Michelangelo's David was born here before Florence: the master climbed personally to the Apuan Alps quarries to choose his blocks, and Carrara marble has clothed temples, mosques and skyscrapers for two thousand years. The quarries can be visited — Fantiscritti above all — and the sight of mountains "snow-capped" in summer is unrepeatable.
In town, the Academy of Fine Arts has trained sculptors since 1769, and open workshops show the ancient gesture. Colonnata, the quarrymen's village, gave its name to the lard aged in marble basins: worth the climb to taste it at the source.
Near Carrara
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
