CAMeC – Centro Arte Moderna e Contemporanea

CAMeC, La Spezia's Centre for Modern and Contemporary Art, preserves collections shaped by a painting prize and major private donations. Its holdings connect local artistic history with international twentieth-century movements.

Why it matters

The Premio del Golfo brought works into the city's collections through acquisition prizes. Giorgio Cozzani's donation added a broader international perspective, while Ferruccio and Anna Maria Battolini's gift strengthened the representation of the postwar Spezzino scene.

What to notice

Works associated with the prize include painting by artists such as Mario Sironi, Renato Guttuso and Emilio Vedova. The Cozzani holdings extend to figures including Man Ray, Enrico Baj, Robert Rauschenberg and Anselm Kiefer. The different origins of these collections reveal contrasting approaches to patronage and artistic selection.

Context and history

Marinetti and Fillia initiated the Premio del Golfo in 1933 within a Futurist cultural setting. Later editions resumed after the war, with another revival around the turn of the millennium. Cozzani's donation in 1998 added works gathered through decades of collecting, helping form the centre's varied modern-art inheritance.