Colonnata, borgo del marmo e del Lardo IGP

Colonnata is a marble-quarrying village in the Apuan Alps above Carrara. Its close connection to the surrounding quarries shaped both its stone-built setting and the local tradition of curing lardo in marble basins.

Why it matters

The village's quarrying history is inseparable from its food culture. Lardo di Colonnata, once a sustaining food for quarry workers, is now protected as an IGP product. The traditional method uses back fat cured in marble basins, linking the area's geology with its culinary heritage.

What to notice

The village retains a compact medieval layout of narrow lanes, with quarry faces close to its houses. The Monumento al cavatore, made by Alberto Sparapani in 1983, depicts stages of quarry work. A later monument by Henri Beaufour depicts a pig. The parish church of San Bartolomeo, documented from the twelfth century, preserves works including sculptures attributed to Andrea Guardi.

Context and history

Marble has been quarried in the Apuan Alps since antiquity. In Colonnata, lardo was traditionally layered with salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic in basins carved from single blocks of marble and matured for at least six months. The tale that Michelangelo sourced lardo here is a popular legend rather than documented history.