After a short trip around the Pilotta [see part 1] we went to visit the exhibition “La fucina delle Arti: l’Accademia della Duchessa” (A breeding ground of arts: the Academy of the Duchess), a small jewel set at the Accademia di Belle Arti.

The exhibition intends to stress the contribution of Marie Louise of Austria to the famous Academy of art.

The visit took place with the extraordinary guide of the curators of the exhibition, the architects Alessandro Malinverni and Carlo Mambriani, who explained the history of the academy and of the works.

A note:
The exhibition cannot be always visited because the lack of resources forbids the nonstop opening to the public.
Therefore if you are interested you could ask for info to the

Accademia Nazionale di Belle Arti
accademiadibelleartiparma@gmail.com
or
tel. +01 340 1073984 (Alessandro Malinverni)

A bit of history:
Highly wished by Guillaume Du Tillot, minister of finance, the academy was officially founded in 1752 even if the Accademia di Architettura, Pittura e Scultura opened only after 5 years.
Suppressed during the Napoleonic occupation, it was re-established with new regulations by Marie Louise who appointed Paolo Toschi director, who revived its fame in Europe.

After Marie Louise’s death, Parma went back under the rule of the Bourbons.

With the annexation to the Savoy kingdom, the three Emilian academies (Parma, Modena and Bologna) were reunified.

After many other changes, in 1973 a Presidential Decree gave the Accademia Nazionale di Belle Arti the actual regulations.

For more info:
breeding ground of Arts: the Academy of the Duchess (1^part)
accademia nazionale belle arti Parma: la-rinascita-sotto-maria-luigia