It all started when…

Franco Mania was born in 1939, just before the start of World War II, in a small town in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Despite growing up in a difficult time in history, Franco had a loving mother and father who provided for him as best as they could. He also didn't mind being the oldest brother of his siblings, Daniela and Oriente. Franco's father was captured during the war and deported to a concentration camp in Dachau for being part of the communist party. The Americans freed him but soon after got very ill. Thus, Franco became the primary provider of the family.
Since he was young, he loved to paint but had to work to sustain his family. His younger brother gave him some oil paint as a gift, and that's when his talent started showing. Self-taught, he started with still life, then transitioned to surrealism, abstract, and retrospective art. Franco, to this day, resides in their childhood home, transforming his siblings' rooms into art studios for his masterpieces.
His brother Oriente, organized a trip in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, in the Collio to visit the wineries for Mrs. Agnus Gund, and she went to visit the Mania family casually and didn’t know he was a painter. This is how he got discovered and this is how they met.