Carrara marble
Carrara marble, sometimes mistakenly called Carrera marble, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It is quarried at the city of Carrara in the province of Massa and Carrara in modern day Tuscany, Italy.
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History [edit]
The marble quarries were monitored by the Cybo and Malaspina families who ruled over Massa and Carrara during the 17th and 18th centuries. The family created the Office of Marble in 1564 to regulate the marble mining industry.[1] The city of Massa, in particular, saw much of its plan redesigned (new roads, plazas, intersections, pavings) in order to make it worthy of an Italian country's capital.[2] Following the extinction of the Cybo-Malaspina family, the state was ruled by the House of Austria and management of the mines rested with them. The Basilica of Massa is built entirely of Carrara marble and the old Ducal Palace of Massa was used to showcase the precious stone.[3]
Notable monuments and buildings [edit]
Carrara marble has been used since the time of Ancient Rome; the Pantheon and Trajan's Column in Rome are constructed of it. Many sculptures of the Renaissance, such as Michelangelo's David (1501–04), were carved from Carrara marble. For Michelangelo at least, Carrara marble was valued above all other stone, except perhaps that of his own quarry in Pietrasanta.
- The statue to Robert Burns which commands a central position in Dumfries was carved in Carrara by Italian craftsmen working to Amelia Paton Hill's model. It was unveiled by future UK Prime Minister, Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery on 6 April 1882.[4]
- Marble Arch, London
- Duomo di Siena, Siena, Italy
- Manila Cathedral (interior), Manila, Philippines
- Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Harvard Medical School buildings, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Oslo Opera House, Oslo, Norway
- Peace Monument, Washington, DC, USA
- King Edward VII Memorial, Birmingham, UK
- Akshardham, Delhi
Substitutes [edit]
As with many of the popular marbles, the true marble from Carrara is often imitated by marble from other places, which may be called 'Carrara'. For example a white marble with similar dark veins comes from Turkey and may be labelled 'Carrara' at least to give people an idea of its appearance, if not in an attempt to pass it off as true Carrara marble.
See also [edit]
Notes [edit]
- ^ Goldthwaite 2011, p. 571.
- ^ Goldthwaite 2011, p. 573.
- ^ Goldthwaite 2011, p. 574.
- ^ "National Burns Collection – Burns Statue, Dumfries with Tam O'Shanter and Souter Johnnie statues "on tour", c 1900". Burnsscotland.com. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
References [edit]
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- Goldthwaite, Richard A. (2011), The Economy of Renaissance Florence, JHU Press, ISBN 0801889820
