A medieval monastery ruin in Piedmont's wine country is set to become a free public art trail. Fondazione Vezza, founded by Piedmontese entrepreneur Sandra Vezza and her son Charley, will open next September in Monforte d'Alba, a village in the Langhe hills around 60 kilometres southeast of Turin, with two large site-specific works inaugurating the project.

The trail will wind through woodland on Colle San Pietro hill, taking in the ruins of the monastery of San Pietro, an early medieval complex first documented in 1014. The opening commissions come from the American artist Kathleen Ryan and the Italian sculptor Alessandro Pessoli. Over roughly the next decade, one or more artists a year will be invited to respond to the site, its paths, its woodland and its history, so that the route grows gradually into a permanent outdoor collection.

Flavio del Monte, formerly director of institutional relations at the Massimo de Carlo gallery in Milan, will oversee the foundation. The Vezzas are funding production of the works, with budgets kept confidential, and every piece will be installed permanently on site. Entry will be free and open to everyone. Supporters of the project include the Comune di Monforte, the Comune di Milano and Gagosian gallery.

The Vezzas are best known in the design world. In 2022 they founded the Italian Radical Design Group in Barolo with the stated aim of preserving and promoting historic Italian design brands, acquiring Memphis Milano, the 1980s postmodern collective, the same year. A decade earlier, in 2012, they bought Gufram, the radical design brand founded in the 1960s and known for its pop art-inspired furniture.