Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca

The foundation is governed by a President — currently Massimo Marsili, appointed in April 2024 — along with a Board of Directors that includes Vice President Raffaele Domenici and Director Maria Teresa Perelli. Investment policy is set internally by the board, which oversees a mix of direct holdings, fund commitments, and real estate assets. The foundation operates independently but remains part of the ACRI network, the national association that provides coordination and shared standards for Italian foundations of banking origin.

The foundation was created in 1992 when Italy's Amato Law separated the philanthropic and banking functions of historic savings banks. The original Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca's banking operations were transferred to a joint-stock company, while the foundation received the share capital and the social mandate. The bank itself eventually became part of the Banco BPM group through a series of mergers, and former foundation president Marcello Bertocchini currently sits on Banco BPM's consultation pact committee, illustrating the ongoing informal links between the entities.

The foundation pursues both direct investments and fund commitments. Its strategy spans buyout, venture capital, and expansion-stage deals, alongside fund-of-funds allocations. It also co-invests with institutional partners, as demonstrated by its collaboration with the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa on the Proximity Care project. The direct investment portfolio is weighted toward Tuscan enterprises and real estate, reflecting a local-first deployment philosophy.

The foundation owns several significant properties in Lucca and its province, including the Palazzo San Micheletto, the Complesso Monumentale di San Francesco, and the Oratorio degli Angeli Custodi — all used for cultural, commercial, and mixed-use purposes. It also holds residential assets like the Cohousing del Moro in Lucca and the Housing Sociale Stiava development in Massarosa. These properties generate income while serving as venues for the foundation's own cultural programming and grantee activities.

Grant-making is split between direct distributions from the mother foundation and several subsidiary philanthropic vehicles with focused missions. The Fondazione per la Coesione Sociale handles welfare and social inclusion programs, while the Fondazione Lucchese per l'Alta Formazione e la Ricerca supports advanced training and scientific research. Other named entities include the Fondazione Barsanti e Matteucci and the Fondazione Casa Lucca. This structure allows the foundation to ring-fence long-term commitments to specific sectors.

Proximity Care is a socio-health initiative developed in partnership with the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa, one of Italy's leading research universities. The project focuses on bringing healthcare services closer to underserved communities in Tuscany. For the foundation, it represents a direct intersection between investment in applied research and its core grant-making mission in territorial welfare.

Unlike a US endowment that typically separates the investment office from grant-making, the Italian banking-foundation model interweaves both functions under a single board. The Lucca foundation also holds an unusually high proportion of directly owned local real estate and private investments on its balance sheet, compared to the globally diversified, liquid-portfolio model common in the US. This makes its financial health directly correlated with the economic cycle of the Tuscan region, a constraint that US endowments largely avoid through geographic diversification.