Carrara Marble

11.05.2022 - 11.05.2022 25 °C

We came across this by accident driving back from Cinque Terre, it was one of the best tours we have ever been on.

They have been carving marble from this area since 100 BC, and they estimate they have only mined 5-6 % of the marble.

Michaelangelo would actually come here and start carving on a piece of marble to make sure it was suitable for his statues.

The most common Italian marble is Carrara, named for the region it comes from. Carrara has a gray field, or background, with a light gray veining. This stone can also tend toward blue-gray, and the patterning is usually soft and feathery.

Calacatta marble is a rarer than carrara and is more white than gray with dramatic veining that results in thick, predominate patterns. It often has brown and gold undertones.

Statuario is the most precious marble varieties found in Italy. It has distinctive veining that can range from gold to gray.

They start by using this chain saw to cut a slot in the bottom.

Then they drill some holes from the top and run diamond encrusted cables attached to a pulley system with lots of water to cut the blocks out of the mountain.

Cutting the marble video

Another good video

Colonnata is an Italian ancient village and a hamlet of the comune of Carrara. It is situated in the Apuan Alps, and is known worldwide for the pork fat delicacy Lardo di Colonnata, and for its marble quarries. Wikipedia