If Michelangelo spent entire days on the asymmetric steps of the quarries to carefully select the raw material of his sculptures and found inspiration for his creations there, perhaps there’s another reason to regard Carrara marble as one of the precious products in Italy and worldwide. An extremely valuable chalky rock, Carrara marble has been extracted from the Apuan Alps since the early Copper Age, but the first real use of the quarries datesback to the times of the Roman Empire.
However, Carrara marble became famous in the Renaissance due to the
promotional work of Alberico Cybo-Malaspina, prince of Carrara and duke of Massa, a patron who, with his acquaintances, was able to bring the leading artists of the time to Carrara. From that moment on, Carrara marble became one of the undeniable symbols of Italian style, a precious material that is synonymous of art and luxury.
Among the different types, there’s Statuario, Venato, Arabesco, Calacata, Bardiglio and Cipollino Zerbino – the most classic Carrara marble is Bianco Ordinario, famous for its very few impurities, which are not enough to alter the natural colour of the calcite, of which it consists. The white stripe of the rock illuminates the quarries as though cathedrals were carved into the heart of the mountain. The marble contains centuries of hard work handed down by the experience, where man dangerously challenged nature and the impressiveness of the rocks to gather its most precious fruit.(Portions of this article first appeared in "Toscana & Chianti News")
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