Carrara Marble Mines

Learn how the marble was mined to build the pantheon and trajan s column in ancient rome and how it was often used for sculpture during the renaissance.

Carrara marble mines.

Carrara is located by the sea along the coast of northern tuscany across the boundary of tuscany and liguria traveling on the a12 motorway between viareggio and la spezia you note the marble quarries that stretch for about 3 km on the side of the apuan alps. Touring the marble mines in the apuan alps in northern tuscany is an incredible visual experience which is why the location was chosen for the chase scene in the james bond film quantum of solace. Historically the transport of the blocks along the steep rocky slopes of the quarries was a very risky activity which engaged workers with increasingly more evolved methods as the economic and social conditions of the region evolved. While planning a recent trip to tuscany i decided that it was high time to visit the area of carrara and its famous marble mines.

Aerial views carrara marble minesabove the city of carrara in the apuan alps in italy there are the carrara marble mines where the creamy white stone is extracted the exceptional quality of this white marble is know. In carrara producing and selling marble is the way of life. You can tour some of the marble mines above carrara in a self guided car tour but to get as high into the apuan alps as we did in the picture you ll need to take a jeep tour. Carrara marble block price.

In the 17th and 18th centuries the marble quarries were monitored by the cybo and malaspina families who ruled over massa and carrara. For anyone interested in adventure or the art of marble cutting a visit to the carrara mable mines becomes a fantastic and unusual outing and is highly recommended. The family created the office of marble in 1564 to regulate the marble mining industry. During the renaissance marble quarried in carrara was used by michelangelo who visited the caves to personally choose blocks for his artworks.

The carrara marble as other types of marble is a metamorphic rock made from microscopically small calcium carbonate crystals. Marble maintains the local economy. A brief history the apuan alps are characterized by the presence of an immense vein of marble which is famous the world over and whose mining some historians argue dates back to 155 bc. Carrara marble has been used since the time of ancient rome and it was called the luni marble.

It s all understandable carrara is worldwide famous for its white marble but much less popular as a tourist destination.