Carrara (Tuscany)

Carrara is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara. It is on the Carrione River, some 100 kilometres (62 mi) west-northwest of Florence. Carrara is mainly famous for its marble quarries from which white and bluish grey marble is quarried. The local marble is exported around the world, and marble from elsewhere is also fashioned and sculpted commercially here. Carrara marble has been used since the time of Ancient Rome. The Pantheon and Trajan's Column in Rome are constructed of it, and many sculptures of the Renaissance were carved from it. In addition to the marble quarries, the city has academies of sculpture and fine arts and a museum of statuary and antiquities, and a yearly marble technology fair.