Discover Carrara: The City of Marble
Carrara is a small city famously known as the “city of marble”. Located in the Italian province of Tuscany, Carrara is not that far up north from Forte dei Marmi. The city of marble is remarkable for its white colored marble varieties, modern sculptures, and widely known masterpieces. Most known for its white calacatta marble, it has also provided marble for some of the world’s greatest sculptors, such as Michelangelo and Henry Moore.
The word Carrara comes from the ancient pre-latin word “kar”, which means stone. This wonderful, but not widely know area to tourists, has a long historic tradition connected with white marble. The prestigious fame and international recognition comes from the production of what is considered the finest white marble in the world. Whoever visits the city, will notice sculptures, doors, flower vases, all made from marble. Did you know that the Duomo, Carrara’s stunning marble cathedral is almost entirely built out of marble? Impressive, isn’t it!
While visiting, I stumbled upon a recreation of Michelangelo’s David, re-imagined as a contemporary art sculpture. Created from a statuary block of Carrara marble, the sculpture is covered with colorful tattoos and lettering. The replica statue is of the same size as the original, and uses the same type of marble extracted from the mountains of Carrara that Michelangelo used to carve his original sculpture. Have you ever wondered how tall Michelangelo’s David is? The statue is five meters high, and weighs more than 5500 kg or 12,000 pounds.
The Piazza Alberica is in the heart of the city. It’s a typical Italian styled piazza, with a contemporary sculpture centerpiece and is surrounded by historical buildings of the noble families of Carrara. While sightseeing, don’t miss the opportunity to take a moment and enjoy in the Italian coffee culture by visiting a local bar and ordering an espresso.
A further walk through the narrow streets of the city did lead me to a pen store selling the prestigious Aurora fountain pens.
