Carrara ( , ; , ) is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' in
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, in central Italy, of the
province of Massa and Carrara
The province of Massa-Carrara ( it, provincia di Massa-Carrara) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. It is named after the provincial capital Massa, Tuscany, Massa, and Carrara, the other main town in the prov ...
, and notable for the white or blue-grey
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some
west-northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
of
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
. Its motto is ''Fortitudo mea in rota'' (Latin: "My strength is in the wheel").
Toponymy
The word ''Carrara'' likely comes from the pre-Roman (
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
or
Ligurian) element ''kar'' (stone), through Latin ''carrariae'' meaning 'quarries'.
History
![Carrara](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Carrara.PNG)
There were known settlements in the area as early as the ninth 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
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
after their conquest of
Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
in the early second 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 the river
Magra
__NOTOC__
The Magra is a long river of Northern Italy, which runs through Pontremoli, Filattiera, Villafranca in Lunigiana and Aulla in the province of Massa-Carrara (Tuscany); Santo Stefano di Magra, Vezzano Ligure, Arcola, Sarzana and Amegli ...
.
In the early
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
it was a Byzantine and then Lombard possession, and then, it was under the
Bishops of Luni
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
who started to write the city's history when the Emperor
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
gave it to them. It turned itself into a
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
in the early 13th century; during the struggle between
Guelphs and Ghibellines
The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, ri ...
, 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
Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957.
Lucca is known as one o ...
and
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
. Later it was acquired by
Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Milan (1395) and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò. He was the foundi ...
of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
.
After the death of
of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
in 1447, Carrara was fought over by
Tommaso Campofregoso, lord of
Sarzana
Sarzana (, ; lij, Sarzann-a) is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former short-lived Catholic bishopric in the Province of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. It is east of Spezia, on the railway to Pisa, at the point where the railway to Parma diver ...
, and again the Malaspina family, who moved here the seat of their ''
signoria
A signoria () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods.
The word signoria comes from ''signore'' , or "lord"; an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government; governing authority; ...
'' in the second half of the 15th century. Carrara and Massa formed the
Duchy of Massa and Carrara
The Duchy of Massa and Principality of Carrara ( it, Ducato di Massa e Principato di Carrara) was a small state that controlled the towns of Massa and Carrara from 1473 until 1829.
History
Although the city of Massa had already known its maxim ...
from the 15th to the 19th century. Under the last Malaspina,
Maria Teresa, who had married
Ercole III d'Este
Ercole III d'Este (Ercole Rinaldo; 22 November 1727 – 14 October 1803) was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1780 to 1796, and later of Breisgau (not resident). He was a member of the House of Este.
Biography
He was born in Modena, the son of Du ...
, it became part of the
Duchy of Modena
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important difference between " ...
.
After the short Napoleonic rule of
Elisa Bonaparte
Maria Anna Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi Levoy (French language, French: ''Marie Anne Elisa Bonaparte''; 3 January 1777 – 7 August 1820), better known as Elisa Bonaparte, was an imperial French princess and sister of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte. ...
, it was given back to Modena. During the
unification of Italy
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...
age, Carrara was the seat of a popular revolt led by
Domenico Cucchiari
Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to:
People
* Domenico Alfani, Italian painter
* Domenico Allegri, Italian composer
* Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster
* Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter
* Domenico Auria, Italian archit ...
, and was a center of
Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...
's revolutionary activity.
![Cassier's magazine (1911) (14760305101)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Cassier%27s_magazine_%281911%29_%2814760305101%29.jpg)
At the end of the 19th century Carrara became the cradle of anarchism in Italy, in particular among the quarry workers. The quarry workers, including the stone carvers, had radical beliefs that set them apart from others. Ideas from outside the city began to influence the Carrarese. Anarchism and general radicalism became part of the heritage of the stone carvers. According to a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' article of 1894 many violent revolutionists who had been expelled from Belgium and Switzerland went to Carrara in 1885 and founded the first anarchist group in Italy. Carrara has remained a continuous 'hotbed' of anarchism in Italy, with several organizations located openly in the city. The Anarchist marble workers were also the driving force behind organising labour in the quarries and in the carving sheds. They were also the main protagonists of the
Lunigiana revolt
The Lunigiana revolt took place in January 1894, in the stone and marble quarries of Massa and Carrara in the Lunigiana, the northernmost tip of Tuscany (Italy), in support of the Fasci Siciliani (Sicilian Leagues) uprising on Sicily. After a st ...
in January 1894.
In 1929, the municipalities of Carrara, Massa and
Montignoso
Montignoso is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Massa and Carrara in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about southeast of Massa.
Montignoso borders the following municipalities: Forte dei Marmi, Ma ...
were merged in a single municipality, called ''Apuania''. In 1945 the previous situation was restored.
Carrara is the birthplace of the
International Federation of Anarchists (IFA), formed in 1968.
Title
As a titular
Duke of Modena
Emperor Frederick III conferred Borso d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, with the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1452, while Pope Paul II formally elevated him in 1471 as Duke of Ferrara, over which the family had in fact long presided. This latter territo ...
, the current holder of the title of "Prince of Carrara" would be
Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este
Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 16 December 1955) is a member of the Belgian royal family as the husband of Princess Astrid of Belgium. He is the head of the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg- ...
.
Economy
Carrara marble
Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...
has been used since the time of
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
. The
Pantheon
Pantheon may refer to:
* Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building
Arts and entertainment Comics
*Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization
* ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...
and
Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column ( it, Colonna Traiana, la, Columna Traiani) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Ap ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
are constructed of it, and many
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
s of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
were carved from it.
Culture
In addition to the
marble quarries, the city has academies of sculpture and fine arts and a
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
of statuary and antiquities, and a yearly marble technology fair. The local marble is exported around the world, and marble from elsewhere is also fashioned and sculpted commercially here.
Main sights
*
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
(''Duomo'', 12th century).
*Ducal Palace (also ''Palazzo Cybo Malaspina'', 16th century), now the seat of the
Fine Arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
Academy. Built over pre-existing
Lombard fortification, it dates to the reign of
Guglielmo Malaspina, becoming in 1448 the permanent seat of the dynasty. It includes two distinct edifices: the Castello Malaspiniano, dating to the 13th century, and the Renaissance palace, begun by
Alberico I in the late 16th century. Under the medieval
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
are exposed several ancient Roman findings.
*Baroque church and convent of ''San Francesco'', built in 1623–64 by order of
Carlo I Cybo-Malaspina
Carlo I Cybo-Malaspina (18 November 1581 - 13 February 1662) was an Italian nobleman, who was prince of Massa and marquis of Carrara from 1623 until his death.
Born in Ferrara, he was the son of Alderano Cybo-Malaspina and Marfisa d'Este. He wa ...
.
*Church of the ''Suffragio'', begun in 1686 under design of Innocenzo Bergamini, and refurbished in the 19th century. The façade has a large marble portal in
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style, sculpted by
Carlo Finelli and surmounted by a
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
with the "Madonna and the Souls of the Purgatory".
*''Palazzo Cybo-Malaspina''
*Sanctuary of the ''Madonna delle Grazie alla Lugnola'', consecrated in 1676 and designed by Alessandro Bergamini.
*Church of ''Santa Maria Assunta'', at Torano. It has a 16th-century façade with a portal from 1554. The interior is on a nave and two aisles.
Sister cities
Carrara is
twinned with:
*
Grasse
Grasse (; Provençal dialect, Provençal oc, Grassa in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional it, Grassa) is the only Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence- ...
, France
*
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...
, Germany
*
Kragujevac
Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...
, Serbia
*
Opole
Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ;
* Silesian:
** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole''
** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole''
* Silesian German: ''Uppeln''
* Czech: ''Opolí''
* Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...
, Poland
*
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
, Armenia
*
Yunfu
Yunfu (), formerly romanized as Wanfow, and historically known as Dong'an (), which was formerly romanized as Tong On, from 1578 to 1913, is a prefecture-level city in western Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Zhaoqi ...
, China
Notable people
*
Federico Bernardeschi
Federico Bernardeschi (; born 16 February 1994) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC and the Italy national team. His nickname is "Brunelleschi", after th ...
*
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
*
Giorgio Chinaglia
Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with Swansea Town in 1964. He later returned to Italy to ...
*
Francesco Gabbani
Francesco Gabbani (born 9 September 1982) is an Italian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He rose to fame after winning the newcomers' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2016 with the song "Amen". The next year, he went on to win the ...
*
Lorenzo Musetti
Lorenzo Musetti (born 3 March 2002) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ATP ranking of World No. 19 achieved on 9 January 2023 and a doubles ranking of World No. 283 achieved on 2 May 2022. Musetti has won two AT ...
*
Pietro Tacca
Pietro Tacca (16 September 1577 – 26 October 1640) was an Italian sculptor, who was the chief pupil and follower of Giambologna. Tacca began in a Mannerist style and worked in the Baroque style during his maturity.
Biography
Born in Ca ...
*
Cristiano Zanetti
Cristiano Zanetti (; born 10 April 1977) is a retired Italian footballer who played as a midfielder and current football coach. He was most recently in charge of Massese.
Zanetti played for several Italian clubs throughout his career, winning t ...
See also
*
No Cav
No Cav is an Italy, Italian protest movement that arose in the early 21st century, criticising the Carrara marble quarries in the Apuan Alps.
Name and flag
The phrase ''No Cav'', short for "No Cave" (No Quarries, in Italian), was used for the ...
*
Carrara marble
Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...
*
Marmifera di Carrara railway
References
External links
*
*
Marble Quarry in the Massa and Carrara region"Carrara" (Marble), in ''The Monumental News'' Magazine, March 1893, pp. 273-275."The Carrara Marble Industry,"''Scientific American Supplement'', May 17, 1902, pp. 22045–22046.
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080922183717/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17399 Landsat 7 photograph of Carrara marble quarries in August 2001Overnight in Carrara, Italy- slideshow by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Tuscany
Coastal towns in Tuscany
Municipalities of the Province of Massa-Carrara