened in Via Asilo Garbarino.
In 1999 management of the collection was entrusted to the Fondazione Regionale Cristoforo Colombo. The decision to include it in the Nervi parks and museum district was taken a few years ago, making it a multifaceted yet coherent institution focussing on the art of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Municipal government has provided the building and the professional skills necessary for its renovation and conversion to its new functions. An ad hoc contribution from the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Genova e Imperia and an additional financing from the Region of Liguria have made possible the structural and technical work, and the design and installation of the exhibitis in the Wolfsoniana, which was opened on December 17, 2005.
In 2007 Micky Wolfson gives his collection to the Fondazione Colombo, which changed into Fondazione Regionale per la Cultura e lo Spettacolo in 2008. In the meantime the Study Centre, which preserves the specialised library and the extensive archives, moved downtown to the Ducal Palace, where the headquarters of the new foundation are also located.