Since 1863, Studi Nicoli has been preserving and modernizing the tradition of artistic marble and stone sculpture, producing work of unquestioned excellence.

Recognized by UNESCO as “Messengers of Peace”, Studi Nicoli now houses an International Centre of Contemporary Sculpture.

From the beginning, its large studios, accommodations for foreign artists, conveniently located family residences, along with rooms for casts and a vast main workshop, make it possible to create monumental sculptures of the highest quality and to attract master sculptors from around the world.
Furthermore, Laboratorio Nicoli offers the chance to visit one of the most prestigious collections of sculpture and plaster casts from the late 1800s to the present, testifying to the prolific activity of its international artists.

Inaugurated in 1982 to document the culture of marble, the Museo Civico del Marmo is in effect home to the city’s historical memory.

Its displays include archaeological finds from the quarries as well as samples of tools used from Roman times until today to extract and work the marble. With its new multimedia space, the museum hosts exhibitions and conferences that highlight the inseparable bond between material culture, historical memory and contemporary culture. It also sponsors the Biennali, Simposi di Scultura, and artisan workshops.
The museum itinerary winds through various sections – both indoors and out – which document contemporary techniques of cutting and shaping marble, using prototypes and exemplary works, many donated by sculptor Felice Vatteroni.

The Centro di Arti Plastiche is located in the former convent complex of San Francesco, which was ceded to the city of Carrara in 1868.

The present building is the fruit of a series of interventions required to transform the convent into a museum and temporary exhibition space for sculpture. The permanent exhibit allows visitors to appreciate the city’s contemporary art collection, created through acquisitions for the Biennali Internazionali di Scultura in Carrara from 1957 to 1973 and again after 2006 as well as others from the Disegnare il marmo exhibit in 2004.
The display features sculptures by Alberto Viani, Oscar Gallo, Luciano Minguzzi, Agenore Fabbri, Lynn Chaadwick, Kenneth Armitage, Marcello Mascherini, Giuliano Vangi, Mirko Basaldella, Aldo Mondino, Eliseo Mattiacci, Gigi Guadagnucci, and Marco Bagnoli.
Temporary sculpture exhibits add their dynamism to the institute.

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Founded in 1769 by Maria Teresa Cybo, the Accademia di Belle Arti of Carrara is one of the great historic academies of Italy. Its impressive plaster cast gallery, with works by Antonio Canova, Bertel Thorvaldsen, and Lorenzo Bartolini, is displayed in the Academy’s main building, Palazzo Cybo Malaspina, while plaster works by Carrara masters from the 1800s can be seen in Palazzo Binelli.

The remodelling of 2014 recreated the exhibition plan of Adolfo Angeli, president of the Academy, who led a far-reaching restoration of the building and adjacent fortress between 1924 and 1936, while also encouraging acquisitions of twentieth-century works. Among these are Cavallino [Colt] by Arturo Dazzi, Cristo [Christ] by Carlo Fontana, and La confessione [Confession] by Arturo Tosi. The most recent addition to the collection is Column Lost for Love, made and donated by Ettore Spalletti.