Carrara

For other uses, see Carrara (disambiguation)}}}.

Carrara is a city in the province of Massa-Carrara (Tuscany, Italy), famous for the white or blue-gray marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione river, some 100 km west-northwest of Florence.

Contents

1 History
2 Main sights
3 Economy and culture
4 Twin cities
5 External links

History

The municipality of Carrara was first established in 1235.

Over the centuries it was ruled by Pisa (1235), Lucca (1322), Genoa (1329) and Milan (1343). After the death of Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan in 1477, Carrara was fought over by Tommaso Campogregoso, lord of Sarzana, and the Malaspina family.

Carrara and Massa formed the Duchy of Massa and Carrara from the 15th to the 19th century.

Main sights

Cathedral (12th century).
Ducal Palace (16th century), now seat of the Fine Arts Academy.

Economy and culture

Carrara marble has been famous since the time of Ancient Rome; the Pantheon and Trajan's Column in Rome are constructed of it. Many famous sculptures of the Renaissance, such as Michelangelo's David, were carved from Carrara marble. For Michelangelo at least, Carrara marble was valued above all else, except perhaps that of his own quarry in Pietrasanta. Marble Arch in London and the Duomo di Siena are also made from this well regarded stone.

The close relation between Carrara and its famous marble quarries dates to ancient times. The word "Carrara" likely comes from the ancient term "Kar" (stone). Ancient Romans quarried the marble, loaded it onto ships at the port of Luni and took it to Rome by sea. For Saint Girolamo, the name Carrara derives from “CAR” that means "wagons" and from “IARA” that means "Moon", so is the “City of the Moon on the wagons”.

According to another hypothesis (Repetti) the term is derived from the French “CAREERS”, which in turn is borrowed from “CARRARIAE”, a Latin term meaning quarry. To the same conclusion arrives who part from a preroman term : “KAIR” (celtic) or to one from Liguria: “KAR”, that is mean "stone" and therefore: “CAR+ARIA” therefore “PLACE OF STONES”; place in which one is found great stone amount. One studious Danish makes to derive Carrara from an Etruscan term of origin Egyptian: “KAR” (nail head) and “RHA” (God of the sun). “KAR+RHA” means therefore “RHA NAIL HEAD, TEMPLE OF the SUN”.

In addition to the marble quarries, the city has academies of sculpture and fine arts and a museum of statuaries and antiquities. The local marble is exported around the world, and marble from elsewhere is also fashioned and sculpted commercially here.

An international stone and machinery [exhibition] (CarraraMarmotec) takes place in Carrara, the heart of a unique marble district. The stone tradition meets with the most up-to-date offers of the stone industry. All this, in deep connection with the territory and a background made of more then 1,000 companies working within the sector and almost 100 quarries.

Twin cities

External links

Toscana · Communes of the province of Massa-Carrara

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