Founded in 2002 at the behest of Luciano and Agnese Sorlini, the Foundation is a cultural body recognised by the Regional government of Lombardy. Located at Carzago di Calvagese della Riviera, a small town in the hills immediately beyond Lake Garda (between Salò and Lonato), it aims to make available to the public the great collection of art works that the founders initially put together to adorn their homes. Produced mainly in the Venetian Republic, the works in the Foundation’s collection include around two hundred paintings dating from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. At present these hang in the above-mentioned Palazzo di Carzago, in the Venetian Palazzo Grimani dell’Albero d’Oro (on the Grand Canal) and the Castello di Montegalda (in Vicenza). These latter two buildings themselves reveal the particular care and passion that Luciano Sorlini has put into acquiring and restoring historical properties that once belonged to the Grimani family, with which he now feels a sort of spiritual bond. The Foundation’s gallery will be located on the piano nobile of the Carzago building, a typical example of seventeenth-century Brescian architecture, which is at present still inhabited and undergoing restoration. For a trial period the public can already, by appointment, visit some of the rooms, wherein hang works by Lambert Sustris, Andrea Vicentino, Antonio Zanchi, Francesco Ruschi, Antonio Pellegrini, Antonio Balestra, Antonio Bellucci, Gianantonio and Francesco Guardi, Gaspare Diziani and Alessandro Longhi. One room, dedicated to the Grimani family itself, contains interesting drawings for the fortifications of the island of Corfù, where Francesco Grimani governed as Provveditore Generale da Mar before become Capitano [Military Governor] of Brescia. The great interest shown in the scheme of making some works available to the public has been a key factor in deciding the founders to set up the permanent home for their collection at Carzago. In effect, the Sorlini Foundation will become an important cultural body for the entire Brecia area, housing not only a public art gallery but also an original cultural centre that will hold seminars, conferences and other events. Plans are being evaluated for the creation of a library specialised in the history of art, which will be open to both students and scholars who wish to study the relation between the art of the Venetian region and of Lombardy – a subject which is amply illustrated by the works in the Sorlini Collection itself. Combining paintings, furniture, sculpture, bronzes and other quality furnishings, this home-museum will play an active part in cultural interchange with other such bodies within northern Italy – for example, to remain solely with the Brescia/Lake Garda area, the Vittoriale degli Italiani and the Fondazione Ugo da Como di Lonato (located just a short distance from Carzago itself). The visits by appointment to the Fondazione Luciano e Agnese Sorlini are at present restricted to small groups (less than 20 persons).