Duchy of Massa and Carrara 1851, thanks to the English engineer and tycoon William Walton. In 1846 the Count Francesco del Medico proposed to the Duke Francis V the construction of the Marble Railway of Carrara, to link the marble quarries to the sea and thereby facilitating the transport of blocks to the areas for sorting, loading, and shipping. This project was also suspended for lack of funds. The Marble Railway was finally built after the Italian unification (1871–1890). In the last years of the duchy, an increasing number of clashes was seen between the liberals and the ducal government, especially in Carrara. The territory
Boniface III, Margrave of Tuscany Boniface III, Margrave of Tuscany Boniface III (also "Boniface IV" or "Boniface of Canossa") (c. 985 – 6 May 1052), son of Tedald of Canossa and the father of Matilda of Canossa, was the most powerful north Italian prince of his age. By inheritance he was Count (or lord) of Brescia, Canossa, Ferrara, Florence, Lucca, Mantua, Modena, Pisa, Pistoia, Parma, Reggio, and Verona from 1007 and, by appointment, Margrave of Tuscany from 1027 until his assassination in 1052. He was the son of the Margrave Tedald and Willa of Bologna. The Lombard family's ancestral castle was Canossa and they had