The Center for the Arts takes shape in Lucca. Construction begins on the new museum hub: over 10 million in investments

Construction has begun on the Centro delle Arti (Center for the Arts) in Lucca, Italy, a new museum and exhibition hub located in the former Cinema Nazionale and former Manifattura Tabacchi social club in Piazzale Verdi. The project is led by the Fondazione Centro delle Arti Lucca ETS, established in 2024 by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca and the Fondazione Centro Studi sull'Arte Licia e Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti ETS. With an investment of over €10 million, the 2,500-square-meter historic building will be restored and repurposed to include exhibition spaces, educational facilities, and event areas, while preserving original 18th-century decorations. The architectural design is by Too Studio, and the center is scheduled to open in 2029.

This project matters because it transforms a layered historic site—once a hospital, kindergarten, tobacco factory social club, and cinema—into a contemporary cultural institution of international ambition. By merging the collections of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca (including works by De Simone, Civitali, Paolini, Batoni, Guidotti, and Kaufmann) with the archival and methodological resources of the Fondazione Ragghianti, the Centro delle Arti aims to become a reference point for northwestern Tuscany and beyond. The initiative reflects a growing trend in Italy of converting historic urban spaces into dynamic art centers, balancing heritage conservation with modern museological innovation.