Travel
Marble quarries of Carrara were known since Ancient times all around the world.
Marble comes from a limestone. The presence of marble there in Alps means it was a sea floor in the past. So, reader can image a past sea level.
Carrara itself is a comune where most of inhabitants are dealing with marble.
Every house courtyard is full of any shape marble blocks.
Like centyries ago, artists still cut away all superfluous bits right in quarries or close to it. Transportation of a block of marble is too expensive. Only sculptors' tools have changed.
Snips of marble cost nothing in the village. People use it all around for any need.
An abstract shape sculpture made of a solid piece displays the maximum dimension of a marble block possible to get today.
In mountains several villages work with marble.
Usualy, village is on an upper level and worksop of it is below.
Some ready pieces.
Mining marble can be two ways.
An open-pit mining.
The most know old zone with bridges.
Fresh marble is wet and dark gray always. It needs to dry outside for several weeks to get a natural color.
All quarries are numbered.
Not suitable for sale pieces serve also.
Second way of miming marble is to cut it out inside the mountain. Entering a place is through the tunnel.
Mining inside is organised by rooms which have size limits in three dimensions.
A main tool. On it lenght depends a marble block size.
Inside the 'room' is very humid.
Workers table.
15 meters is a ceiling height limit.
A tunnel to exit.
One of a quarry workers villages. Lardo di Colonnata (lardo (salo)) prepared in a special marble box comes from there.
Like all around there many things are marble. Bench.
Stairs.
Many artists that work for marble industry work and live there. Art in Pietrasanta is one of the goods to sell.
On a railway station.
Some kilometers around the marble area warehouses are located on both sides of tracks.
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