An Interactive History Book

Today started a bit later than previous days, due to some miscommunication, but that didn’t stop us from following the daily itinerary. After a brief breakfast of the usual delights of various croissants, yogurts, and fresh fruit, we headed out to our first activity of the day, the marble quarry.

Seeing the marble quarry on the itinerary, we tried to think of what could possibly be there for us to look at. Watching people dig isn’t exactly my idea of a morning activity. As we headed up the mountains, (the Apuan Alps, a part of the Appenine range) we encountered some scary roads on high, narrow streets. When we finally made it safely to the top, we piled into a few cars and entered the cave of the quarry. The inside was not what I had expected. It was pure marble (pictured above). Though it was cold, the beauty of the cave made it all worth it. One side of the cave could be used for parties, shows, and even concerts. No accidents have occurred within the quarry since it was carved in 1963. They attribute this miracle to a naturally occurring deformity found in the cave, a single rough patch in the middle of smooth marble shaped like the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus (pictured at the bottom). The story is that Mary and Jesus watch over the quarry workers throughout their work. The workers drew a religious nativity scene around the spot to preserve their blessing.

After making our way down the mountains, we went to the city of Pietrasanta for lunch. It was a quiet town with beautiful scenery and a mysterious umbrella road (pictured to the left). On the drive to our next activity, we bonded over learning a few verses of the Italian song “Ciao Mamma” by Jovanotti.

The next stop, Citadella di Carnevale, was a site to see. Here, floats are created for the Carnevale festival in the town of Viareggio. This year is the 144^th anniversary of the festival in this city. Artists develop ideas for elaborate floats and compete against each other. Chosen projects receive 120,000 euros and an eight-person staff to carry out the work (one of this years chosen floats pictured to the right). Floats are chosen in June and kept very secret until they are revealed in the festival in the days leading up to Mardi Gras (Martedí grasso in Italian). The Carnivale parade happens five times: twice Saturday, twice Sunday, and once on Mardi Gras. Any extra people dressing up on the float volunteer and must create an approved mask to participate. After Carnivale is over, they destroy the floats in September or sell them in pieces. The floats’ themes are usually related to controversial or political concepts. These were my favorite, as the guide went through each piece and told us the meaning behind the project. Floats are voted on to receive a champion title. For the people of Italy, it is more about the meaning and emotion evoked from the floats than just the appearance.

Each day here comes with more history and amazing stories. It’s like visiting an interactive history book. I look forward to getting to know more about the people and culture.

This post was written by Anyia Clayton, a sophomore from Indianapolis, Indiana. She is majoring in Speech, Language and Hearing Science and pursuing a minor in Law and Society.