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Apuane
Colonnata
Colonnata, a village known worldwide for its Lardo, dates back to Roman times, with the first settlements traced around 40 BCE. Today, it stands at the edge of an increasingly industrialized landscape, where mountains are carved for marble extraction.
Caves
Digging inside the mountains requires massive machinery. With each cubic meter of marble weighing over 2.5 tons, hydraulic arms and cutting rigs are essential to manage the load and reach deeper underground.
Cut
Marble cutting was once entirely manual. Today, diamond-tipped blades cut through the stone with precision and speed, transforming what was once a dangerous and slow process into industrial routine.
Turism
Tourism in the Apuan Alps is growing. Visitors come from around the world to witness the surreal landscape of white peaks and hollowed-out mountains, shaped by centuries of excavation, now accelerating.
Ancestors
The Romans were the first to extract marble from these mountains, recognizing the value of the white rock. Fossacava, a Roman quarry still visible today, stands as a testament to this ancient activity.
Veins
Marble reflects light intensely, making excavated areas stand out sharply against the untouched mountain. Natural sections still host shrubs and “paleo,” a local grass that clings to the steep limestone slopes.
A lot
Marble blocks are stored along the excavation fronts, ready for transport. Once cut, they are shipped to processing plants, then sold worldwide, a global trade rooted in local extraction.
Caves
From above, the scale of the excavation is evident. Inside the mountains, roads are carved into steep terrain so that trucks and bulldozers can access the cave interiors, turning peaks into work sites.
Weighing
Once loaded, marble trucks are weighed to report the amount extracted. This data is used to calculate the fees owed to the municipality. But for every ton removed, a part of the mountain is lost forever.
Other Pictures
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