MIA Foundation

Name

MIA Foundation

Legal name

Fondazione MIA

Website

https://fondazionemia.it

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Heritage Management

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212), Libraries and Archives (51921), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB), Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations (BPAGAHAD), Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF), Places of Worship & Religious Facilities Operations (Cemeteries, Retreat Centers, Pilgrimage Sites) (BPAGAJAL)

Keywords

• Heritage site management
• Cultural foundation services
• Historical preservation
• Concert venue rentals
• Social housing management

Headquarters

HQ city

Bergamo

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. 5 per mille (Tax Donation Program): Italian taxpayers can designate 5 per mille of their IRPEF tax to Fondazione MIA by providing the foundation's fiscal code (80016630164). This represents a government-subsidized donation mechanism that redirects a portion of personal income tax to eligible non-profit cultural institutions.
2. Public Contributions and Subsidies: The foundation receives direct financial contributions from public administrations including the Comune di Bergamo, Regione Lombardia, Provincia di Bergamo, and national agencies (Agenzia delle Entrate). In 2024, the foundation received €10,462.96 in grants and €79,284.67 in service reimbursement from public entities. Additional historical contributions include €55,000 from Comune di Bergamo (2019), €100,000 (2018), and €35,000 for COVID-19 emergency housing support (2020).
3. Hall and Venue Rental: Sala Piatti and Sala Locatelli at Domus Magna are made available for concerts, events, and private functions under regulated usage terms. Rental income is generated from third parties including the Istituto Musicale Donizetti, Teatro Donizetti, and event organizers. The Basilica's Tesoro (treasury) and matroneo are accessible via permanent exhibition.
4. Social Housing Rentals: The foundation manages a portfolio of apartments and units (case ed appartamenti) for social housing purposes, including managed rentals in Bergamo and a partnership with Comune di Comun Nuovo for protected mini-apartments (Casa della MIA). Revenue comes from tenant rents under social housing arrangements.
5. Property Sale Transactions: The foundation conducts competitive property sales of its real estate assets, such as the sale of a 56.66 sqm furnished apartment plus 13 sqm garage at Via Malj Tabajani 2, Bergamo, through public competitive bidding processes.
6. Cultural Service Contracts: The foundation earns fees for managing cultural services on behalf of municipalities, including library management (Biblioteca Musicale Gaetano Donizetti, a branch of Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai) and the administration of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, the Cappella Musicale, and the Museo Donizettiano.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Fondazione MIA is a 750+ year-old nonprofit cultural foundation that manages three historic heritage complexes in Bergamo, Italy: the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, the Monastero di Astino, and the Domus Magna. The foundation operates a museum (Museo Donizettiano), a 30,000-volume music library (Biblioteca Musicale Gaetano Donizetti), concert and event halls (Sala Piatti and Sala Locatelli), and a professional choir (Cappella Musicale). It also runs social housing programs, an award-winning agro-environmental restoration project (Valle d'Astino), and accepts donations through the Italian 5 per mille tax designation program.

Product overview

Fondazione MIA (Fondazione Congregazione della Misericordia Maggiore di Bergamo) is a cultural foundation managing a portfolio of heritage sites and cultural services in Bergamo, Italy. The foundation operates as a platform of interconnected cultural offerings, centered on three main properties: the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (a historic church with the renowned intarsia choir by Lorenzo Lotto), the Monastero di Astino (a restored 12th-century monastery complex), and the Domus Magna (historic headquarters). The product portfolio includes the Museo Donizettiano (the world's only museum dedicated to composer Gaetano Donizetti), the Biblioteca Musicale Gaetano Donizetti (30,000+ volume music library), Sala Piatti (concert hall), Sala Locatelli (event space), and the Cappella Musicale della Basilica (13-voice professional choir). Additional services include social housing (Case ed appartamenti), 360-degree virtual tours, cultural events programming, and the Valle d'Astino agro-environmental project. The foundation does not offer software products but provides cultural, educational, and heritage preservation services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore A historic church in Bergamo administered by Fondazione MIA under a 1449 municipal mandate. Features the Lorenzo Lotto intarsia choir, the Tesoro (treasury), the Cappella Musicale, and the matroneo. Open daily 9:00–18:00 with guided tours and 360° virtual tours available.
• Monastero di Astino A restored 12th-century Vallombrosan monastery complex (founded 1107) in the Parco Regionale dei Colli di Bergamo. Features the Church of Santo Sepolcro, Cascina Mulino, cloister, refectory, and permanent exhibitions. Hosts cultural events, art exhibitions, children's theater, and agro-environmental projects. Operated via wholly-owned subsidiary Valle d'Astino srl.
• Domus Magna The historic "Grand House" of the Misericordia Maggiore in Bergamo Città Alta (Via Arena 9), housing Sala Piatti concert hall, Sala Locatelli event space, the Museo Donizettiano, the Biblioteca Musicale Gaetano Donizetti, and BACO contemporary art space. Serves as the foundation's cultural programming hub.
• Museo Donizettiano The only museum in the world dedicated to composer Gaetano Donizetti, featuring portraits, letters, manuscripts, autograph scores, personal objects, pianos, and multimedia touch-screen stations. For music scholars, students, and cultural visitors.
• Biblioteca Musicale Gaetano Donizetti A music library on the second floor of Domus Magna housing over 30,000 volumes including manuscripts, printed editions, the 1,300-volume Legato Piatti-Lochis, approximately 2,200 manuscript pieces of sacred music from the Cappella of Santa Maria Maggiore (15th–20th century), and the Bindo Missiroli collection of 3,600+ opera scores. Open Mon and Fri 14:45–17:15, Wed 9:00–12:30.
• Sala Piatti A concert hall at Domus Magna renowned for performances by Miecio Horzowski, Pablo Casals, and Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. Available for rental to concert organizers and cultural institutions under published usage regulations. Hosts classical music performances and the Cappella Musicale's concert programming.
• Sala Locatelli A multi-purpose hall at Via Arena 9 (approximately 115 sqm plus service rooms). Maximum capacity of 99 people standing or 45 seated. Available for events under published regulations with usage applications evaluated by the foundation.
• Cappella Musicale della Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore A prestigious musical ensemble of 13 professional singers (8 title-holding and 5 substitutes) providing liturgical music services every Sunday and on holidays at the Basilica, plus concerts. Features organist Roberto Mucci (since 2004). Historical partner with Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali 'G. Donizetti'.
• Virtual Tour della Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore An immersive 360-degree panoramic virtual tour covering 9 sections of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, accessible via the foundation's website. Provides remote cultural access to the Basilica's interior, supporting cultural tourism and heritage education.
• Case ed appartamenti (Social Housing) Social housing services providing rental apartments for low-income individuals and families, including units in Via Malj Tabajani and Via Longuelo in Bergamo, plus the Casa della MIA protected mini-apartments in Comun Nuovo. Aligned with the foundation's 1265 founding mission to assist the needy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Premio Nazionale del Paesaggio 2021 and Italian candidacy for the European Landscape Prize of the Council of Europe
• +4 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

26 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Comune di BergamocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2021Primary institutional partner in the Valle d'Astino project and in the management of the Biblioteca Musicale Gaetano Donizetti (agreement of May 4, 2006). Contributed €7,000 in 2024 for the Bergamo Brescia Capitale della Cultura photographic exhibition at Astino. Historically contributed €55,000 (2019) and €100,000 (2018) for social and cultural projects. Fondazione MIA administers the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore under a long-standing mandate from the comune.
• Regione LombardiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-financing partner of the Valle d'Astino project through regional co-funding programs. Co-financed the Quartiere 2 housing project with €56,033.91 (2019). Part of the institutional network supporting the foundation's cultural and environmental initiatives.
• Parco dei Colli di BergamocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating institution in the Valle d'Astino landscape project. The Astino valley falls within the Parco Regionale dei Colli di Bergamo, established in 1977. Vice President Angelo Colleoni acknowledged for support. Joint efforts aim to protect biodiversity and promote sustainable landscape management.
• Centro Studi sul Territorio, Università degli Studi di BergamocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partner in the Valle d'Astino project, led by Prof. Riccardo Rao. Provides scholarly expertise for landscape planning, historical analysis, and environmental monitoring of the Astino valley restoration.
• Orto Botanico di Bergamo 'Lorenzo Rota'coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBotanical garden partner managing a branch at Valle d'Astino as part of the agro-environmental project. Directed by Gabriele Rinaldi. Contributes to biodiversity conservation, plant species monitoring, and educational programming related to the valley's ecological restoration.
• Provincia di BergamosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitutional partner in the Valle d'Astino project, providing administrative and political support. Contributed to the restoration and reopening of the monastery for Expo 2015.
• Azienda Agricola OIKOS Cooperativa SocialecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganic farming cooperative assigned to manage the vineyard at Valle d'Astino. Based in Villa D'Almè (BG). Operates under the Ethical Charter of the Astino project, producing wine according to organic and biodynamic methods.
• APAB (Associazione Produttori Agricoli Biologici della Valle d'Astino)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of organic agricultural producers in the Valle d'Astino. President Enrico Antignati. Coordinates organic farming activities across the project area, ensuring compliance with the Ethical Charter and agro-environmental regulations.
• Società Agricola ELAVsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural company assigned to cultivate hops at Valle d'Astino. Also operates Birrificio indipendente ELAV S.r.l., a craft brewery. Contributes to the agricultural diversification and food-and-beverage ecosystem of the Astino project.
• Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali 'G. Donizetti'supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBergamo's state music conservatory collaborates with the Cappella Musicale della Basilica by providing selected students for additional liturgical choir formation. Historical partner since the institute's founding in 1806 by Giovanni Simone Mayr with support from the Opera Pia Misericordia Maggiore.
• Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai, BergamocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership formalized May 4, 2006 establishing the Biblioteca Musicale Gaetano Donizetti as a detached section of the Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai. Consolidates music collections from multiple Bergamo institutions (Istituto Musicale, Museo Donizettiano, Teatro Donizetti, Cappella Musicale) into a unified research service.
• Teatro DonizettisupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBergamo's opera house contributes to the unified music collections project (Polo Musicale di Bergamo). Reimbursed Fondazione MIA €250 in 2022 for sanitization of Sala Piatti for its use.
• Valle d'Astino srlcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWholly-owned subsidiary of Fondazione MIA responsible for operating the Monastero di Astino. Registered at Via Malj Tabajani 4, Bergamo. Led by a Board of Directors including President Fabio Bombardieri and Vice President Luciana Gattinoni. Legally distinct entity managing the complex's daily operations, events, and agricultural partnerships.
• Accademia di Astino srlsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRestaurant and hospitality operator at the Monastero di Astino complex, managing dining services for visitors and event attendees under the Ethical Charter framework.
• Circolino (Astino)supportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCatering and hospitality operator in the Astino cloister and cellar areas, open Tue–Fri 17:00–24:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–24:00. Contact: [email protected], tel. 335-6726935.
• Cavour Estivo da VittoriosupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRestaurant operator managing the Astino cloister and garden (brolo) for lunch and dinner service. Open Tue–Fri from 17:00, Sat–Sun for lunch (9:00–15:00) and dinner (18:00–24:00). Contact: [email protected], tel. 331-6824162.
• Slow Food Bergamo / Associazione SlowcookingsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood culture organizations involved in Astino's educational and gastronomic programming, promoting sustainable food traditions and organic local products as part of the Valle d'Astino project's cultural calendar.
• Seminario Permanente Luigi VeronellisupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood and wine culture organization partnering with the Astino project for gastronomic events and educational programming related to the valley's organic agricultural production.
• Azienda Agricola Arrigoni BeatricesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmall fruits producer assigned to the Piccoli Frutti (small fruits) plot at Valle d'Astino under the agro-environmental project.
• Azienda Agricola SANT'ANNAsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrchard operator managing the Frutteto (fruit orchard) plot at Valle d'Astino. Based in Sant'Omobono Terme (BG).
• CASTEL CERRETO Società Cooperativa AgricolasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural cooperative assigned to the Orticoltura (vegetable garden) plot at Valle d'Astino. Based in Treviglio (BG). Operates under organic farming principles.
• Società Agricola Santa LaurasupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany assigned to medicinal and aromatic plants cultivation at Valle d'Astino as part of the project's agricultural diversification.
• Azienda Agricola Matteo MoiolisupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFarm assigned to arable crops, apple and pear orchards, and beekeeping (Seminativi, Meli, Peri, Api) at Valle d'Astino. Based in Scanzorosciate (BG).
• AIPOL (Associazione Interprovinciale Produttori Olivicoltori Lombardi)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOlive oil producers association assigned to the Oliveto (olive grove) at Valle d'Astino, in partnership with Azienda Agricola Il Castelletto. Contributes to the reintroduction of traditional olive cultivation in the Bergamo hills.
• Comune di Comun NuovosupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partner in social housing. Fondazione MIA operates protected mini-apartments (Casa della MIA) in Comun Nuovo under a 2008 agreement, with the comune contributing €8,000–€10,000 annually toward housing management costs.
• Associazione Ab HarmoniaesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural association organizing musical events at Astino, including the 'Giovani talenti femminili in musica' concert featuring Soroptimist International d'Italia 2025 award winners, held in the Refectory of the Monastery of Astino.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• National Trust (UK): UK heritage preservation charity managing historic houses, gardens, and cultural landscapes with comparable reliance on public funding, membership/donations, and venue/event income. Different geography but structurally analogous heritage-nonprofit operator.
• Historic Royal Palaces: UK independent charity managing unoccupied royal palaces (Tower of London, Hampton Court, Kensington Palace). Comparable model of stewarding historically significant heritage sites with public access, retail, and event revenue.

Direct peers

• Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi: Florence-based cultural foundation managing Palazzo Strozzi for major art exhibitions and cultural programming. Comparable nonprofit heritage-palazzo operator model with event-driven revenue.
• Fondazione Giorgio Cini: Venice-based nonprofit foundation operating on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, managing a major cultural and academic complex including the Biblioteca del monastero, auditorium for concerts/conferences, and the Fondazione Cini's heritage restoration programs. Most structurally analogous Italian cultural-heritage foundation.
• Fabbrica di San Pietro in Vaticano: Vatican entity responsible for the administration, preservation, and conservation of St. Peter's Basilica and its liturgical furnishings. Direct analogue in administering a major basilica with continuous stewardship and cultural-tourism function.
• Fondazione per la Conservazione e il Restauro "La Venaria Reale": Piedmont-based foundation managing the Reggia di Venaria Reale UNESCO site — large heritage complex with cultural programming, restoration school, and agro-environmental grounds. Comparable scale and operating model for cultural heritage + landscape regeneration.
• Fondazione Querini Stampalia: Venice-based 19th-century cultural foundation managing a historic palazzo, library/archives, museum, and cultural programming including Carlo Scarpa-designed spaces. Comparable mix of library, museum, and event programming inside a heritage building.
• Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri: Città di Castello-based cultural foundation operating heritage palazzi for museum and exhibition programming. Smaller-scale Italian cultural foundation with similar heritage programming model.

Others

• Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane (ADSI): Italian national association representing owners of historic private residences; relevant ecosystem partner and policy advocate for historic building stewardship in Italy.

Broad incumbents

• Capitoline Museums (Musei Capitolini): Rome's municipal museum system operating one of the world's oldest public museum collections. A larger, government-operated heritage institution serving as a benchmark for scale and cultural authority in Italian museum operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/fondazione.misericordia.maggiore.mia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fondazione-mia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about MIA Foundation