Culture and research

The Neri Foundation is a no-profit organization set up in 2005 and approved by the Italian Government.
It focuses its attention and research on the cities, with their rich history, as well as their complex future expectations. More specifically, the Foundation on-going research focus on the lighting and decorative objects in the cities is driven by the birth of the modern city, in the middle of the 19th century, which featured a high number of "street furniture". At the time, the city centre became a living space, socially shared and therefore a public place, thanks to the simple yet essential functions performed by a comprehensive range of products: providing light during the night, rest and relaxation, as well as security.

heritage

The Neri Foundation is as a unique and almost exclusive centre of research on metal history and production techniques, particularly on cast iron, as this material was used on a very large scale for the production of object that have provided light and decorated European cities (and extra-European cities) in the mid-19th century. 
A wide range of differently manufactured and originated item, collected over time and saved from destruction, is complemented by a comprehensive archive of documents, consisting of specific texts, foundry catalogues, vintage photographs.  
Within this historical context, the focus has been extended to modern cities, to their architectures, and to how abandoned spaces have been reused, to design and to the new challenges required by eco-compatibility.
 
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