Touring Florence and the rest of Italy, is for art-lovers. But while they are enjoying the richness of Italian history, modern artist are struggling for survival in Michelangelo’s favorite digging place: Carrara.
Visiting Carrara is like going back in time. Where right and left all the nearby cities and villages in Versilia entered the new century, Carrara seems to be anchored in the past, unable to move forward. This also contributes to her un-lacking charm, for those who value authenticity more then anything. No tourist shops for those who like to purchase gadgets (apart from some tourist’s stops visiting the marble quarries), a shortage of hotels, and then imagine this: the only one in town suffers a shortage of clients!. This is mainly due to her lacking services that failed to adapt to this new century. But nevertheless Hotel Michelangelo preserves a feeling of ancient glory, with her big leather sofa’s and dark rooms filled with art-works.
The streets are full of holes due to the constant passage of trucks loaded with marble blocks, thundering alongside the city center, impressing her visitors with the amount of marble that leaves the quarries. And even from Carrara center, you still have an ample view of her tortured mountains, whose outlines are continuously remodeled by the constant diggings, which are going on. In short: an experience to never forget!
But despite all these defects, or maybe because of them, Carrara is still crowded with artists, good and bad, some famous and others worth of fame getting by unnoticed, coming and going and camping out. You’ll find them having a drink at the bar ‘Fuori Porta’, or having lunch at the bistro ‘Nerina’.
A true art lover/collector should hang out over there and make contacts, visit the private studios and discover works of American artists like Manuel Neri and Robert Gove, just to name a few, or the Japanese section with Makiko Nakamura and Okata, not to mention the Belgians, Germans, and God knows how many other nationalities who are crowding the region. The only thing you’ll find in abundant quantities apart from the marble, is original art. That is if you know where to look. You’ll find it hidden beyond the huge and faltering production of commercial marble sculptures, destined to decorate cemeteries, churches and even the Vatican!
Do not allow the industrial feeling of Carrara to induce you to believe there is nothing to see. If you are coming by car, it only takes five minutes into the mountains to find breathtaking spectacles! Few places on this earth are blessed with such dramatic and rapidly changing scenes of nature. For lovers of the outdoors there are immensely beautiful walks at close range, from sea to mountain and beyond. And as long as you stay away from the coast, few other tourists to be found.
Photo of sculptor’s studio in Carrara, Italy, by g.sighele
Topic: General Travel |
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Tags: Art, Tuscany
About the author
Pazzi is a Belgian artist who has been living in Carrara, Italy, since 1990. In 2005, she won the first prize for Sculpture at the 1st Biennale di Genovarte in Genoa, Italy.
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