David Foster
Carrara Marble Quarries
The white marble of the Apuan Alps in northwest Tuscany was first quarried by the Romans during the Empire period (27 B.C.- A.D.98) The popularity of Carrara marble transformed the city of Rome’s brick and masonry architecture to the renown white classical capital of Augustus and the Flavian Emperors.
Carrara marble became the most coveted stone for sculpture during the Renaissance. Its fine grain made it the medium of choice for Michelangelo and his contemporaries.
Today there are approximately three hundred marble quarries in this region of Tuscany supplying not only white but grays and patterned marble. One unique marble called cipollino resembles the color pattern of a cut onion.
| An aerial view of the Carrara quarries above the town of Colonata |
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| Illustrations of contemporary quarries cut with diamond studded wire saws. Some of the quarries tunnel into the mountains as well as excavate surface deposits. | |
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