Carrara Marble
The Carrara marble quarries in the Apuane Alps, near the Mediterranean sea between Pisa and Parma, have been famous since Antiquity, although the marble industry really developed during the Medici period in the Renaissance. The marble extracted in Carrara is white, sometimes with grey veins. This marble is of semi-statuary quality (see photo 1), which adds a distinct shine and refinement to objects.
Carrara marble was also used for sculpture and architectural elements. It is the whitest, finest and most luxurious of marbles.
Bibliography :
J. Dubarry de Lasalle, Identification of marbles, Ed. H. Vial, Dourdan, 2000
J. Dubarry de Lasalle, The use of marbles, Ed. H. Vial, Dourdan, 2005
P. Julien, Marbres, From Quarries to Palaces, ed. Le Bec en l'air, Manosque, 2006
Marmi antichi, collective work, ed. De Luca, Rome, 1998
