The principal fine-arts academy of Carrara
Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara is the principal fine-arts academy of Carrara and one of the institutions most closely associated with the city’s marble tradition. It was officially founded on 26 September 1769 by Maria Teresa Cybo, Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara. From the beginning, sculpture was central to the school’s purpose: the Academy was established not only to advance the arts but also to support Carrara’s marble industry and trade.
Its School of Sculpture remains strongly connected to marble and offers both first-level and second-level sculpture programs. The Academy emphasizes both traditional sculptural practice and contemporary methods, and it operates a robotic system for the reproduction and production of marble works alongside conventional studio instruction.
The Academy also preserves an important Gipsoteca, with roughly 300 plaster casts, models and reliefs used historically for sculpture education, including works connected with Canova, Bartolini and Thorvaldsen.
Studio Directory
Studio Information
- Studio type
- Academies & Education, Sculpture School
- Location
- Massa-Carrara (MS) | Tuscany | Italia, Italy
- Address
- Via Roma, 1
- Website
- https://accademiacarrara.it/
- Telephone
- +39 0585 71658
- Visiting notes
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School of Sculpture: Undergraduate and graduate-level sculpture, marble working, three-dimensional practice, installation, site-specific work, contemporary sculpture, and robotic marble production.
The main historic Academy is at Palazzo Malaspina on Via Roma, but the School of Sculpture also uses separate workshop facilities elsewhere in Carrara. Because classes and working studios may not be open for casual access, it is best to contact the Academy before visiting specifically to see the sculpture facilities.
For a sculptor, the Academy is particularly worth visiting because it brings together three layers of Carrara’s tradition: historic plaster teaching collections, formal sculpture education, and contemporary marble technology. The Gipsoteca alone provides a direct connection with the older academic system of learning sculpture through casts and models.