MUSEO CIVICO DEL MARMO
Viale XX Settembre 249 – Telephone and fax +39 0585 845746
museo.del.marmo@comune.carrara.ms.it – www.comune.carrara.ms.gov.it
10.30-12.30 and 17.00-21,00
Entrance fee 3 €
The Civic Museum of Marble was founded in 1982 by the Council of Carrara and tells the story of the city through its marble industry, with the purpose of documenting, conserving and appreciating the culture of marble. Over the years the museum has hosted a series of exhibitions and conferences, thus making the link between the physical working of marble and local and cultural history by means of the marble Biennale, symposiums on sculpture, and via the various marble workshops that are to be found in the district of Carrara. The internal exhibition space is divided into six sections plus an open-air space offering the visitor, via an interdisciplinary approach, a complex and fascinating view of this local heritage. These include “Roman archaeology and the history of the region” featuring rare historical finds; the richest collection of marble types in Italy, with 310 marble samples; “Industrial archaeology” with machinery and tools used in the extraction and working of marble from Roman times to the present day; “technical applications” including examples of design, plaster casts and reproductions of sculpture from the façade of the cathedral of Carrara. A new multi-media facility has been created for the purpose of recording the testimony of the centuries old culture of marble, using innovative audio-visual and information technology. In going around the exhibition space the visitor is able to understand via a series of explanatory panels, the geological, artistic and social history of Carrara. The history of the Carrara mountains and the exploitation of the marble resource, especially as regards the relationship of man with marble is also told by audio-visual projection. The “Bundle of Memories” features a series of images linked to the lives of marble-workers and leads into the Portrait Gallery, where 5 monitors show the life stories of those who have worked or continue to work with Carrara marble.
CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE ARTI PLASTICHE (International Centre for Sculptural Art)
Via Canal del Rio – tel. +39 0585 779681
infocultura@comune.carrara.ms.it – www.comune.carrara.ms.gov.it
9.00-12.30 and 20.00-24.00 (closed Monday, and Tuesday evening)
Free entrance
The Centre for Sculptural Art came about following a series of architectural restoration projects designed to transform the ex-convent of St. Francis into a permanent museum space. The centre documents the evolution of contemporary art, through a selection of exhibits belonging to Carrara council, which demonstrate the artistic development of the city, strongly linked to its history and marble, and aligned with its experience of contemporary art. The collection consists of works by nationally and world-renowned artists who have worked in and exhibited in Carrara from the second half of the 20th century to the present day.
DUOMO DI SANT’ANDREA (Cathedral of St. Andrew)
Piazza Duomo
8.00-13.00 and 15.30-18.30
The Duomo of S. Andrea is a triumph of Carrara marble. The most beautiful Romanesque building of the entire province of Massa Carrara, this building forms part of the important Romanesque artistic heritage of Tuscany. This church dedicated to St. Andrew the Apostle, is located in the heart of Carrara, in the tucked-away historical centre of the city, amongst the oldest, most romantic streets, redolent of the city’s Anarchist tradition, where the visitor can also find its oldest shops. This is the Carrara of the quarriers, shaped by the marble quarries that surround it.
ACCADEMIA BELLE ARTI DI CARRARA (The Fine Art Academy)
Via Roma 1 – tel. +39 0585 71658
www.accademiacarrara.it
The Accademia is situated in a building rich in history which offers the visitor the opportunity to follow the history of Carrara and the families who governed the city over the period from the 12th to the 19th century. The building consists of two parts, the eastern part being the oldest. This consists of the old fortress of 1187, extended a number of times over the years to become towards the end of the 14th century the home of Guglielmo Malaspina of the ‘flowering branch’, the prince of Fosdinovo, who also built a series of defences in this valley, including the castle of Moneta and the fortress of Avenza. The visitor can see the anatomical theatre, the 15th century courtyard, the Hall of Marble, the Great Hall, the Library and the Hall of Columns.