Megan Grimm
Prompt 1
Standing at the edge of the Carrara quarry, describe what struck you most about the physical scale of the site. What did you see, hear, or smell that you didn’t expect? How did experiencing the quarry in person change or reinforce how you think about the materials used in Renaissance buildings and sculptures?
When we first got into the town of Carrara and I could see the marble on the mountain in the distance, my head started filling with questions and curiosity. As soon as we got to the top of the mountain and could see the quarries from a closer distance, I could not believe my eyes. I first was thinking about our journey in the bus up to the museum to start the tour and how it was not easy. We had to drive up narrow roads on the sides of cliffs while twisting and turning up the hills. After then learning about the history of the processes used to extract and move the material so it could be transported to other cities, I could not believe that it was done without modern technology. Although there was a lot of fog, we were still able to see the marble quarries from a great perspective. I found it fascinating that on each side of the mountains, there was different color of marble. This experience really changed my perspective on the intelligence that the people of the Renaissance had. The machinery that they created to extract the marble was so good, they barely had to change it over the years. It is still so mind-blowing to me how they extracted marble in this area without modern technology. Overall, saying I was impressed from the technology, processes, and development of marble extractions in Carrara during the Renaissance is an understatement. It was such a great and fascinating experience.
Swanson School of Engineering 