The Museo d’Arte contemporanea DonnaREgina (M.A.D.RE) stands in the historical heart of Naples, close to the Cathedral and the Treasure of St. Januarius, a hundred yards from the National Archeological Museum and the Academy of Fine Arts. The Museum owes its name to the building that houses it, the Palazzo Donnaregina, which is next to the Monastery of S. Maria Donnaregina. In March 2003 the Italian Ministry for the Heritage and Cultural Activities and the Unified Conference of the Regional and Local Authorities signed a “Pact for Contemporary Art.” Its purpose was to foster the development of the public patrimony by creating a network of centers of excellence to promote contemporary art. Under its terms, in 2005 the Campania Region purchased the building with funds from the European Community with the intention of creating a regional museum capable of being compared with other international ones. On June 10, 2005, MADRE inaugurated the site-specific installations on its first-floor rooms. This was followed in December 2005 by the inauguration of the historical collection housed on the second floor. In April 2006 the major anthological show devoted to Jannis Kounellis marked the opening to the public of the third-floor rooms designed for temporary exhibitions.