The Foundation was born May 5, 2011 by the will of the engineer Giuseppe De Vito, collector, connoisseur and scholar of seventeenth-century Naples and Still Life, who becomes the President, and of his wife Margaret, with the intent to further the studies on the history of Modern Art in Naples. It is located in the ancient villa Olmo documented since the year 878 and restored in its present form in 1616, overlooking the hills of Fiesole and the city of Florence. Here, along with furniture and paintings in the collection, is the library of the scholar's collection which includes several thousand volumes both ancient and modern, with a particular specialization in the field of Neapolitan art and still life, a rich photo archive dedicated to the Neapolitan artists, a fund of unpublished documentary transcriptions from the Neapolitan archives of great interest.

In the premised "indications" of the Foundation statute there is stated the express will of the founder of the studies to make available the funds raised during these years: " Everything that I have studied and accumulated I intend to leave to future generations who might profit by."

In line with what has characterized the years in these studies and the work of Giuseppe De Vito, and in accordance with the institutional scopes of the Foundation, aimed to activities "in the sectors of promotion of culture and modern art in Naples, of the protection, promotion and valorization of the things of artistic and historical interest and of the formation ", it binds to:

- enable Italian and foreign scholars to access to the library and photo archive according to the established criteria and timetable and to proceed to the publication online of their catalogs.

- promote, organize, finance, develop and eventually publish any studies, research, investigations devoted particularly to the history of modern art in Naples and in the field of Still Life, activating to this purpose also public notices of competition for scholarships dedicated to young researchers or for the financing of documented research projects considered of particular value by the scientific committee.

- promote conferences, seminars, lectures, meetings, conferences, exhibitions, in collaboration with other associations and cultural institutions of similar purposes, such as the Roberto Longhi Foundation in Florence, to propagate and promote the knowledge and the scientific in-depth study on the topics of specific interest of the Foundation.

- prepare the publication of papers, monographs, catalogs, documents and annals. In particular, the Foundation publishes an annual volume "Studi per la Storia dell'Arte moderna a Napoli" which renews and expands the yearbook directed by Giuseppe De Vito, "Ricerche sul'600 napoletano", founded in 1982 which has hosted important scientific contributions of Italian and foreign scholars.

- participate, in collaboration with other public and private institutions, to studies, research and other academic initiatives in the field of cataloging, preservation and restoration of works of art, using all modern technologies.

The Foundation has obtained from the Tuscany Region the recognition of legal entity (DPR 361/200,   23/11/2012, n. 859)