Carrara is a Tuscan town that is famous worldwide for its marble and is the centre of the Apuan-Versilia marble trade.
Since Roman times, it has been where artists and architects from the world over have gone to source their marble, the likes of Michelangelo among them. Situated along the Ligurian Sea, in north-western Tuscany, it is a charming town that features the material it is so famous for in buildings throughout. A particular highlight is the Cathedral, or Duomo: with almost the entire exterior being covered in Carrara marble, it really is a perfect advertisement for the town's “white gold”.
Another, older church, once stood on the same site. The Ecclesia Sancti Andree de Carraria has records going back as early as 1035 but only a bas-relief remains of the original structure. Construction of the new building, also dedicated to St Andrew, began in the 11th century and was completed in the 14th century.