Directions to Carrara
Directions to le Cave di Marmo
Directionsto Colonnata
The marble quarries of Carrara are a fascinating and evocative place, where the precious white marble that has made this city famous all over the world has been extracted for centuries. The quarries are located along the flanks of the Apuan Alps, a mountain complex declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and are divided into three main basins: Torano, Fantiscritti and Colonnata.
To visit the Carrara marble quarries you can choose different options: independently, following the route of the former Marble Railway that connects the three basins and offers breathtaking views of the quarries and the coast, or with guided tours, which offer the opportunity to enter the tunnels carved into the rock, discover the history and techniques of marble extraction, attend sculpture demonstrations and taste the typical lard of Colonnata. Guided tours can be done by jeep, on foot, by bicycle
Colonnata is a fraction of the municipality of Carrara, located on the slopes of the Apuan Alps, in the province of Massa Carrara in Tuscany. It is known worldwide for its lard and white marble quarries. Colonnata is a hamlet to be discovered on foot or by bicycle, enjoying its historic and tasty atmosphere…
Colonnata is famous for its lard of Colonnata IGP, a cured meat obtained from pork meat that is aged in marble basins with salt, herbs and spices. The lard of Colonnata has a soft texture, a white or pink color and a delicate and aromatic flavor.
Carrara is a town of 59,905 inhabitants in the province of Massa-Carrara in Tuscany, located between the Tyrrhenian coast and the Apuan Alps. It is a center of international importance for the extraction, processing and trade of marble, known as Carrara marble.
Carrara has Roman origins, when its quarries were already exploited to provide marble to the capital. The name of the city could derive from the Latin carrus, “cart”, indicating the means used to transport the marble blocks.
Carrara was a powerful city-state in the Middle Ages, when it contended with Genoa and Pisa for control of the territory and the sea. In the fifteenth century it became part of the Duchy of Massa and Carrara, which lasted until 1829. Carrara was also an important center of the anarchist movement and the Resistance during World War II.
