Marco Magnifico appointed new president of FAI

Marco Magnifico, former executive vice president of FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano), has been named the new president of the Italian heritage foundation, succeeding Andrea Carandini who resigned two years before the end of his second term. Carandini, an 84-year-old archaeologist and academic, had led FAI since February 19, 2013, and oversaw a strategic reform plan aimed at expanding the foundation's role and sustainability. Under his presidency, FAI grew from 48 to 68 protected sites and established a network of 350 volunteer groups across Italy. Magnifico, born in Como on October 29, 1954, holds a degree in art history from the University of Pavia and specialized at the University of Florence. He worked at Sotheby's in London and Italy as an old master paintings expert before joining FAI in 1985. He served as executive vice president from January 2010 to October 2021, handling cultural relations with Italian ministries, restorations, and acquisitions. He has been a member of the boards of La Società del Quartetto (since 2015), Fondazione SAME (since 2017), and the Royal Museums of Turin (since 2018, reappointed in 2020). In 2009 he was made a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and in 2017 received the Amis de la Vallée d'Aoste honor. Magnifico pledged to continue FAI's mission in the tradition of its founders, Giulia Maria Crespi and Renato Bazzoni, and to guide the foundation toward further growth as a pillar of Italian civil society.