Mission
Contrada Guido – A cultural bridge between Calabria and the United States
In the heart of Ionian Calabria, documented on eighteenth-century maps and for centuries the center of a vast agricultural estate, lies Contrada Guido: a historic estate that Fondazione Patrimonio Italia, together with LoveItaly, intends to restore and transform into an international cultural hub for dialogue between Italy and the United States.
The project includes the recovery of historic architectural elements, the restoration of the Church of the Madonna del Rosario and a rare early 19th-century fresco, the conversion of an agricultural warehouse into artists’ studios, and the transformation of the olive grove into an open-air art park. At the heart of the initiative is an artist-in-residence program for young American artists, to build a lasting transatlantic cultural exchange.
The fundraiser—with a goal of $1,000,000—is managed through American Friends of Love Italy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which makes donations tax-deductible in the U.S. Donors receive editorial visibility on Inside Art and the Associated Medias international network, as well as exclusive benefits related to the Foundation’s Talent Prize and Art Symposium.
Contrada Guido is more than just a restoration project: it’s an opportunity to honor the memory of Calabrian families, reconnect Italian Americans with the land of their ancestors, and create a new center for international art and culture in Southern Italy.
Download the full presentation to learn about the project details, donation structure, and partnership opportunities.