The Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano (FAI) gathered hundreds of volunteers at Teatro alla Scala in Milan - the city where FAI was founded and operates - to celebrate its 50^th anniversary since its establishment in 1975. Rather than just a retrospective celebration, the event was an opportunity to express gratitude to the volunteers, members, donors, supporters, institutions, and citizens, as well as the sites themselves, that have enabled the Foundation to grow and thrive.

For fifty years, FAI has been committed to a civic service alongside institutions, engaging citizens for the betterment of the country, with a mission centered on preserving exceptional sites to educate the public on the knowledge, enjoyment, and protection of Italy’s historical, artistic, and natural heritage.

A Vision Rooted in Italy’s Constitution

FAI was born from an idea by Elena Croce, taken up by Giulia Maria Crespi and many other generous individuals, to fulfill the mandate of Article 9 of the Italian Constitution, which assigns the protection and promotion of cultural heritage not just to the state or local governments, but to the Republic as a whole. By calling on the res publica as the custodian of cultural heritage, FAI underscores that every citizen shares the responsibility of preserving Italy’s countless historic cities, monuments, artworks, documents, and remnants of the past that define the nation’s identity.

FAI in Numbers

• 72 sites saved
• 56 monumental and natural sites regularly open to the public
• 16 sites undergoing restoration
• 84,726 square meters of protected historic buildings
• Over €143.6 million raised and invested in restorations
• Over 13.6 million visitors
• 300,247 members
• More than 362 regional delegations + 3 international groups
• 63 million square meters of protected landscapes
• 922,000 square meters of preserved productive agricultural land (olive groves, citrus orchards, vineyards, etc.)
• 95 million square meters of safeguarded forests
• 25 million square meters of mountain pastures
• 500,000 square meters of restored gardens and historic parks
• Over 2,500 preserved rare trees
• 11,280 olive trees maintained across Italy
• 40,000 antique books
• 30,000 cataloged and protected artworks
• Over 4 million students involved
• More than 839,000 students enrolled in FAI programs with their classes

New Sites for FAI’s 50th Anniversary

To mark this milestone, FAI is inaugurating five new sites:

1. Podere Case Lovara (Liguria) – A rural farmhouse with vineyards, olive groves, and vegetable gardens perched on a dramatic terrace above the sea in the Cinque Terre National Park. It is only accessible on foot via the trail connecting Levanto and Monterosso.
2. Villa Rezzola (Liguria) – A late 19th-century villa in Lerici featuring the most beautiful English-style garden on the Riviera di Levante, offering panoramic views from Portovenere to Lerici.
3. Casino Mollo (Calabria) – A 17th-century hunting lodge on the edge of the Giganti di Fallistro Nature Reserve in the Sila National Park, already a FAI-protected site.
4. Monte Fontana Secca & Col de Spadaròt (Veneto) – A mountain farm at 1,461 meters on the Grappa Massif, set to become a pasture for the rare burlina cows, complete with a cheese-making dairy and an educational space for mountain shepherding.
5. Case Montana (Sicily) – A small 18th-century rural building overlooking the Kolymbethra Garden in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, preserving the region’s historic agricultural landscape.

FAI’s Historic Firsts Over 50 Years

• 1977 – First donated site: Cala Junco, at the westernmost point of Panarea (Sicily), followed by the Torba Monastery (Lombardy) and Castello di Avio (Trentino-Alto Adige).
• 1985 – First major restoration: The eight-year restoration of Torba Monastery, revealing Roman fortification walls and 8th/9th-century Lombard frescoes.
• 1993 – First FAI Spring Day: 90 sites in 32 cities opened to the public, marking the beginning of what would become a national tradition with over 14.2 million visitors and 21,000 sites opened in 31 spring and 11 autumn editions.
• 1999 – First site under FAI’s management: The Sicilian Regional Government entrusted FAI with the restoration and preservation of the Kolymbethra Garden in the Valley of the Temples, Agrigento.
• 2003 – First Luoghi del Cuore (Places of the Heart) campaign: Italians were invited to vote for sites they cherished most, amassing over 11.1 million votes and protecting 139 sites across 19 regions.
• 2017 – First productive site: The Conti Vecchi Saltworks near Cagliari (Sardinia), an active historic facility, opened to the public through a partnership with Eni.
• 2019 – First "guided tour inside a poem": The National Center for Leopardian Studies in Recanati (Marche) and the ermo colle garden from Giacomo Leopardi’s poem L'Infinito reopened, featuring a multimedia journey into the iconic verse.
• 2022 – First productive agricultural estate: The acquisition of Villa Caviciana in Gradoli (Lazio), followed by the first funeral monument protected by FAI, the Brion Memorial in Altivole (Veneto), an architectural masterpiece by Carlo Scarpa blending symbolic, cultural, and religious influences in a contemplative space.