Landscape Fragments: “The Iconic Example of Carrara Carved Landscape”. Studies and Research

Abstract

Marble quarries are fragments of the landscape where natural, urban, productive, and cultural dimensions coexist, encompassing both industrial archaeological sites and objects of artistic and material significance. In these contexts, traditional heritage protection tools often struggle to address the needs of local communities, due to the challenge of integrating the diverse tangible and intangible values inherent to quarrying heritage.

The CARVEland network’s research is based on a comparative study of three European marble basins – Carrara, Vila Viçosa, and Macael – selected as case studies representative of different production traditions and territorial structures. Grounded in a shared theoretical and regulatory framework, the project explores how quarrying activity drives transformations in the landscape, alongside associated social, economic, and cultural shifts.

This comparative analysis is complemented by a systematic study of the Carrara basin, including an examination of the current legislative framework, a critical review of relevant literature, and a semantic cataloguing of key concepts related to quarrying heritage. This approach allows for a layered and dynamic interpretation of quarry sites, where excavation, emptiness, context, and landscape are understood as components of an ongoing process of transformation and redefinition of cultural value.