More than six thousand visitors for the second year of operation of the Mestre International Sculpture Park housed in the garden of Villa Fürstenberg, headquarters of Banca Ifis. A number that triples that recorded in 2024, the first year it was open to the public. The growth in access is linked to theexpansion of the permanent collection, theincrease in visiting opportunities and the creation of a system of collaborations involving cultural realities, institutions and associations in the area.
In fact, during 2025, Villa Fürstenberg’s 22-hectare historic garden welcomed three new sculptures, bringing the total number of works on display to 25. The new installations are Versus by Tony Cragg, Draco Piscis by Agnes Questionmark and Dreams in Giza by Pascale Marthine Tayou. With these acquisitions, international artists of different generations and backgrounds join the itinerary, alongside the already present Fernando Botero, Annie Morris, Park Eun Sun, Igor Mitoraj, Manolo Valdés, Pablo Atchugarry, Pietro Consagra, Roberto Barni, Julio Larraz, Philip Colbert, Jaume Plensa, Giuseppe Penone, Nico Vascellari and Davide Rivalta.
Cultural offerings have also been expanded byextending the hours and modes of visitation. Alongside the traditional free Sunday openings, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., in 2025 extraordinary evening openings were introduced one Saturday a month, from 6 to 10:30 p.m., with reservations through the Ifis Art app, which has exceeded 2,000 downloads. This tool has facilitated access to the park and made the management of visits smoother, contributing to the participation of new audiences. In parallel, all works have been equipped with braille captions, allowing even people with visual impairments to directly enjoy the sculptural journey through touch.
Another key axis of development has been collaborations with associations, cultural bodies and institutions. In May 2025, a three-year collaboration was launched with Associazione Genesi, founded by Letizia Moratti, with the aim of promoting social inclusion through art. The first project carried out under this partnership involved Pascale Marthine Tayou with an exhibition articulated in two venues: The Genius of the Eagle in the courtyard of the Venice Academy of Fine Arts and Dreams in Giza in the International Sculpture Park. The work installed in Mestre, composed of metal tubes crossed by colored ovoid elements, establishes a visual and conceptual connection with the Venetian project, emphasizing the diffusion of art in public space and its connection with everyday life.
Also in the name ofinclusion, a new program was inaugurated in June 2025 to open the Park to groups and associations engaged in social work. The goal is to offer young people, adults and people with disabilities the opportunity to approach contemporary sculpture through dedicated guided tours, set in the context of the park with its paths and ancient trees. The initiative started with a pilot event organized with the Relief Group of the Association Parkinsoniani Associati Città Metropolitana di Venezia ODV, followed by a second event with the Social Cooperative Itaca, engaged in supporting young people with intellectual disabilities. These special visits aim to make the Park a truly accessible space open to categories of the public often excluded from traditional cultural circuits.
2025 was also a year full of cultural events, involving artists, scholars and institutions nationwide. The calendar included events related to the Public Program of the Italian Pavilion of the Venice Biennale 2025, workshops and study days. These included the event dedicated to Art and Culture as an Asset for the Innovation of Made in Italy, organized in collaboration with Confindustria Veneto, and the study day entitled Sculpture Parks, focused on the role of sculpture parks in the interaction between nature, art, landscape, slow tourism and territorial regeneration.
On June 1, the Park hosted the first event of the Public Program of the Italian Pavilion of the Architecture Biennale 2025. On this occasion, Agnes Questionmark’s sculpture Draco Piscis was unveiled, accompanied by videos projected at the Pavilion at the Arsenale. Artist Thomas De Falco presented a special performance, The Earth Still Sings, created especially for the Villa Fürstenberg space. Also in June, during the Venice art night organized by Ca’ Foscari, the Park welcomed a poetic performance by Abel Ferrara, who recited a text by Gabriele Tinti entitled Icaro - Gabriele Tinti & Abel Ferrara. The season’s program also included educational activities dedicated to children between the ages of 5 and 10, such as the Nascondone with Nico Vascellari and Voli Fantastici workshops, the latter held in collaboration with the Štěpán Zavřel Foundation in Sarmede and curated by illustrator Martina Tonello.
From Sept. 18 to Nov. 30, 2025, the Park also hosted the exhibition Space of the Possible, created with the Order of Architects of Rome and Province. The project involved the creation of three exhibition areas with the intention of representing architecture as a practice of experimentation and exploring the relationship between humans, nature and technology through a dynamic and interactive path. The inauguration was accompanied by a panel discussion entitled Beauty, Creativity and Artificial Intelligence: Italy Imagining the Future, part of the cycle of study days promoted by Banca Ifis and the Ministry of Culture’s Directorate General for Contemporary Creativity.
The year’s program concluded with the study day Le residenze nelle pratiche artistiche contemporanee, organized in synergy with the Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea of the Ministry of Culture. The meeting provided an opportunity to analyze the different forms that artistic residencies take, delve into their typologies, specificities and perspectives, with particular attention to the Italian context, highlighting their role in experimental training and active participation of communities.
According to Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio, president of Banca Ifis, the International Sculpture Park represents an example of the institution’s vision, which is oriented toward a form of economy that integrates development, social responsibility and community enhancement. “The International Sculpture Park,” he said, “is a place that is constantly evolving and open to the public: an example of our way of banking marked by social economy, capable of combining the generation of profit with the creation of value for our communities. A synthesis, which has always been in our DNA, and which I will continue to carry forward in the wake of a family tradition of solid values and long-term vision, with an eye on the future.”
The International Sculpture Park will reopen in the spring, confirming the desire to maintain a stable and accessible offer. It will be visitable on weekends by reservation through the Ifis Art app, while the new program of activities will include tours, meetings, workshops and other events with the aim of further strengthening the Park’s role as a place dedicated to culture, contemporary art and inclusion.
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| Banca Ifis Sculpture Park closes 2025 with over 6 thousand visitors |
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