The Carrara marble quarries – in Michelangelo’s footsteps
We all will have seen – in Italy or somewhere else in this world – the typical white marble of Carrara.
Already traveling on the motorway you might think: why are all these mountains covered by snow in summer time? Actually, what we see are the open marble quarries up there that shine in plain white.
Today we would like to take you to the original places where this wonderful stone is being quarried since thousands of years. Sitting above Massa and more so above Carrara there are quite a number of quarries one may visit nowadays.
We strongly recommend the Quarries of Fantiscritti, for several reasons: On the one hand Fantiscritti can be reaches relatively easily by car, on the other hand this area shows not just open-pit mining but also one of the few particular underground quarries and a nicely installed marble museum – and, last but certainly not least: Colonnato with its famous Lardo di Colonnato is only a stone’s throw away.
Now more in detail: You leave the motorway at Carrara and follow the (in most cases yellow or brown) signs for Cave di Marmo, pass through Carrara, carry on uphill through village Miseglia, and short after will reach your target. Plenty of parking area.
On your way up into the mountains you will have already seen a number of open-pit quarries, you might even have seen one of these giant trucks carrying a one piece 20 ton marble block downhill – truly impressive, by the way.
Marble Museum of Walter Danesi
Once you have parked your car you should pay a visit to the small but worth to see open air marble museum. Over the years installed and run by Walter Danesi with a lot of passion. This Museum will give you an overview on marble quarrying from the times of the Romans until today, of great interest for adults as well as for children. Walter Danesi, somewhere in his later 80ies, has offered guided tours through his open air museum in Italian language up to now. For those who are able to follow language-wise there will not only be a lot of information but they will meet a man who carries out his work with true passion and an outstanding sense of humor. Spectacular! Open every day.
Next to his museum his family runs a little shop with many items cut from marble.
Marble Tour into the mountain
Some 100 m distant you will se the entrance of a small road into the mountain. That’s where the guided marble tour will start from, tickets to be bought nearby, prices more than acceptable.
You will be driven into the mountain on mini-buses for some 600 m and arrive, somewhat midway under the top of the mountain. You will see the light on the opposite end of the tunnel, another 600 m away an here you are at a kind of underground cathedral where huge marble blocks are quarried even nowadays. A very impressive experience one should not miss, absolutely o.k. also for children. You will be told and shown how they cut huge blocks out of the mountain and how they ensure the blocks will “fall in a controlled and safe way”. Guided tours in many languages including German. Reservation is more than useful in case you would need a German speaking guide and also as the number of participants per tour is limited. Duration of the tour is about 35 minutes. Don’t miss that opportunity!
Contact data: http://www.marmotour.com/contatti-d.htm
Lardo di Colonnato
Lardo di Colonnato – very much plain country-style, but certainly an experience.
Back from the marble cavern we truly recommend a short side trip to Colonnato. Take the tunnel on the backside of the shop mentioned before, turn left at its end. Colonnato itself is a rather unimpressive little mountain village. Famous however for its Lardo di Colonnato, very fine speck stored between pieces of marble. Cut in ver thin slices an absolute delicacy. Once created as particularly nutritious food for those who were working in the quarries all day and far away from their homes. Now, the entire village is living with and for this Lardo, there are quite a number of shops and inns offering it. Wine, bread, beans and pickles go along very well with the speck cut in finest slices.
For those who enjoy a truly genuine environment in a positive sense we recommend a place called “Lard Rock” where one could have, open air or indoors, a typical Colonnato snack.
Prices in 2014 some 14 Euro/person included wine and bread.
For reservations: phone 0039-0585-768060.
Should you think about other food the marble breaker where eating – you will find it here > Il Peposo
Should you envisage a follow-up program: A nice tour through the famous towns along the seaside, Forte dei Marmi, Pietrasanta and last but not least Viareggio would be anything but a bad idea.
