The Calcografia Nazionale (or Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica) is housed in the historic building Palazzo Poli in the Via della Stamperia in Rome. The “National Institute of Graphic Design” has the largest collection of engravings in the world.
Calcografia Nazionale Rome
Useful information
The address is Via della Stamperia, 6, but the entrance is in Via Poli, 54. Unfortunately, the building cannot normally be visited by the general public.
History and description
The organization has been in existence since 1738, but the building itself was designed a century later by Valadier.
The collection of the Calcografia is the largest in the world. There are works by both famous Italian (including Piranesi, who was famous for his Roman cityscapes, but especially for his series of 16 imaginary prisons) and foreign (e.g. Ingres) artists. However, the old copper plates are never used, nor are modern engravings produced.
An exhibition is organized only very rarely and in general the works of art can be viewed only by scholars.