Nel Chianti c’è una cantina che opera dopo opera sta diventando un museo d’arte contemporanea
The Antinori family, which has produced wine for over 600 years and collected art for 26 generations, has expanded its contemporary art program at its Chianti winery. The Antinori Art Project, launched in 2012, will reach ten major commissions by 2026, with the latest being Armin Linke's photographic project "Sampling the Vineyards." The 58,000-square-meter cellar, designed by Marco Casamonti Archea, hosts site-specific works by artists including Rosa Barba, Elisabetta Benassi, Sam Falls, Tomas Saraceno, and Stefano Arienti, curated by Ilaria Bonacossa.
This matters because it exemplifies a growing trend of family-owned wineries functioning as contemporary art museums, blending cultural patronage with agritourism. The Antinori project shows how historic brands can use art commissioning to deepen their territorial identity and attract international visitors, while offering artists unique contexts for site-specific work. It also highlights the role of private patronage in sustaining contemporary art production outside traditional museum structures.