Marble and Mediterranean

Today we decided to visit the marble quarries in Carrara and then stop by the Mediterranean coast on the way back. The quarries at Carrara are very famous. These are the same quarries from which Michael Angelo got the marble for many of his statues, including the famous David. They have very high quality white marble that has been mined there for centuries. The quarries are located in the mountains. On the drive there and as we got closer to the mountains we saw that there was snow at highter elevations. This surprised us as it is late July. We later learned that this was not snow but marble dust!! Centuries of marble dust!!!

Quarries as seen from the road

 

 

Once we got to the city of Carrara we needed to find the entrance to the quarries as well as the marble museum which we wanted to visit. We soon found out that both are pretty high UP the mountain! And the road leading up there is of the narrow, windy variaty with no guard rails! Gulp! Neither one of us enjoyed that part of the adventure. Let's just say that Steve drove VERY slowly!

At the top of the mountain we were directed to the location from which a tour company took people into the quarries. They gave us all red sweatshirts (as it's cold inside the mountain) and put us on small buses that drove for half a kilometer into the center of the mountain. They asked ahead of time if anyone was clastrofobic as it's really dark in the tunnel. Thankfuly this did not bother anyone and in reality it was not that bad at all :) The quarries are amazing and seam surreal! Huge open spaces surrounded by white marble walls! Our guide (a young woman who was a daugher of a miner) gave us a tour inside the part of the quarry which was no longer operating. We learned a lot about how marble is cut and excavated......both now and in the past......and the tools that the miners use.

Tunnel leading into the mountain.

 

Inside the quarry

 

 

 

We learned that you can reserve this underground marble cave for private events like weddings or music concerts. In fact, they told us that Bon Jovi has held a small private concert here.

 

 

Here are some of the tools used for cutting marble. These steel pillows are filled with water to separate a cut block of marble from the wall.

 

Look at the size of this saw!!

 

Steve is holding a belt with diamond beads that cuts through marble. They told us that they have had accidents and even deaths when this diamond belt breaks. It turns so fast that the beads act like bullets and can kill people.

 

Outside the mine was the outdoor marble museum. They had lots of interesing exhibits and marble statues.

 

 

Can you guess what this statue portrays?

 

Steve was fascinated by this minature showing how the marble was cut and transported centuries ago. His engeneer's mind thrives on this kind of stuff :)

 

Cut marble blocks outside the quarry ready for shipping. The big machine that looks like a bridge slides on rails and pics up marble blocks to get them on trucks.

 

After the quarry visit we got back in the car, drove down the mountain (much easier!!) and headed towards the mediterranean coast. We stopped at the little coastal town of ViaReggio and headed to the beach. The beaches here are FULL of umbrellas of many different colors. We couldn't figure out if there was some reason for this. Maybe some kind of hotel color coding?

Here on one side of the beach the umbrellas are green

On the other side orange and blue

 

This guy was cleaning the beach. He is pulling a type of sweeper which is made of some kind of metal mesh. The sand falls through and the trash stays inside. Brilliant!! :)

 

We weren't prepared to swim but had to touch the waters of the Mediterranean see :)

 

Steve getting the sand out of his shoes.

At the end of the day we ate dinner in The Casablanca Restaurant!

Another new "tradition".....getting a half bottle of wine and some water with "gas" before dinner. Steve did not like carbonated water before he started to drink it in Europe. Now he loves it! :)

 

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