In the heart of the mountain: a place like no other

After yesterday’s stroll, we decided to visit a very unusual place and see something that our eyes have never seen before.

Not far from Forte dei Marmi are the Appuan mountains from where the most renowned marble variety in the world is extracted – the marble of Carrara. To get there we had to drive for little more than half an hour .

As soon as we followed the directions for Miseglia, a small mountain village close to the quarries, a series of long tunnels started. Then the road to the top became a steep climb with several 180 degree turns with the bare minimum of space. For more that 10 km we didn’t encounter not even a single car, bike or whatever breathing creature. This, toghether with the foggy peaks that we had in front of us, contributed to a growing felling that we were in the wrong place and that at any moment the Gods of the Mountain would pour out their fierce anger on us.

At the end we arrived in front of a bar/souvenir shop, still no people or cars around. I went inside and luckily the owner was there, and turned out she wasn’t even a zombie but a regular, nice old lady. We followed her instructions and after 1 km we arrived in the right place. Just in time for the tour that was about to start.

We hopped on the minivan and entered the tunnel that would bring us in. 600 meters to both exits, 400 meters above the sea level and another 400 meters above us – we were right in the heart of the mountain. The majestic 18 m high walls and the white marble that was under, above and around us made this one of the most suggestive places I have ever seen, a scenery incomparable to any other.

The tour guide shared some detailed information with us and now we know that the marble of Carrara is famous for its pure white colour with soft grey vening. There are different qualities ranging from 60 usd per ton to 7000 usd for the top quality – Statuario, which is used for art pieces. The marble is sold in blocks and 1 block usually weights 37 tons – you do the math. Michelangelo himself used to come here to personally choose the material for his masterpieces (David, Pietà and Moses).

Even the Ancient Romans used the quarries of Carrara to supply their needs of the “white gold“. Some of the most remarkable architectural works and public buildings were made with it (the Pantheon and the Trajan’s Column for example). It made me think of the extreme effort it must have taken to do this in the pre-mechanized era they lived in..

I will leave the other talking to the pictures below. Don’t miss this place if you are in the area. There are different tours in different quarries and they cost only 10 euros per person. You can also organize a private tour.

If you need more information check Marmo Tours or Carrara Marble Tour.

You can also see a video I made inside the cave here (hm, next time I will do it horizontal)