Carrara

Carrara lives a true marble culture so much so that it has dedicated a museum in the center of its town, where the methods and processing of Carrara’s White Gold from Roman times to the present are documented and exhibited.

Carrara’s history can also be experienced through its marvelous monuments, first and foremost the Palazzo Cybo Malaspina, a collection of buildings including a castle with a keep, towering over the town giving that medieval touch to the Tuscan town, currently the palace is the home of the Academy of Fine Arts of Carrara, where every year one can attend the “National Sculpture Symposium.”

Not far away, the ruins of Moneta Castle, in the hamlet of Fossola, can still be visited by tourists who take the opportunity to enjoy some fresh air and take some souvenir photos.

In the center of the town it is possible to admire the “Pieve di Sant’Andrea,” now the Cathedral of Carrara, made entirely of white marble it is the most important cathedral in the entire capital and in the entire Lunigiana area.

The Apuan Alps Park surrounds the city and stretches for more than 60 km along Lunigiana, Versilia and Garfagnana, the park winds its way through striking marble quarries and splendid views that allow the eye to sweep from the mountain peaks to the shores of the Ligurian Sea.

However, the real attraction of this town are the white marble quarries in the nearby hamlets of Calagio, where the first quarry from the Roman era dating back to the 1st century is located, Vara where it is possible to visit the Cava Museo and take a tour inside the oldest quarry-gallery in the area. Here there are souvenir stores and a bar. However, the most famous hamlet is Torano, which houses the largest quarry in the entire province and where the “marble road” begins.