The first edition of the FPMichetti National Painting Award was held in 1947 in Francavilla al mare, an Abruzzo town 97% destroyed by war events, with the aim of continuing the great cultural tradition of the Michetti cenacle in which the most creative personalities of the time: Gabriele d'Annunzio, Francesco Paolo Tosti, Matilde Serao, Edoardo Scarfoglio, Eleonora Duse, Costantino Barbella.

In 1955 with the decree n. 1497 of the President of the Republic Gronchi, the FPMichetti National Painting Award Foundation is set up as a non-profit organization, whose purpose is to organize an annual painting competition, which can be accompanied by other artistic events (retrospectives, personal exhibitions, tributes).

The municipal and provincial administrations of Abruzzo, the municipality of Tocco da Casauria, where Michetti was born, the municipality of Francavilla al mare, where Michetti lived, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, a representative of the Abruzzo artists. Other institutional bodies are the technical committee, the general secretary, the treasurer, the auditor. Recently, the president of the regional council and the president of the regional council have been appointed honorary / meritorious members.

During its life, from 1947 to today (2019), the Foundation has carried out 70 editions of the award, which include 11 international exhibitions dedicated to the comparison between Italian and Slavic (1973), Spanish (1974), Polish (1976), Greek artists (1977), Americans (1987), Bulgarians (1988), Europeans (2000), Argentines (2002), Japanese (2003), Oriental (2004). Various exhibitions have been taken off-site: in the Royal Palace of Naples, in Rome (Palazzo Braschi and Palazzo Venezia), in Florence (Palazzo Rucellai), in Paris (Institute of Italian culture), in Milan (Pac) and finally, this year, again in Naples, in the Pignatelli-Cortes Museum (the exhibition “Between painting and photography”).

The headquarters of the Michetti Foundation is, since 2000, Palazzo San Domenico, a former Dominican convent and former municipal headquarters, located in Piazza San Domenico n. 1 in Francavilla al Mare. The building, owned by the municipality, houses, in addition to the presidency and secretarial offices, the Foundation's Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art consisting of the works of contemporary art that have won the Michetti Prize from 1947 to today and donations.