Carrara marble has been quarried for more than two thousand years. Quarrying began with the Etruscans and immediately afterwards the Romans created the first forms of large-scale extraction. From Carrara came the marble that Michelangelo used for his major works and today more than ever the white variety, Bianco Carrara, is used the world over for premium works. For inhabitants of Carrara the marble quarries are their history, culture, pride and passion. A world that is first and foremost an identity and as such goes well beyond quarrying.

The On-the-Road guide will help you explore this world with an itinerary covering the essential sites of the Carrara district tied to marble. From historic Carrara to the ancient quarrymen’s villages, passing through archeology, art and gastronomic specialties down to the quarries themselves in their most spectacular expressions, both open-sky and subterranean. At 11 sites you can personally experience this very particular part of Italy, understand its significance and value but also become aware of quarrying’s deleterious effects on the environment: a fact that can no longer be ignored but that is also, paradoxically, tied to the survival of marble culture itself.