Carrara marble

Carrara marble (often mistakenly spelled "Carrera marble") is a type of white or blue-grey marble of high quality, popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It is quarried in the city of Carrara located in the province of Massa and Carrara in the Lunigiana, the northernmost tip of modern-day Tuscany, Italy.

History

Carrara marble has been used since the time of Ancient Rome. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the marble quarries were monitored by the Cybo and Malaspina families who ruled over Massa and Carrara. The family created the Office of Marble in 1564 to regulate the marble mining industry. The city of Massa, in particular, saw much of its plan redesigned (new roads, plazas, intersections, pavings) in order to make it worthy of an Italian country's capital. Following the extinction of the Cybo-Malaspina family, the state was ruled by the House of Austria and management of the mines rested with them. The Basilica of Massa is built entirely of Carrara marble and the old Ducal Palace of Massa was used to showcase the precious stone.

Carrara

Carrara [karˈraːra] (Emilian: Carara) is a city and comune in the Province of Massa and Carrara (Tuscany, Italy), notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some 100 kilometres (62 mi) west-northwest of Florence.

Its motto is Fortitudo mea in rota (Latin: "My strength is in the wheel").

History

There were known settlements in the area as early as the 9th century BC, when the Apuan Ligures lived in the region. The current town originated from the borough built to house workers in the marble quarries created by the Romans after their conquest of Liguria in the early 2nd century BC. Carrara has been linked with the process of quarrying and carving marble since the Roman Age. Marble was exported from the nearby harbour of Luni at the mouth of river Magra.

In the Middle Ages it was a Byzantine and Lombard possession, and then, it was under bishops of Luni, turning itself into an city-state in the early 13th century; during the struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines, Carrara usually belonged to the latter party. The Bishops acquired it again in 1230, their rule ending in 1313, when the city was given in succession to the Republics of Pisa, Lucca and Florence. Later it was acquired by Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan.

Carrara (disambiguation)

Carrara is a city in Tuscany.

Carrara may also refer to:

See also

Carrara (singer)

Alberto Carrara, best known as Carrara and King Carrara, is an Italian singer, composer, arranger, music producer, and disc jockey.

Career

Born in Bergamo, Carrara started his career as disc jockey at 15. A self-taught musician, in 1983 he obtained his first success, "Disco King", and one year later he got his main success, "Shine on dance", which won the 1984 Festivalbar. He sold over three million records. In the 1990's he started an activity of music producer with the label "Disco Magic".

Discography

Singles

References

Further reading

External links