"Quarry, Carrara. The Cloak of Conscience is carved from the same pure-white Carrara marble favoured by Roman and Renaissance sculptors. The robust and aesthetic quality of this variety of marble results from the method by which it has been subjected to heat and pressure over millions of years beneath the Earth's surface. This has caused its metamorphism from limestone or dolomite rock to a material composed from an interlocking mosaic of calcium carbonate crystals. Typically marble obtains its colour and patterns from the presence of mineral impurities such as clay, silt, sand, iron oxides or chert, any of which might"
"Carrara Carrara () is a city and ""comune"" in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence. Its motto is ""Fortitudo mea in rota"" (Latin: ""My strength is in the wheel""). There were known settlements in the area as early as the 9th century BC, when the Apuan Ligures lived in the region. The current town originated from the borough built to house workers in the marble quarries created by the Romans after their conquest of Liguria"
", the city has academies of sculpture and fine arts and a museum of statuary and antiquities, and a yearly marble technology fair. The local marble is exported around the world, and marble from elsewhere is also fashioned and sculpted commercially here. The word ""Carrara"" likely comes from the pre-Roman (Celtic or Ligurian) element ""kar"" (stone), through Latin ""carrariae"" meaning 'quarries'. Carrara is twinned with: Carrara Carrara () is a city and ""comune"" in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione"
"Colonnata Colonnata is an Italian ancient village and a hamlet (""frazione"") of the ""comune"" of Carrara, (Massa-Carrara, Tuscany). It is situated in the Apuan Alps, and is known worldwide for the pork fat delicacy Lardo di Colonnata, and for its marble quarries. Colonnata's history dates back to its settlement, around 40 BC. It was built for the housing of slaves used in quarrying marble after Rome decided to replace expensive imported Greek marble with local (Luni) marble. The name of the settlement is believed derived from the Latin word ""columna"", indicating the place where columns of marble were extracted to"
"(from Gargano), sulphur (from Sicily), lead, and zinc (from Sardinia). By the beginning of the 1990s, however, it had lost all its world-ranking positions and was no longer self-sufficient in those resources. There are no substantial deposits of iron, coal, or oil. Moderate natural gas reserves, mainly in the Po Valley and offshore Adriatic Sea, have been discovered in recent years and constitute the country's most important mineral resource. Italy is one of the world's leading producers of pumice, pozzolana, and feldspar. Another mineral resource for which Italy is well-known is marble, especially the world-famous white Carrara marble from the"
"marble deposits were discovered in Rutland, and in the 1830s a large deposit of nearly solid marble of high quality was found in what is now West Rutland. By the 1840s small firms had begun operations, but marble quarries only became profitable when the railroad arrived in 1851. At the same time, the famous quarries of Carrara in Tuscany, Italy, became largely unworkable because of their extreme depth, and Rutland quickly became one of the leading producers of marble in the world. This fueled enough growth and investment that in 1886 the marble companies saw to it that when the"
"the quarrymen, thus starting the traditional production of the famous pork fat delicacy, Lardo di Colonnata. Colonnata is located in the Apuan Alps (mounts Maggiore, Spallone and Sagro), and is accessible by the road that passes through the villages of Vezzala and Bedizzano. The village is surrounded by quarries in an area known as ""Gioia Calagio"", which includes the Gioia Pit, which produces the arabescato and bardiglio varieties of veined marble. The quarry was also used in ancient times, as evidenced by the finds of coins, inscriptions engraved directly on the rock, and a relief of the Roman tutelary deity"
"became part of Italy, and joined the Italian postal system. The unemployment rate stood at 8.6% in 2017 and was slightly lower than the national average. The subsoil in Tuscany is relatively rich in mineral resources, with iron ore, copper, mercury and lignite mines, the famous ""soffioni"" (fumarole) at Larderello, and the vast marble mines in Versilia. Although its share is falling all the time, agriculture still contributes to the region's economy. In the region's inland areas cereals, potatoes, olives and grapes are grown. The swamplands, which used to be marshy, now produce vegetables, rice, tobacco, beets and sunflowers. The"
"one of the most successful of those grants because of the excellent farmland and gentle topography. In the early 19th century, small high-quality marble deposits were discovered in Rutland, and in the 1830s a large deposit of nearly solid marble of high quality was found in what is now West Rutland. By the 1840s small firms had begun operations, but marble quarries only became profitable when the railroad came to Rutland in 1851. As fate would have it, the famous quarries of Carrara in Tuscany, Italy, became largely unworkable because of their extreme depth at the same time, and Rutland"
"during the 15th century, mainly due to its connection with marble. Michelangelo was the first sculptor to recognize the beauty of the local stone. Pietrasanta is twinned with <BR> Pietrasanta Pietrasanta is a town and ""comune"" on the coast of northern Tuscany in Italy, in the province of Lucca. Pietrasanta is part of Versilia, on the last foothills of the Apuan Alps, about north of Pisa. The town is located off the coast, where the ""frazione"" of Marina di Pietrasanta is located. The town has Roman origins and part of the Roman wall still exists. The medieval town was founded"
"The sixteenth-century San Bartolomeo parish church has a marble interior, including a main altar in white marble, side altars in multi-coloured marble, a marble relief depicting the Assumption of Mary into heaven among the saints, preserved fragments of an ancon from the altar of Saints Andrew, Bartholomew and Peter, and a 17th-century marble crucifix attributed to a pupil of Michelangelo. Colonnata Colonnata is an Italian ancient village and a hamlet (""frazione"") of the ""comune"" of Carrara, (Massa-Carrara, Tuscany). It is situated in the Apuan Alps, and is known worldwide for the pork fat delicacy Lardo di Colonnata, and for its"
"Rosignano Solvay Rosignano Solvay is a ""frazione"" (detached borough) of Rosignano Marittimo, Tuscany, Italy, located some 25 km from Livorno. It houses the White Beaches (Italian: ""Spiagge bianche""), whose sand is formed by limestone (90%) and calcium chloride (10%) produced by the nearby Solvay since 1914. Sights include the Teatro Solvay, two Etruscan museums and the Villaggio Solvay residential complex. The effluent from the Solvay factory contains many toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and ammonia. As a consequence, according to a report published in 1999 by the United Nations Environment Programme, the Spiagge Bianche has been"
"and Volegno, carrying out the first marble extraction in Versilia during the Industrial Revolution. Among the most important entrepreneurs interested in the quarries of Retignano there are: Sancholle, Beresford and especially Henraux. Montalto quarries became operative from the biennium 1818-1820, when it was possible to extract and then work a precious kind of marble very appreciated abroad and know, in Italian, as ""bardiglio fiorito"". The production was remarkable thanks to the high demand for this marble and its quality. However, the miners were forced to work in adverse conditions due to the inaccessible location of the quarries and the difficulty"
"majesty of marble, and has the appearance of a wax museum portrait. It is found presently in Museo degli Argenti in Florence. Giuseppe Antonio Torricelli Giuseppe Antonio Torricelli (1662–1719) was an Italian sculptor and gem-engraver of the late Baroque active in Florence, often using colorful and semi-precious pietra dura, a type of workmanship that became a specialty of Florence. He initially trained with Gaetano Giulio Zumbo. During his lifetime, worked under the supervision of Giovanni Battista Foggini, the master sculptor of the duchy. His masterpiece is the elaborate bust of Vittoria della Rovere (made from chalcedony (face), sardonyx (pupils), Sicilian"
"Century. Outside the city are: Rossano can be reached from the airports of Crotone, Lamezia Terme or Reggio Calabria through SS. 106 ""Ionica"" Route. Rossano has a railway station on the secondary branch starting from Sibari, on the line to Crotone. Rossano Rossano is a town and ""frazione"" of Corigliano-Rossano in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, southern Italy. The city is situated on an eminence c. 3. km from the Gulf of Taranto. The town is known for its marble and alabaster quarries. The town is the seat of a Catholic archbishop and has a notable cathedral and castle. Two"
"staircase of 2,500 steps that allowed the miners to reach the caves. Lizza di Piastreta The Lizza di Piastreta, also known as Monorotaia di Piastreta (""Piastreta Monorail""), was an Italian industrial monorail serving the marble quarry of Piastreta, in the Apuan Alps, and linking it to Renara, in the municipal territory of Massa, Tuscany. The monorail was projected in 1922 by the English engineer Charles Denham, owner of the quarry of Piastreta. The line, used to carry the marble from the quarry to the valley, consisted of a single rail on wooden sleepers, on which a motorized tractor hauled a"
"Lizza di Piastreta The Lizza di Piastreta, also known as Monorotaia di Piastreta (""Piastreta Monorail""), was an Italian industrial monorail serving the marble quarry of Piastreta, in the Apuan Alps, and linking it to Renara, in the municipal territory of Massa, Tuscany. The monorail was projected in 1922 by the English engineer Charles Denham, owner of the quarry of Piastreta. The line, used to carry the marble from the quarry to the valley, consisted of a single rail on wooden sleepers, on which a motorized tractor hauled a sled load. The system of the sleds was already used, for the"
"have been present in granular form inside the original limestone. The pure-white variety, found in the Michelangelo quarry at Carrara, results from a complete absence of such impurities in the limestone from which it originated. At 250 tonnes, the original block of marble had its centre drilled out in the Michelangelo quarry to reduce its weight as far as possible for transportation down the steep winding road to the Michelangelo Studio, Carrara. This in itself was a feat of logistics and required careful planning and patience to ensure it reached the studio safely. The scale of Chromy's Cloak of Conscience,"
"in Riomagno, Seravezza, the Englishman James Beresford (in the archives marked as ""Belessforde"") and his partner Gybrin preferred Retignano. With the help of the inhabitants, in the summer of 1820 they found in the ""Canaletta"" quarry a precious marble available only in the mountains of Retignano, an unusual mix of mixed, turquoise and floral bardiglio. They decided to start an extractive session and immediately sent by sea several marble blocks in Britain, presumably in London, where some monuments are in Versilia marble, such as ""Marble Arch"". The samples sent by sea to Great Britain were made of marble, turquoise and"
"slightly different composition: marble. The Roman marble industry was centered at Luna, and is now active in Carrara. As the Tuscan Apennines divide the peninsula between the Po Valley and the plains and hills of Tuscany and Lazio, transportation over them is essential to political and economic unity. Historically the Romans used the Via Flaminia between Rome and Rimini. The montane distance between Florence in Tuscany and Bologna in Emilia-Romagna is shorter, but exploitation of it required the conquest of more rugged terrain, which was not feasible for the ancients. Railway lines were constructed over the mountains in the early"
"Tuscany's marble quarries was imported by Albion Stone and applied to the extraction of Portland stone. This new technology eliminated the need for blasting, significantly improved the quarries' environmental performance and removed the potential for any possible damage to the stone being quarried through shock. Full account of the local jointing pattern is made when deciding the position and orientation of cuts. Once the quarry faces have been cut, the stone is gently displaced hydraulically. This is done using ""hydro-bags"", which are thin, flat, steel bags or envelopes that when inflated with water under moderate pressure, are capable of producing"
"construction. The quarry has enjoyed a renaissance since its acquisition in 2004 by Polycor, a Canadian-based dimension stone company, and subsequent sale to Italian group R.E.D. Graniti S.p.A. In spite of significant transportation costs, this high-quality stone is now exported in large quantities to Europe and Asia for transformation and use throughout the world, as well as being sold into the US market. In the late 20th century and the 21st century, Marble has become a summer tourist destination. It is also the gateway to the nearby Crystal townsite. It is the site of the Marble/marble sculpting symposium held every"
"Santuario della Madonna della Querce, Lucignano The Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Oak or Santuario della Madonna della Querce is a Renaissance-style, Roman Catholic church located about a kilometer from the center of the town of Lucignano, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. The church is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro. The 16th-century church at the site of a large oak tree upon which an image of the Madonna had been painted. A tabernacle had been erected at the site in 1417. A spring was discovered during construction, leading to its attribution as a miracle. The depiction"
"Laas, South Tyrol Laas (; ) is a ""comune"" (municipality) in the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about west of the city of Bolzano. As of 30 November 2010, it had a population of 3,983 and an area of . The municipality of Laas contains the ""frazioni"" (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Allitz (Alliz), Eyrs (Oris), Tanas, and Tschengls (Cengles). Laas (Lasa) borders the following municipalities: Mals, Martell, Prad, Schlanders, Schluderns, and Stilfs. Laas is known for the pure white marble quarried in the mountains south of the village which has been used in buildings worldwide, including"
"at exploiting its lighting qualities and generally speaking the finished art pieces retained their natural color. In Europe, the centre of the alabaster trade today is Florence, Italy. Tuscan alabaster occurs in nodular masses embedded in limestone, interstratified with marls of Miocene and Pliocene age. The mineral is worked largely by means of underground galleries, in the district of Volterra. Several varieties are recognized—veined, spotted, clouded, agatiform, and others. The finest kind, obtained principally from Castellina, is sent to Florence for figure-sculpture, while the common kinds are carved locally, into vases, lights, and various ornamental objects. These items are objects"
"where the most important quarries since Ancient Roman times, like the old quarry of Bernini in Guidonia, can be found. The latter has a major historic value, because it was one of the quarries that Gian Lorenzo Bernini selected material from to build the famous Colonnade of St. Peter's Square in Rome (colonnato di Piazza S. Pietro) in 1656-1667. Michaelangelo also chose travertine as the material for the external ribs of the dome of St Peter's Basilica. Travertine derives its name from the former town, known as Tibur in ancient Roman times. The ancient name for the stone was ""lapis"
"Massa Marittima Massa Marittima is a town and ""comune"" of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany, Italy, 49 km NNW of Grosseto. There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, ironworks and olive-oil mills. At Follonica, on the coast, are the furnaces in which are smelted the iron ore of Elba. The territory around Massa Marittima was inhabited since prehistoric and proto-historical times, as evidenced by numerous finds dating from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age. Etruscan settlements have been found in the area of Lake of Accesa and others dating from the 9th to"
"Morassina Morassina is an inactive mine in Schmiedefeld (Lichtetal), Thuringia, Germany. Today it is a tourist attraction known for its stalactites. The first recorded mention of the mine dates to 1683, as a source of alum, iron and copper vitriols (sulfates), sulfur, and colored clay. The colours of the stalactites are produced by the minerals in the mine. In 1717 the merchant Johann Leonard Morassi bought the mine and named it Morassina. In 1750 the Leipzig trading firm of Frege bought it and became extremely wealthy from it; in 1816 they were able to buy back the Crown Jewels of"
"tourists came from Germany, Russia, Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and the USA (ISTAT data). The Fortress (Italian ""Fortino""), after being employed as a postal service office, is now a museum of satirical art. It was damaged during a recent earthquake. Each Wednesday, a market is held which has become famous for deep discounts on designer clothes, leather goods, and other products. <BR> Forte dei Marmi Forte dei Marmi () is a sea town and ""comune"" in the province of Lucca, in northern Tuscany (Italy). It is the birthplace of Paola Ruffo di Calabria, Queen of the Belgians from"
"Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Venice Santa Maria dei Miracoli is a church in the sestiere of Cannaregio, in Venice, Italy. Also known as the ""marble church"", it is one of the best examples of the early Venetian Renaissance including colored marble, a false colonnade on the exterior walls (pilasters), and a semicircular pediment. The organisation ""Save Venice"" restored the church over a period of ten years, from 1987 to 1997 (they had estimated as period of two years). The marble cladding contained 14 percent of salts, and was on the point of bursting. All marble cladding was removed, and cleaned"
"Salvatori (design) Salvatori is an Italian design brand specialising in natural stone such as marble, limestone and sandstone. Salvatori was founded in 1946 in Querceta, Tuscany, close to the Carrara marble quarries. In 1950 the founder Guido Salvatori invented the “split face” finish, whereby the stone is opened up to expose the textured surface within. In the early 2000s in addition to textures the company started to also produce bathroom items such as bathtubs and basins. More recently the company has introduced its Home Collection, which began with tables and later extended into areas such as lighting, storage solutions and"
"Impruneta Impruneta is a town and ""comune"" of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany. The population is about 15,000. The name Impruneta is derived from ""inprunetis"" meaning ""within the pine woods"", and is known for its fine production of terracotta. The terracotta is made from local clay, has a red-colored finish, and production includes everything from small tiles to large garden vases and statues. The most important feature of Impruneta is the Sanctuary of Santa Maria. The Basilica dates from 1060, being probably located over an ancient devotional site of Etruscan times (6th century BC)."
"Tuscany Tuscany ( ; , ) is a region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants (2013). The regional capital is Florence (""Firenze""). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its influence on high culture. It is regarded as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and has been home to many figures influential in the history of art and science, and contains well-known museums such as the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace. Tuscany produces wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino."