Carrara

The floor of one of the many marble quarries at Carrara, Italy. Famous since early Roman times for its whiteness and consistent purity, Carrara marble has been the preferred medium for all the greatest sculptors. Its durability has also made it popular (though expensive) for exterior architectural ornamentation.

Town in Tuscany, Italy, in the foothills of the Apennines, 60 km/37 mi northwest of Livorno; population (2001) 65,000. It is known for its quarries of fine white marble, which were worked by the Romans, abandoned in the 5th century, and came into use again with the revival of sculpture and architecture in the 12th century.

With over 300 quarries, Carrara remains the largest source of marble in Italy and produces several varieties of the stone. The unusually white, flawless, and durable marble used for sculpture is found at only a few sites. Nearly all the surrounding heights, including Monte Sagro (1,733 m/5,688 ft), are of metamorphized limestone (marble).

From 1442 to 1741 Carrara was ruled by the Malaspina family. The town has an Academy of Fine Arts, founded in 1769. Marina di Carrara, 5 km/3 mi to the southwest on the Ligurian Sea, is a port and bathing resort.