Toschi, Art school in Parma, Italy
Toschi is an art school in Parma, housed in a wing of the Palazzo della Pilotta near the Ponte Verdi. Its rooms have high ceilings, wide corridors, and walls lined with plaster casts of famous sculptures alongside student work.
The school traces its origins to an Academy of Fine Arts founded by the Duke of Parma in the mid-18th century. In 1877 the academy was divided into a research branch and a teaching branch, and the teaching side was formally recognized as a state institution in 1923.
The school takes its name from Paolo Toschi, a 19th-century engraver from Parma known for his precise work. Today, students use the same studios to study painting, graphic design, and scenography, giving the building a sense of continuity between past and present.
The school is in the heart of Parma, inside the Palazzo della Pilotta, and easy to reach on foot from most of the city center. Since it is an active school, it is worth checking in advance whether public spaces or student exhibitions are open on the day you plan to visit.
Inside the building there is a room called the Gipsoteca, filled with plaster casts of ancient sculptures that students have used as drawing models for generations. Collections like this were once common in every art academy but are now rare, and this one is still used in everyday teaching.
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