Five emblematic projects were selected after a long, in-depth evaluation process, during today’s meeting of the Board of Directors of the Cariplo Foundation. The five emblematic projects, initiatives that represent interventions with a high economic, but also symbolic, value for Varese Province, will receive a total of €7 million.

The initiatives selected are as follows:

1. To Luino Town Council, €1,000,000, for the project “Palazzo Verbania”, the archives of Piero Chiara and Vittorio Sereni. Palazzo Verbania, which was originally the spa building in Luino, is an art nouveau building, constructed in 1904, destined to be a venue for concerts, balls, meetings, conferences, and home to a café and restaurant.

The project aims to exploit the historical building, as a cultural reference point in the town, linking it to the archives, purchased by the organisation in 1998, of Piero Chiara and Vittorio Sereni (who made Luino and its lake a favourite location in their poetry). Cultural laboratories will be created in the building, in collaboration with foundations, schools and organisations that operate in this field.

2. To Varese Province, €2,500,000, to create a “Museum Centre for the Seprio Area of the Middle Ages”, in the former Monastery of S. Maria Assunta, in Cairate. The former Monastery is an architectural complex consisting of the large, quadrilateral cloister, the courtyard of San Pancrazio and the Rustic Court. The project entails the creation of a Museum Centre, with an itinerary integrated into the renaissance Cloister, the architectural and functional restoration of the abbey cottages for the inclusion of restrooms for the public, and the architectural and functional restoration of the Church of Sant’Ambrogio and San Martino, with the building of an auditorium for museum and exhibition activities, in the former monastery.

3. To Varese, the Brunella. The Renato Piatti Foundation of Varese, for people with intellectual and relational disabilities, €1,200,000, for a “Multi-service Centre for Disabilities and the Family”. This project entails redevelopment of the former Seminary of the Franciscan Brothers, in Varese, for social purposes, for use as a Multi-Service Centre for Disabilities and the Family. The Centre will be able to give provide care, support and assistance for people with disabilities and their families.

4. To the Fondazione Istituto Insubrico for Life Research, in Gerenzano, €1,300,000, a “New pilot plant for the production of natural substances from micro-organisms”. The project entails the redevelopment of the pilot fermentation plant and subsequent testing of its validity. In particular, the Foundation will acquire an important research & development facility in the biotechnology sector, that is in line with its research activities, which focus on the potential of a number of enzymes as therapeutic agents (e.g. in celiac disease).

5.  To the Seminario Arcivescovale di Milano, in Venegono, €1,000,000, for the redevelopment of the former High School wing of the premises in Venegono Inferiore.

“Also on this occasion, Varese Province has been quick to get mobilised, putting forward ideas and projects in line with the objective of the call for tenders, linked to the so-called Emblematic Grants,” said the Chairman of the Cariplo Foundation, Giuseppe Guzzetti. “As always happens in these situations, the choice wasn’t easy; we kept to strict criteria. At this stage, it’s never nice having to take decisions that might cause displeasure to those left out.

“At the same time, we’re convinced that the projects chosen are worthy initiatives, that are well constructed, in line with the mission of our Foundation, and shared by the local communities that put them forward.

“The whole of the Province has been rewarded and enhanced with projects characterised by different vocations: from north, to south, and of course, in the provincial capital. The non-profit organisations in Varese Province have been able to grasp the spirit of the Emblematic Grants.

“Selecting doesn’t mean closing the door on good ideas; the Cariplo Foundation is willing to return to projects and evaluate, if possible, other approaches to completing them together.”