Off-roading in the Carrara marble quarries

I had no idea what to expect, just piles of marble I thought. I was so wrong. The drive began through the quaint town surrounded by hills and continued up wet, sketchy switchbacks until we were way above the foggy cloudline. The drive got so steep at some points that I grabbed Emma’s (photographer) hand out of fear.

Our guide explained the history of Carrara and its slaves and how they mined the quarries hundreds of years ago in Roman times. It was so fascinating to imagine how life was in these fancy mountains so long ago. He had so many great tales to tell along the windy trails and he explained each type of marble and extravagant stories of how some people have been known to just point at a raw ton of marble and say ‘I want that’ for a pretty chunk of change.

We made our way up to what’s known as Michelangelo marble and got out for a short walk. It is the infamous stone that is used to make statues. One by one we all chose a small piece from the muddled marble floor to take back home with us. It was very odd to step on marble the size of a house covered in mud thinking that one day this too would be in someone’s kitchen.

Now that I am back home I smile and remember my journey up the marble mountain whenever I see marble in a home or church. It was a very special day and luckily the unusual amount of heavy fog allowed me to take some of the most mystical, unique pictures yet. I don’t have a marble kitchen, but I can frame a nice shot from the marble quarries.