Chris & Kelly's Travel Adventures

This morning we took an early walk down to the Arno river (maybe 1 mile RT) and found a castle that is now used as a public park.  Beautiful bronze sculptures dot the trails.  It was a peaceful morning...the kind that are our favorite.

Found some funny street signs along our walk :)

For all you scientific and artistic minded friends/family of ours...this day is for you.  In the afternoon we hired a local guide from Carrara to take us on a Carrara marble mine tour.  Just like our day of the Dolomites, this is not a trip for those with motion sickness! There are high altitudes, narrow roads overlooking sheer drop offs plus a lot of hair pin turns (Made me very nervous to look down...looking up wasn't soothing either because of the sheer volume of evidence of previous rock slides!

Our guide Umberto explained that these mines have been in operation for over 2,000 years.  Michelangelo not only personally picked out his marble, but spend 3 months of many years learning from miners how to read the marble for flaws, grain, and color.  There are over 80 color types of Carrara marble, but pure whites or blacks are the most rare.  Blocks used to be cut using saws with water for friction, now most are cut with diamond tipped tools.  Over time entire mountains have been carved away.  After our close up look at the mining operations Umberto took us to a Larderia.  This culinary treat is specific to the town of Colonnata where most miners were from.  It is the process of taking fat back from a pig, covering it in spices, and brining it inside a carrara marble vat for 6 months.  They used this much the same way miners from West Virginia used pepperoni rolls as meals during the day while they worked within the mines, they sliced it thin and ate as a sandwich between bread...a portable, non-perishable cheap meal.  It looks like a firm slice of fat, but is very savory.   

We finished the day exploring historic Carrara on foot, we tried a local delicacy of baked chick pea bread called Farinata and I made a special purchase of a small carrara marble mortar & pestle.