The Zucchelli Foundation was founded in 1959 as a non- profit organization , by decree of the President of the Republic following the bequest of the last heir of the Zucchelli family, Santina Zucchelli .

All the family patrimony was therefore donated to the “Giovan Battista Martini” Conservatory and to the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna , so that scholarships could be provided in support of young art talents, through a special Foundation.

The Zucchelli Foundation became, from the beginning, a sort of collegium, with the aim of offering financial support to the most talented students of Music and Singing of the Giovan Battista Martini Conservatory of Bologna and of Painting of the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna.

In addition, in 1963 the Foundation began providing scholarships to students enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts and at the Giovan Battista Martini Conservatory of Music in Bologna.

In recent years, thanks above all to the statutory update, the Foundation has expanded the range of awards by dedicating an annual competition announcement to the "Prize for Talent" and one to the "Special Prize" which provides for the realization of a joint project between students of Academy and Conservatory.