Fondazione Guido d'Arezzo
The Fondazione Guido d’Arezzo is a non-profit organisation that brings together all the major cultural realities in the Arezzo area and transforms ideas and proposals from artists and associations into services and projects for the public.
Philosophy & Mission
It was legally established on August 25, 1983, through a joint initiative of the Tuscany Region, the Municipality and the Province of Arezzo, and the Association of Friends of Music of Arezzo. It obtained recognition as a private legal entity with a decree by the President of the Tuscany Regional Council on July 25, 1984, and began its activities in 1985.
The Municipality of Arezzo, through a deliberative act of the municipal council n. 21/2018, approved the statutory modification of the existing Guido d’Arezzo Foundation in order to confer upon it all the functions that were carried out until the date of the definitive recognition of the control body of the Tuscany Region, or until June 4, 2018, by the competent Municipal office.
The Foundation, therefore, pursues with coherence and continuity the historical functions and specific missions of the individual cultural structures of Arezzo, ensuring their autonomy, the aims of preservation, maintenance, and enhancement of cultural assets, as well as the management and valorization of museum, theater, musical, and cultural activities in general.
The purpose of the Foundation is also to extend and consolidate the experience already gained, starting from 1952, by the Association of Friends of Music of Arezzo, with the organization of the International Polyphonic Competition Guido d’Arezzo and, since 1974, with the International Composition Competition Guido d’Arezzo. These are joined by the competition “New Voices for Guido”, especially for school choir ensembles, the National Composition Competition “Canta Petrarca”, aimed at valorizing the work of the great poet from Arezzo. Furthermore, on June 21st, the Foundation organizes an event dedicated to the figure of Guido d’Arezzo, the creator of the modern musical writing method.
The Foundation also focuses on education, through the management of a three-year school for choir directors, and publishing, by publishing a bilingual magazine that deals with historical and musicological topics in the specific field of choral theory and practice.
Goals and purposes
Within its objectives, the Foundation aims to:
– Improve the public’s enjoyment of cultural assets and museum, theater, and musical activities;
– Organize exhibitions, cultural events, as well as studies, research, scientific initiatives, educational or informative activities, also in collaboration with the school system and with Italian and foreign cultural and research institutions;
– Develop and promote the dissemination of musical culture, especially of polyphonic vocal music from a cultural and educational perspective;
– Organize events, competitions, and cultural activities, also related to particular aspects of assets, such as recovery and restoration operations;
– Organize cultural itineraries, identified through the connection between different cultural and environmental assets, also in collaboration with tourism authorities and organizations.
