Being at the site of the quarries for the first time was truly a breath-taking experience. From the foggy mountain peaks, followed by white strips of marble quarries. The scale of the entire operation in front of us is already impressive in the context of today’s society/technology, but imagining how these quarries have supplied marble to all of Italy for centuries is nearly unfathomable.
After learning some of the history of the culture of the Carrara Marble Mines, its success over the years begins to make more sense. For instance, in ancient times when motorized machinery and labor laws had yet to be implemented, their solution to vast amount of work required was simply manpower. Nearly, a third of the 60,000 residents of Carrara worked at the quarries, showing just how devoted this town’s economy was to producing marble for the rest of Italy. This is how this beautiful resource has made its way across the country to produce sculptures and line buildings for centuries.
Swanson School of Engineering 