SMAC is a Social Cooperative whose mission is to pursue civic, social, cultural, and community-oriented goals.
We work at the intersection of culture, technology, and social impact, promoting projects that generate shared value for people and places. Our activities aim to strengthen local communities, foster inclusion, and contribute to cultural and economic development through education, creativity, and innovation.
SMAC designs and delivers training programs in collaboration with universities, schools, public institutions, and companies.
We develop tailor-made educational pathways based on specific needs, contexts, and objectives, combining theoretical content with practical activities and hands-on experimentation. This flexible approach allows us to adapt our courses to different audiences and sectors, supporting skill development, innovation, and knowledge transfer across education, research, and industry.
As early as 1883, Coreglia was home to an innovative School of “Design and Plastics” created to equip locals with the knowledge and skills they would need to work as “figurinai”, or statuette sculptors, across the globe.
Its founder, Sir Carlo Vanni, came from a family of figure-painters and entrepreneurs and chose the most highly-skilled local artisans to be the first teachers in his new school. Some of their works are displayed in the current Statuette Museum which is housed in a villa donated by Vanni himself.
The museum, which is truly one of a kind, bears testimony to the phenomenon of plaster sculpture and its links to the emigration from the area around the Serchio Valley which began in the 1600s and continues to the present day. Visitors can admire eighteenth-century statuettes of cats, busts of historical or literary figures as well as copies of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures.