Sponsors and Patrons
Palazzo Capponi-Incontri
Thanks to a generous donation from the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, in 1961 the Förderverein was able to purchase the Palazzo Capponi-Incontri in Via Giuseppe Giusti. In the 1960s the Fritz Thyssen Foundation awarded substantial grants towards the expansion of internationally active research institutions in Germany and abroad, in many cases assuming the full costs involved. Förderverein treasurer Alexander Kreuter led the negotiations with Ernst Coenen from the Fritz Thyssen Foundation over the purchase of the Palazzo Capponi-Incontri. The additional funds needed to renovate the building's interior were also provided by the Foundation, which provided DM 1.36 million in total. The costs of furnishing and equipping the new premises were assumed by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior.
Casa Rosselli
In 1972 the Volkswagen Foundation purchased the adjacent Casa Rosselli as an extension to the Institute and transferred it to the Förderverein that same year. Association treasurer Alexander Kreuter applied to Gotthard Gambke, the then general secretary of the Volkswagen Foundation, for funding on 21 January 1972, and on 2 November 1972 a grant of DM 1.2 million was approved. The additional costs of remodelling the interior were assumed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Science, to which the Institute, following its nationalization in 1971, now belonged.
Casa Zuccari
The former residence of painters Andrea del Sarto and Federico Zuccari (corner of Via Giuseppe Giusti/Via Gino Capponi) was bought in 1987 by Deutsche Bank AG. The purchase of the building was first proposed in 1985 in a memorandum. The support of the Deutsche Bank was secured thanks to the initiative of Max Seidel (Förderverein chairman), Herbert Beck (director of the Liebighaus in Frankfurt am Main) and Ralph P. Odendall (Förderverein treasurer). Due not least to the advocacy of Hermann J. Abs, the Board of Deutsche Bank generously agreed to supply the funds needed to buy the building, in order to then donate it to the Förderverein for the Institute’s use. On 24 May 1988 the Casa Zuccari in Florence was officially handed over to the Förderverein by Ulrich Weiss and Hermann J. Abs on behalf of Deutsche Bank. Among those present were German President Richard von Weizsäcker and Minister of Education and Science Heinz Riesenhuber, within whose portfolio responsibility for the Institute fell.
Between 1988 and 2001 a detailed proposal was drawn up for the restoration and use of the Casa Zuccari. The costs of the necessary building works were financed by generous donations from Fiat, Deutsche Bank AG, Bayer, Pirelli, Società Metallurgica Italiana, Max Mara Fashion Group, Bracco and Continental AG.