Fondazione Paolo e Carolina Zani Opens House Museum Near Brescia

The Fondazione Paolo e Carolina Zani per l'arte e la cultura has opened a house museum near Brescia, Italy, presenting for the first time a collection of about 800 works. The museum is set in a modern building surrounded by a 2,000-square-meter garden featuring sculptures, pools, fountains, and diverse plant species including Lebanon cedars, Japanese sophora, Chinese juniper, agaves, and macro bonsai. The collection includes paintings by Canaletto, Tiepolo, Guardi, Longhi, and Boucher, sculptures by Filippo Parodi and the Della Porta family, as well as 18th-century French and Venetian furniture, Japanese lacquers, Chinese porcelains, and Trapani corals. The domestic architecture has been transformed into a museum with theatrical lighting that enhances the artworks without display cases. The collection was assembled over thirty years by Brescian entrepreneur Paolo Zani, who intended the house, garden, and artworks to be publicly accessible. The project was supported by his heirs. The foundation offers guided tours for young people and adults, family workshops, publications, and cultural events. The garden includes loggias, paths leading to a nymphaeum with water features, and a collection of water lilies and aquatic plants.