Marble & Versilia

	"Historic" Versilia has been for centuries the "natural route" of the marble from mountains to sea: from the Apuan Alps quarries near Stazzema and Seravezza. The marble arrived at Pietrasanta, where it was worked, and the rough or polished marble was embarked in Forte dei Marmi in direction of the remote countries.
	The history dof this region is also the history of the marble and the development of the techniques of extraction and work. Today the new cutting equipment allows extracting a marble block in 3-4 days, while before it was necessary more than a month to quarry the same block. Also the cut of the block into slabs (picture above) is currently executed with machinery which realizes a single cut in approximately 2-3 hours, depending on size.
	The work Until 40 years ago, there were some indispensable, but extremely dangerous, trades that are now disappeared. "Lizzatori" for example, teams of workers who manually tied the marble blocks with hemp ropes, placed them on soapy wooden beams and guided the marble down the mountain.
	Pietrasanta is the centre of the artistic carving of the marble and there Michelangelo lived when went to get the choicest marble in the quarries. And still today the Michelangelo's idea of "freeing" the statue from the marble blocks is follow by artisans and artists in the Pietrasanta workshops.
	Today the ships do not sail from Forte dei Marmi, but if you walk along the wharf and turn back, you will understand the enchantment of this country.