Carrara marble Carrara marble Carrara marble is a type of white or blue-grey marble of high quality, popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It is quarried in the city of Carrara located in the province of Massa and Carrara in the Lunigiana, the northernmost tip of modern-day Tuscany, Italy. Carrara marble has been used since the time of Ancient Rome. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the marble quarries were monitored by the Cybo and Malaspina families who ruled over Massa and Carrara. The family created the "Office of Marble" in 1564 to regulate the marble mining industry. The city
History of Tuscany which flowered for much of their reign. Tuscany became a more cohesive and unified state during these years, rather than simply the dominion of a dominating city, Florence. As time went on, Tuscany was transformed in a number of ways, not always positively. Most importantly, the economy underwent a fundamental change in character. The wool industry was decimated during these later years, though the silk industry was, to some extent, able to replace it. Nonetheless, industry, which had shaped and sustained Florence since the Middle Ages, began to decline throughout the 17th century. Investment in business became less lucrative and