Federico Cerruti

Federico Cerruti (1 January 1922 – 15 July 2015) was an Italian art collector whose collection was described by Artribune as one of the best in Europe. He told his retainers to arrange his funeral before his death became public in order to avoid the "useless gossiping and socialising crowd" attending.

Early life Federico Cerruti was born in Genoa on 1 January 1922. His family were bookbinders who moved to Turin, where the firm prospered despite its factory being destroyed by bombing during the Second World War. In 1943, Cerruti narrowly escaped death when a ship he should have been on, the battleship Roma, was sunk by German aircraft. It ranged from the Medieval period to works of the 20th Century. The first work he acquired was a drawing by the Russian Expressionist artist Wassily Kandinsky. He also owned ten works by modern Italian Metaphysical and Surrealist artist Giorgio de Chirico, which hung in the dining room of his villa. In the main bedroom were late Medieval and early Renaissance paintings by Paolo Veneziano, Sassetta, and Bergognone. Cerruti often allowed his works to be shown at exhibition,s and small groups of art lovers were allowed to view his collection. He was interred with an ivory crucifix and photographs of his mother and Padre Pio.

Legacy Around 2013, Cerruti created the Fondazione FC in which he vested his collection and villa, as well as a capital sum. According to the terms of his will, Cerutti's extraordinary collection is now managed by the nearby contemporary museum Castle of Rivoli, and, after 4 May 2019, open to the public.