The city of Carrara is located in the northern part of Tuscany, at the foot of the Apuan Alps. The city is famous throughout the world for its precious marble, extracted here since Roman times. Here are some things to do in Carrara and learn about its history.
The history of Carrara
Carrara originated from a series of huts built upstream. Over time, these small nuclei gave rise to villages, housing the Roman workers of the marble quarries. In fact, already in Roman times, Carrara was known for the extraction and processing of marble. It became the material of excellence for the construction and embellishment of monumental works and buildings of the Roman Empire. Transporters left the adjacent port of Luni and carried marble to every corner of the enormous empire to beautify private and public structures.
The Apuan Ligurians
The proud warrior people of the Apuan Ligurians inhabited Carrara and its surroundings. Starting in the Iron Age, they occupied a territory that extended from the present-day provinces of La Spezia and Massa Carrara to Lucca. The Romans always had difficulty penetrating this territory due to its harshness and the indomitable character of the Apuan Ligurians, who put up a strenuous resistance. In 193 BC, the Apuans repelled the penetration of Rome beyond the Arno and, in 186 BC, defeated the republican troops. On that occasion, the Apuans lured the soldiers led by the consul Quintus Marcius into a narrow gorge (perhaps near Fosdinovo or, according to others, on Mount Caprione), exterminating 4000 of them. We have the story of the episode thanks to Titus Livius, who reported it in his work “Ab urbe condita.”
The Romans managed to defeat the Apuan Ligurians only in 180 BC. However, due to their persistent resistance, the Romans ultimately decided to take drastic measures. The commanders Publius Cornelius Cethegus and Marcus Bebius Tamphilus deported 47,000 Apuans to the Campanian area of Samnium. Roman colonists took control of their territory and established the city of Luni there.
Marble in the Roman Age
After the foundation of Luni, the Romans discovered the enormous marble deposits of Torano, Miseglia, and Colonnata. One of the first active quarries was that of Fossacava. Rome dispatched slaves to start the extraction process. The marble was transported on carts to the port of Luni and then shipped to Rome by sea.
The first settlements and villages scattered around the quarries had their foundations linked to the extraction of marble. They housed the workers. This situation continued until the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476). Most of the quarries became refuge for the coastal populations, who were invaded by hordes of barbarians and attacked by pirates.
The barbarians in Carrara
The first to occupy the territory of Carrara were the Goths, who settled upstream. Here they founded the villages of Bergiola, Codena, and Gotara. In the first half of the 6th century, Justinian’s Byzantines took over, who instead favored settlements in the plains. Luni returned to experience a period of splendor. The Byzantines, for whom this territory had a high strategic function, equipped the whole of Lunigiana with fortifications to block access to other groups of barbarians. The Roman colony of Moneta in Carrara underwent a transformation into a defensive castle. Other fortified works equipped the villages of Castellaro, Castelpoggio, La Costaccia, and Malpasso.
In 642, with the fall of the Byzantines, the territory passed to the Lombards of King Rotari. They abandoned Luni, which in the meantime had become a bishopric, in favor of the Carrara valley. On a religious level, they favored the abbey of Brugnato, reducing the power of the church of Luni. The Lombard nobles chose Carrara to reside there. Specifically, they established their residence in the Cafaggio district, allocating space for hunting and leisure activities. The urban development of the city began in this district. The Lombard nobles also gave rise to the local lords of the Obertenghi and Adalberti families.
The bishops of Luni
The Franks of Charlemagne defeated the Lombards in 773, and the bishops of Luni took control of Carrara. The inhabitants of Luni took refuge near Carrara when the situation along the coast became difficult due to pirate attacks and malaria, a consequence of the marshy area. It seems that, after the conquest of Luni by the Vikings of King Hasting in 860, the bishop of Luni, San Ceccardo, took refuge together with others in the city. The Frankish emperor Otto I of Saxony officially recognized Carrara, Massa, Avenza, and Moneta as fiefs of the bishop counts of Luni with his diploma of 963. In Luni, the situation was now unsustainable, and in 998, the bishop Gottifredo ordered the transfer of part of the curia to Carrara.
The founding of the Church of St. Andrea took place in 1035. Three years later, Luni was abandoned. Some inhabitants relocated to Sarzana, while others established villages on the hills, including Nicola and Ortonovo. The power of the bishop counts of Luni was strong in this period, and they had a firm grip on the territory. The population in Carrara, however, demonstrated a growing hostility toward the church’s authority.
The fight against the Church
In 1100, the local feudal lords, such as the Obertenghi, started to challenge the authority of the bishop counts. However, the bishop counts ultimately prevailed. In 1151, Carrara became the seat of a bishopric. Beginning in 1187, the bishop counts of Luni were forced to engage in a conflict with the marquises Malaspina. This conflict involved the whole of Lunigiana for many years. In fact, the war concluded in 1202, thereby weakening the temporal power of the bishops. This led to the official transfer of Luni’s episcopal seat to Sarzana. The church’s seat of power had moved away from Carrara, and the city, which was on the Ghibelline side, resumed hostilities against it.
The Ghibellines emerged victorious from this conflict. The desire to free themselves from the authority of the bishop counts of Luni determined the union of all the localities in the area, favoring the constitution of Carrara as a municipality. This brought together the scattered settlements that were considered equal and represented by their elected members in the City Council. It was an ideal organizational form to counter the episcopal authority. In 1215, Emperor Frederick II of Swabia handed Carrara over to the Lord Marquis Guglielmo Malaspina. He wanted to build the defensive fortress. The Guelph and Ghibelline factions internally divided the city.
Again, under the bishops of Luni
In 1217, the bishop of Luni, Marzucco, made further concessions to the Municipality of Carrara. However, these concessions displeased the population, leading to a series of riots in which the bishop himself lost his life. After this serious event, the curia of Luni gradually regained power until, about ten years later, the bishop counts of Luni appeared again in full authority.
But Carrara persisted in its desire to free itself from the episcopal power. They drew up the statutes that regulated the relationship between the bishop and the municipality in 1235. These statutes, reconfirmed in 1260, did not only concern political relations but also economic ones. However, the city of Carrara applied them so unscrupulously that it deserved excommunication by the bishop in 1261.
The decline of the bishops of Luni
The relationships between the bishop counts of Luni and the local feudal lords, especially the Malaspina, remained tense and gave rise to conflicts throughout Lunigiana. The Peace of Castelnuovo, stipulated on 6 October 1306 between the Malaspina marquises, represented by proxy by Dante Alighieri, and the bishop-count of Luni Antonio Nuvolone da Camilla, marked the definitive decline of the power of the bishops.
The Florentines established the Lordship of Carrara in 1313, followed by Lucca’s appointment of Castruccio Castracani as governor. Then, Carrara passed under the dominion of Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan to return again, in 1473, into the hands of the Malaspina of Fosdinovo.
The Malaspina family
The Malaspina family moved their seat of power from Fosdinovo to Carrara in 1495. They then moved to Massa in the second half of the 16th century, due to the battles between the city and the French troops of Charles V. Following this conflict, in 1554, the establishment of the Duchy of Massa and the Principality of Carrara took place. The very young Alberico I Cybo Malaspina, with whom Carrara experienced its first significant development, assumed the government of the city.
A true Renaissance figure, Alberico Cybo Malaspina was cultured and a lover of the arts. He worked hard to ensure the growth of the city, not only economically but also in terms of urban planning and aesthetics. He expanded the walls, transforming the town into a real city with new palaces, churches, squares, and most of the things to see in Carrara even today. It was during this period that Michelangelo Buonarroti went to Carrara several times to choose the marble with which to create his works. The city’s renewal project continued with his successor, his grandson Charles I. He completed the construction of the walls and the Cybo Malaspina Palace, as well as providing the city with new churches.
The modern age
Maria Teresa Francesca Cybo-Malaspina took over the government of the duchy in 1731 and, about ten years later, married Ercole III d’Este. Carrara became the property of the Duchy of Modena. Maria Teresa’s enlightened ideas greatly benefited the city. The Duchess stimulated the culture and processing of marble, founded the Academy of Fine Arts in 1769, and began the construction of a port for marble transport.
The history of the nineteenth century was characterized above all by the growth of the marble trade. In the mid-nineteenth century, 546 quarries were active in the area. Over 3,000 people worked there, and the population exceeded that of the nearby city of Massa. Profound social transformations accompanied the increase in numbers, making Carrara the home of anarchism in Italy.
The long history of anarchism
Alongside the bourgeoisie, Carrara had a large and strongly united working class that was beginning to become aware of its role in society and to claim rights to the ownership of marble. Secret sects of marble workers formed after the mid-19th century, acting as a driving force for Mazzinian and republican ideas in the area. After the unification of Italy, mutual aid societies multiplied. In the aftermath of the first general strike in 1872, socialist thought began to spread among the masses. Given the long history of opposition to the power of the church, the Catholic movement did not establish itself in Carrara.
While Mazzinian thought dominated the middle class in the following decades, the quarrymen developed Bakuninist ideology and anarchism, asserting their rights to public quarries previously assigned to private individuals since the eighteenth century. The Lunigiana riots of 1894 marked the beginning of a more modern and organized form of working-class struggle that found consensus and support throughout the city. Especially in the first half of the twentieth century, the workers’ and anarchist movements took on a real political weight, so much so that they strongly influenced the decisions of the economic life of Carrara.
The Fascist Era
Fascism’s affirmation overwhelmed the workers’ and the anarchist movement’s political and social relevance in Carrara with particular virulence. However, the rebellious spirit that has always characterized the city manifested itself with all its force during the Resistance. For its contribution to the fight for liberation from Nazism between 1943 and 1945, Carrara received the gold medal for civil merit in 2007.
Carrara, city of artists and writers
As we have already said, an illustrious guest of the city was the famous Michelangelo, who, at the beginning of the 16th century, went to Carrara several times in search of precious marbles for his works. It seems that he inspected the quarries for 8 months. He made seven more visits to the quarries, but he did not leave any of his artistic creations in the city. However, his influence on the artists who worked in Carrara during the 16th century was strong.
Writers and poets such as Giovanni Pascoli, Gabriele D’Annunzio, and Ceccardo Roccatagliata Ceccardi stayed in the city on several occasions to write about the reality of Carrara, the marble, and the artistic climate. D’Annunzio wrote his poetic impressions in 1899 after his visits to the quarries.
Carrara marble
Known throughout the world, Carrara marble began to be extracted in Roman times. It was used to create sculptures, embellish architectural and monumental works, and decorate the homes of wealthy private individuals. For centuries, the extraction of marble has been associated with wealth, but it also often involves hard work and dramatic episodes due to the inherent dangers of this activity.
Such indiscriminate exploitation of the marble basins has led to an environmental disaster, especially in recent decades. The environmental devastation, marked by the disappearance of jagged mountains and some rocky peaks, has resulted in numerous negative consequences for the landscape and communities, with only a few benefiting. Indiscriminate extraction is not even compensated by such a large employment of workers. Numerous environmental associations, the No Cav movement, and, recently, the Apuane Libere organization have been fighting for years against problems such as pollution of the aquifers, dispersion of dust into the atmosphere, “marmettola” (marble dust as waste from processing), and mafia infiltration.
Because “Mountains don’t grow back.”.
Things to do in Carrara: discovering the city
The historic center of Carrara is a maze of narrow streets and ancient houses that are very reminiscent of the historic center of Genoa. Let’s begin our ideal itinerary of things to do in Carrara from Via Carriona. Via Carriona is an ancient street, its name appearing in numerous historical accounts on the facades of houses, in the workshops of artists, and even in the trattorias. In one corner, there is the statue of the horse of the consul, Curzio Marco, a legendary Roman knight. The unfinished marble work is located in a niche after the New Bridge of Tears.
The Siren is instead a baroque fountain near the “Porta del Cavallo.” Foreign travel guides of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries often cite this artifact. The artifact depicts a mermaid sitting on a dolphin, with water flowing from its mouth into a large shell. Up until a few years ago, via Carriona significantly affected the truck traffic that transported the marble blocks downstream.
Piazza Alberica and its palaces
Shortly after passing through Via Carriona, you arrive at the magnificent Piazza Alberica, the heart of the historic center and one of the main attractions in Carrara. Elegant and ancient, some beautiful historic buildings of Carrara overlook the square. Alberico I Cybo Malaspina, who had it built in the seventeenth century and included it within the walls, is credited with naming it. The Palazzo del Medico, a fascinating Baroque-style building with a red cybeo facade, marble frames, and festoons, is located on one side. Antonio Canova stayed there in 1783, while from the mid-nineteenth century, it hosted the Royal Court of Este, the Empress Maria Anna, and the Royal Infants of Spain.
On the opposite side of the square is the elegant but more spartan Palazzo Diana. Giorgio Vasari designed it in the early seventeenth century. Its large loggia occupies the eastern side of Piazza Alberica. The Palazzo dei Conti Pisani is another 17th-century building, once featuring a large Italian garden. In the center of the square is the statue of Maria Beatrice d’Este, Princess of Carrara and the last sovereign of the Cybo Malaspina dynasty. The full-length, upright statue dates back to 1827, in neoclassical style, and is the work of Carrara sculptor Pietro Fontana. It rests on a fountain from which the very fresh water from the Apuan Alps flows. The paving of the square with marble inlays is very beautiful.
The Academy of Fine Arts
Take the elegant Via Giorgi and find the Palazzo delle Cariatidi. A noble residence, richly decorated, it was also home to the elegant Caffè Chantant. Following Via Giorgi, you reach the Academy of Fine Arts square, where the statue honoring Giuseppe Mazzini stands. Its foundation took place in 1769 at the behest of Maria Teresa Cybo Malaspina, Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara. Indeed, the city had been longing for a proper training school for marble sculptors for years. Therefore, it was an institution that not only contributed to the development of the arts but also benefited the marble industry.
The Academy is located in the medieval fortress and in the Renaissance Palace of the Prince. The Academy boasts a notable artistic, historical, and architectural heritage, showcasing archaeological finds from every era, sculptures, paintings, and a sample of marbles. For this reason, visiting it is among the things to do in Carrara. Among the art pieces, we recall the models and casts created by early Neoclassical masters like Antonio Canova, as well as the archaeological collection that includes artifacts from Luni and the oldest quarries.
The Renaissance Palace of the Prince
We take Via del Plebiscito, which runs under Piazza Gramsci. It is a seemingly dead-end street, closed by the Church of Suffragio and bordered by the walls of the ancient garden of the Prince. Here we find the remains of the seventeenth-century Fonte Antica fountain, heavily restored in 1876. We climb up the steps to Piazza Gramsci, where we can admire the gardens, the fountain with the revolving marble sphere, the marble sculptures, and the marble hippos that emerge from the grass.
At the beginning of the more modern Via Roma, we immediately find the Palazzo Cybo Malaspina, or the Renaissance Palace of the Prince. Erected on previous Lombard fortifications, the dynasty has resided in this building since 1448. In reality, it is a complex of different buildings, including the early medieval castle.
The Cathedral of Carrara
Now let’s immerse ourselves in the medieval atmosphere of the alleys. By traversing via Finelli, we reach the magnificent Cathedral of Sant’Andrea, complete with its own square. In Romanesque-Gothic style, the facade of the sacred building is a riot of marble decorations with two-tone bands of white Lunense marble and black Colonnata marble. The 108-feet-high bell tower surmounts it, housing the ancient mechanical clock with counterweight movement.
The elegant Gothic rose window surmounts the main portal, leading us inside. It is apparently bare but very rich in works of sacred art. There is the altar of San Ceccardo, which features a seventeenth-century painting, the sarcophagus of San Ceccardo, remnants of frescoes from the fifteenth century, and the marble group of Cassanelle. The Blessed Sacrament altar, the 1460 marble group depicting the Madonna with Child and Saints, and the baptistery are also present.
Piazza Duomo and Piazza delle Erbe
In Piazza Duomo, we find the baroque palace of the Sarteschi Counts, where Michelangelo Buonarroti lived during his visits to Carrara. The statue in the Fountain of the Giant, on the other hand, symbolizes the Genoese statesman and Naval Commander Andrea Doria, who is portrayed as Neptune. The statue rests on two dolphins with “boccaloni,” from which spring water flows into the marble basin.
Finally, let’s visit the nearby Piazza delle Erbe, located through the Duomo’s alley, as part of our things to do in Carrara. It represents one of the oldest places in the city. In the past, this place hosted the market and played a pivotal role in numerous historical events within the city. On July 7, 1944, the women of Carrara rebelled and halted the Germans who had issued the evacuation order. With the cry of “Do not abandon the city,” the women obtained the suspension of the evacuation order. The enormous mural “Do not abandon the city” and a plaque both bear witness to this fact. The artistic duo Orticanoodles dedicated it to Francesca Rolla, one of the heroines of the Carrara Resistance and one of the protagonists of this tragic episode of the Second World War.
The other churches of Carrara
Among the things to do in Carrara, a visit to the church of Suffragio, located in via Plebiscito, is recommended. The building, which dates back to the nineteenth century, features a decorative system in the Baroque style. The interiors are characterized by polychrome marbles that create an evocative atmosphere of outstanding beauty.
Prince Carlo I Cybo-Malaspina ordered the construction of the church of San Francesco in the mid-seventeenth century. Due to the Cybo family’s connection to the papal court, the place of worship is characterized by the Baroque style with references to the Roman school. The church of Carmine dates back to a period between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Used for several decades as a marble processing plant and art gallery, it has maintained its Ligurian-influenced Baroque style.
Villa Fabbricotti and the Padula
The Padula is a public park located in Sorgnano, easily reachable from the center of Carrara. The neo-Gothic Tower of Villa Fabbricotti characterizes the bridge that leads to the Padula. The green area of the park was once the English garden of the villa, and today it is characterized by avenues and marble sculptures.
Villa Fabbricotti stands in a central and dominant position. The elegant neoclassical building dates back to 1879. The Fabbricotti family was a rich dynasty of marble industrialists from Carrara who donated numerous works of art to the area.
Today the villa has been restored and houses the Carmi-Carrara and Michelangelo Museums. A visit to this site is certainly one of the things to do in Carrara. Indeed, the museum showcases an exhibition honoring Michelangelo, his connection with marble and the city, along with intriguing temporary exhibitions.
Other museums
Among the things to do in Carrara, there is also a visit to the MudaC—Carrara Museum of Arts, linked to the themes of contemporary arts. It is located in the former seventeenth-century Convent of San Francesco and exhibits a collection that tells the story of Carrara’s connection with artistic production and the marble industry.
The Civic Marble Museum is located in Viale XX Settembre and boasts a large collection of archaeological finds from the Apuan quarries. It also exhibits examples of tools for extracting and processing marble. The collection includes the industrial archaeology section, the art design section, the casts, and the richest “Marmoteca” in Italy thanks to its 310 samples of marble.
Palazzo Binelli
Other very interesting exhibitions are set up all year round at Palazzo Binelli, located in the center of Carrara, in via Verdi. The Binelli counts, marble entrepreneurs, commissioned this elegant building at the end of the nineteenth century. It then became the headquarters of the Bank of Italy in the 1920s.
After careful restoration, which recovered its original refined appearance as an elegant stately home, Palazzo Binelli is today a place of culture for exhibitions and conferences. The interiors are characterized by an eclectic neo-Renaissance style, with frescoed ceilings and rooms, statues, and marble decorations.
Ruins of the castle of Moneta
On a hill overlooking the city of Carrara, we find the ruins of the castle of Moneta. You can reach this ancient fortified village, complete with a defensive fortress, by car from the town of Fossola. In fact, you can travel on foot along a small road that starts from a hairpin bend. From the ruins of the castle, you can enjoy a wide panorama of the city, the coastline, and the sea.
Things to do in Carrara Gallery
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Tourist information offices in Carrara
Email address for all information: pointsinfocarrara@comune.carrara.ms.it
Opening hours of tourist information and reception points:
- IAT Tourist Information Point—Historic Center—Piazza 2 Giugno, 1. Opening hours: every day from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Phone: +39 335 834 3272
- IAT Tourist Information Point Marina di Carrara “PuntoBlu”—Via Genova, 1. Opening hours: every day from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Phone: +39 335 712 2609
- Fossacava Tourist Information Office – Colonnata. Strada Comunale per Colonnata, 54033 Carrara (MS). Open from Monday to Sunday, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Phone: +39 335 1047436
