Pietro Silva

The bronze bust, dated 1926, portrays professor Pietro Silva (Berceto, 1887 - Parma 1954), history teacher at the Naval Academy of Livorno and at the Istituto Superiore di Magistero in Rome. Passionate scholar of Parma history, he became a member of the National History Deputation for the Parma Provinces. Luigi Froni was particularly attached to this sculpture, which marked the decisive start to maturity and a completely personal artistic language, so much so that he presented it in different periods at various exhibitions, such as that of Milan in 1958, held at the San Babila center. Valdo Bianchi wrote on July 30, 1928, about this portrait in the newspaper "Corriere Emiliano": "Even in this valuable work the sculptor was not content with making an impressionistic head, he wanted to transpose the effect of the relief, all the fullness and the imperceptible depths of truth, with a conscientious and slow examination. The work has no trace of laborious elaboration and appears to us wrapped in a vaporous atmosphere of life ".