Our mission
To support today's art, creating opportunities for the production, promotion, and sharing of contemporary art.
To create premises and opportunities for new experimentation within the context of Palazzo Strozzi.
To develop active participation and sharing, with special attention to younger audiences.
The Board of Directors
ANDY BIANCHEDI
Andy Bianchedi is an Italian entrepreneur and philanthropist who studied in Milan and has worked for years in the energy sector.
Since 2017, he has been running his 'Family Office', dealing with real estate activities, financial investments, and the management of affiliate companies in different product sectors. As a philanthropist, he has been supporting the Community of San Patrignano for years, considering this activity a "fil rouge" that proudly links his being side by side with the less fortunate who need help.
A passionate connoisseur and collector of art, since 2020 he has been the promoter of the Palazzo Strozzi Future Art project with the Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati (in memory of his mother), which supports initiatives by Italian and international contemporary artists for the benefit of creativity and social inclusion.
Traveler and yachtsman, he is on the Board of the Yacht Club Italiano, the Strozzi Foundation, and Dynamo Camp.
ANTONIO RIVA
Today one of the greatest and most recognised creators of wedding dresses, Antonio’s particular sensitivity deeply interprets today's world with the aim of making every woman feel special. A lifelong friend of Hillary Merkus Recordati, he has dedicated his latest collection to her, reviving the luminous memory of her incredible modernity.
Antonio Riva’s universe found in that virtuous borderline between Renaissance and contemporaneity is represented daily in the two ateliers of Palazzo Toschi Corneliani in Milan, and Palazzo Grazioli in Rome.
For 25 years, his artistic vision has made his extraordinary style as an independent couturier unmistakable, capable of enhancing femininity in all its kaleidoscopic aspects.
MAURIZIO FERRARA
Maurizio Ferrara, who was born in Benevento, is married and has a daughter. After completing high school, he moved to Rome where he attended and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts.
He then collaborated in various capacities with a number of art galleries in the capital, before moving to Milan in the mid-1990s.
Maintaining and cultivating various interests in the field of the figurative arts, he has been the administrative manager of a major law firm for over 15 years where he has also become a partner.
CARLO CECCARELLI (Secretary of the Fondazione)
Born in Rome, passionate about music and sport, he worked for 25 years between Rome, Milan, Turin, and Moscow for the most important international advertising agencies (McCann Erickson, Tonic Ecom, JWT, Leo Burnett). From 2010 to 2020 he was Deloitte's Consulting internal communications manager, from 2007 to 2020, head of fundraising for the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, and since January 2021, he has been Senior Advisor for communications for Arthur D. Little.
Since 2022, he has been an Advisor for the Drifter Group, responsible for communication at Antonio Riva Milano, and on the Board of Directors of Telesia. He regularly teaches communication in various universities and private institutes.