This historic Tuscan town has supplied pure white marble to sculptors since Roman times. Its quarries in the Apuan Alps have produced stone for Michelangelo's David and St. Peter's Basilica.
Carrara, a city in northern Tuscany, has been the world's primary source of fine marble for over 2,000 years. You'll find this prized stone in Rome's Pantheon and Florence's David statue. Walk through Piazza Alberica to see marble-decorated Baroque buildings with yellow and red facades, or visit the medieval cathedral where white and gray marble create striking patterns across its walls. In workshops across the city, sculptors chisel and shape marble blocks using techniques passed down through generations.
Exploring the Marble Quarries
The white peaks of the Apuan Alps contain 165 active quarries where workers cut Carrara marble using diamond-tipped saws and heavy machinery. Take a two-hour guided tour through mountain tunnels to learn about the extraction process. The Fantiscritti and Ravaccione quarries include museums with equipment from Roman times to the present, including hand tools, pulleys, and early mechanical saws. From the viewing platforms, you can watch quarry workers guide wire saws through marble blocks and maneuver bulldozers across the terraced mountainside.
The Historic Center
Walk the medieval streets of Carrara's center to reach Piazza Alberica, where yellow and red buildings stand decorated with white marble window frames and ornaments. The 12th-century Cathedral of Sant'Andrea features Romanesque arches at ground level and Gothic windows above, built with alternating stripes of white Luna and gray Colonnata marble. Inside, you'll find the 14th-century "Annunciation" sculpture and Angelo Puccinelli's detailed wooden crucifix.
Contemporary Art Scene
More than 50 sculpture workshops fill Carrara with the sound of chisels and saws, while the Academy of Fine Arts, established in 1757, trains new generations of artists. Visit during Carrara Studi Aperti in May to watch artists demonstrate marble cutting and carving in their workshops. In July, Marble Week turns Piazza Alberica into an exhibition space for new sculptures. The MudaC museum, in a 17th-century Franciscan convent, exhibits rotating collections of contemporary sculptures and installations.
Local Food and Traditions
In the mountain village of Colonnata, producers make their famous Lardo di Colonnata by aging pork fat with rosemary, sage, and garlic in marble basins for 6-10 months. The marble naturally maintains ideal temperature and humidity for curing. Try this local specialty at August's Sagra del Lardo festival alongside regional wines. That same month, the Historical Re-enactment of the Lizzatura shows how workers once moved marble blocks downhill using soaped wooden beams.
Practical Information
Book quarry tours at Carrara's tourist office - English tours run at 10:00 and 14:00 daily. Catch hourly buses to Colonnata from central Carrara for a 20-minute ride. Marina di Carrara, 3 miles from the center, has both public beaches and beach clubs with rental equipment. Walk along the waterfront promenade to see massive marble blocks awaiting shipment at the port.
