CARRARA - GUIDED WALKING TOURS WITH LOCAL GUIDES
 CLASSICAL VISIT: Crouched at the feet of the Apuan Alps, Carrara is known all over the world for the outstanding quality of its marble. Sculpturs from Michelangelo to Henry Moore have tramped up there in search of the perfect block and today the town houses the important Biennale Internazionale di Scultura which offers international sculpturs an inspiring place to create new works.Our guided tour in Carrara starts with a visit to a professional marble workshop where you will get to learn the essential techniques used by todays artists. After this you head for an open air museum in the Fantiscritti quarries where our guide will illustrate you the entire history of marble quarrying form Roman times up to our days. This part of the tour could be followed by a visit of the cava in galleria, a unique querry or by a stroll through the historical center of Carrara where you will see the romanesque cathedral, entirely built in marble, the Teatro degli Animosi, the house of Michelangelo and the Accademy of Fine Arts (outside visit). Duration: 2,5 - 3 hrs (3,5 hrs with the cava in galleria querry). Entrance fees: Marble workshop: 2 € p.p. (groups), 5 € p.p. (individual visitors). Cava in galleria: 10 € p.p.  MARBLE: The marble of the Apuan Alps has been adored since Roman times. Visiting a marble workshop in the province of Massa-Carrara, the center of Tuscan marble quarrying, you can see how the hands of skilled master transform a raw block of Carrara marble into an elegant and precious piece of art. We suggest to complement this tour with a visit to local marble quarries, where you can watch the exhausting work of quarrying, the subsequent transport and the sawing of the marble into slabs.Duration: 1 - 1,5 hrs. *** A FEW STEPS FROM CARRARA  CASTLES AND MEDIEVAL FORTRESSES IN THE LUNIGIANAAfter meeting with our guide you will head for the medieval hamlet Fosdinovo where you visit the Malaspina castle, probably Dante Alighieri's refuge during his exile in 1306. The castle with its magnificent views of the sea, the Appenin and the Apuan Alps, is considered to be the best example of thirteen century military architecture in the Lunigiana. Transfer to Sarzana. During the guided tour in Sarzana's historical center you will see the cathedral which houses the famous cross by Maestro Guglielmo, the most antique of this type of wooden crosses, as well as the Firmafede fortress (outside visit), one of the most interesting fortresses of the Lunigiana. Duration: 3 hrs. Entrance fee: Castello Malaspina: 5 € p.p.  LARDO DI COLONNATAThis lard was traditionally the meal of the quarry workers who sliced it and accompanied it with bread, raw onions and tomatoes. Our guided tour introduces you to the traditional art of lard making in Colonnata followed by a tasting of this unique natural product, free from preservatives and colouring. After the tasting you will visit an open air marble museum in the Fantiscritti quarries where our guide will illustrate to you the entire history of marble quarrying form Roman times up to our days. Duration: 2 hrs. Tasting: price on request |  |
