Fossoli Foundation

The Fossoli Foundation (Fondazione Fossoli, also known as Fondazione ex Campo Fossoli) is an Italian non-profit cultural institution based in Carpi, in the province of Modena. It was established in January 1996 by the Comune di Carpi and the Associazione Amici del Museo Monumento al Deportato, and since 2009 it has been headquartered in the former synagogue of Carpi. Its mission is to preserve and transmit the historical memory of the former Fossoli concentration camp and of the deportation of political and racial prisoners during World War II. The Foundation manages the ex Campo di Concentramento di Fossoli and the Museo Monumento al Deportato politico e razziale, taking direct responsibility for their operation since 2001. It conducts historical and documentary research on the camp's various phases, organizes guided visits, exhibitions, teacher-training courses, and cultural exchanges, and publishes the Quaderni di Fossoli series. Its educational activities extend to projects such as "Un treno per Auschwitz." The Foundation is recognized by Italy's Ministry of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, which granted it legal personality in 1998. It is a non-profit entity governed by a scientific committee composed of academics and historians. Each year the Foundation welcomes approximately 30,000 visitors to the museum-monument and the former camp, with school groups forming the majority. Its work covers not only the camp's most tragic phase—the sorting of prisoners for deportation—but also later historical periods, including the Centro raccolta profughi stranieri (1945–1947), the Nomadelfia community founded by don Zeno Saltini (1948–1953), and the Villaggio San Marco for exiles from Zone B of the Free Territory of Trieste (1954). Through conservation, research, and education, the Fossoli Foundation serves as a key institution of memory and civic education in Italy.

The Fossoli Foundation was constituted in January 1996 by the Comune di Carpi and the Associazione Amici del Museo Monumento al Deportato. Its creation responded to the need for a permanent institutional body to preserve the memory of the former Fossoli concentration camp and the Museo Monumento al Deportato politico e razziale. In 1998, Italy's Ministry of Cultural and Environmental Heritage recognized the Foundation with legal personality, formalizing its public-interest role. Since 2001, the Foundation has directly managed both the ex Campo di Concentramento di Fossoli and the Museo Monumento. In 2009, it moved its headquarters to the former synagogue of Carpi. Over the years, its scope has broadened from the camp's deportation phase to include other historical periods: the Centro raccolta profughi stranieri (1945–1947), the Nomadelfia community founded by don Zeno Saltini (1948–1953), and the Villaggio San Marco for exiles from Zone B of the Free Territory of Trieste (1954). The Foundation also maintains a scientific committee of academics and historians and carries out editorial activities, notably the Quaderni di Fossoli series.

• 2009

  Moves headquarters to the former synagogue of Carpi.

• 2001

  Takes direct management of the ex Campo di Concentramento di Fossoli and the Museo Monumento al Deportato politico e razziale.

• 1998

  Recognized with legal personality by the Ministry of Cultural and Environmental Heritage.

• 1996

  Foundation constituted in January by the Comune di Carpi and the Associazione Amici del Museo Monumento al Deportato.

Non-profit cultural foundation dedicated to Holocaust and deportation memory, historical research, and civic education.

• Quaderni di Fossoli

  Publication series on the history of the Fossoli camp.

• Guided visits to the Museo Monumento and ex Campo di Fossoli

  Educational visits involving about 30,000 visitors per year.

• Un treno per Auschwitz project

  Educational project on deportation destinations.

1. 1Fossoli Foundation - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Fondazione Fossoli - Wikipedia (Italian)it.wikipedia.org
3. 3Official websitefondazionefossoli.org