In the hidden heart of Naples, where the city’s popular soul beats, just steps from the Cathedral and the Treasure of San Gennaro, the presence of the MADRE Museum is also an opportunity to reshape the tourist vocation of a neighborhood rich in social values to be recovered and cultural assets to be rediscovered.
In March 2003, the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and the Unified Conference of Regions and Local Authorities signed the Pact for Contemporary Art, aimed at promoting the increase of public heritage, deciding to establish a network of centers of excellence for the promotion of contemporary art.
In accordance with this agreement, in 2005 the Campania Region purchased the Donnaregina Palace with European Community funds intending to establish the first regional museum in Campania capable of competing with internationally renowned museum institutions.
On June 10, 2005, MADRE inaugurated its spaces with the opening of site-specific installations in the rooms of the first floor. This was followed, in December 2005, by the inauguration of the historic collection housed on the second floor.
Finally, in April 2006, the major retrospective dedicated to Jannis Kounellis marked the public opening of the third-floor rooms intended for temporary exhibitions.
The collection includes works by the most important contemporary artists, both Italian and international: Jeff Koons, Anish Kapoor, Mimmo Paladino, Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Richard Serra, Robert Rauschenberg.
