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The origins of Marina di Carrara are linked to to the sea, and its roots should be sought in the ancient Roman colony of Luni.
Luni (which is today reduced to ruins) was the historical capital of Lunigiana. It became a Roman colony in 177 B.C., but in all probability already existed prior to the arrival of the Latian population. This colony was situated in a lagoon, which was used principally for the storage and loading of marble, although it also had a miltary function (at the time of the Punic Wars) as well as a commercial role, trading wine, olive oil, and cheese from Lunigiana. The golden era of the city lasted some 300 years, during which time marble from Luni was used on a massive scale, but whose utilisation began to decline with the crisis of the Roman Empire. When, subsequently, the lagoon dried out, malaria became widespread, and the port was moved elsewhere. The city disappeared from the map in 1204, when the Bishop of Luni officially transferred his seat to Sarzana .
The ´Port of Avenza´ from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era
The valley of
Carrara, certainly already populated in Roman times, acquired its raison
d´etre with the rebirth of the marble industry. The sea also regained
importance, and the inheritance of Luni was taken up by Avenza. Situated at the
mouth of the river which is today known as the Carrione, it was located on the
via Frangigena, from which departed a link road to Carrara; thereby placing it
at a strategic point for the trading of marble. The port consisted of little
more than a semi-enclosed area of water, which was perhaps the remains of the
lagoon or a coastal lake, where marble and a host of other goods, especially
wool, were loaded and unloaded. In 1204 this area was ceded by the Bishop to the
canons of St. Frediano in Lucca. At that time the sea came up as far as the port
and, to the east, entered even further ´inland´. Later the sea withdrew, and the
coastline was modified in the 1400s and the second half of the 1500s. In 1625
Avenza was at a distance of about 1200 metres from the sea.
The sovereign
Alberico I Malaspina set up the "Officium Marmoris" on the basis of which, the
lizzatori (those responsible for transporting marble) received a policy
which, if countersigned to attest to the delivery of the goods, would be
exchanged for money. Thus the traders in marble did not directly handle cash.
This office, set up in the second half of the century, was abolished as it drew
to a close. Furthermore, Alberico fortified Massa and Carrara, and also turned
his attention to the coast. He oversaw the reclamation of the swamps and, having
repopulated Avenza and the surrounding countryside, declared it exempt from
taxation. The town subsequently became a bulwark against sea raids and its fort,
in 1565, exploited cannon power to prevent a barbarian invasion. The marble
industry, which was in crisis towards the middle of the 1500s, subsequently took
off again in a consistent manner.
In the 1600s a
series of socio-economic phenomena led to the transformation of society, work,
the economy and the landscape, and were responsible for the rise of several
important families. A period of crisis followed in the marble sector. Trade
turned its attention to the production of quadrelle (square, two-coloured
marble tiles), which had already appeared in the 1600s, and were of great
benefit to local shipping.
The oldest stone buildings date back to this age. Many constructions on the beach served as wharehouses for tiles and balusters; materials which could easily be pilfered. The first religious building, the Chapel of St. Erasmus, was also erected. This continued to function until 1776. (St. Erasmus was the patron saint of navigators.)
In 1741, thanks to the marriage of Maria Teresa Cibo Malaspina and Ercole Rinaldo D´Este, Duke of Modena, the states of Massa Carrara and Modena were united. Amongst the public works that were carried out by the Estense family in our zone was an unsuccessful attempt to construct a mega-port. This did have the result, however, of a number of workers settling in the area. In a short time, the Duchess Maria Teresa organised a powerful shipping fleet, also thanks to Genoans (or others from the area) who sought work here. It was the Genoans who subsequently settled in the area around the port, which was then still somewhat desolate, and who, in 1776, substituted the Oratory of St. Erasmus with the Chapel of St. Joseph. The owners of the Cibo-Estense fleet, during the war of Austrian Cession (1748) took advantage of the neutraliy of Massa Carrara and Modena to indulge in smuggling. However, the sea was not yet safe from barbarian invasions, and thus a type of fort was constructed on the beach, although it was not really fit to perform its defensive role adequately. In 1795 an English vessel, which had been hit by the French, was grounded on our beach. The garrison of the fort helped the English to rescue their equipment. Later the port was damaged by fire. In 1796, the arrival of the French marked a moment of great change. Carrara was annexed by the Republic of Cispadana (and later by the Republic of Cisalpina), until 1806 when it became part, along with Massa, of the Duchy of Lucca, which in 1807 was reunited with the Kingdom of Etruria. The year after, the English spread terror in Marina di Avenza, thereby contributing to the end of the Avenza fleet. However, the populace continued to move to the area, until a permanent settlement was established. In this era bathing began to gain popularity, and, furthermore, a new fortress was constructed. In 1818 the French put down the base for the optical telegraph.
The return of
the Estense family, following the Restoration, was not viewed positively. The
marine barriers were reinforced and moved further out to sea. Two small forts
equipped with cannons were added to the two redoubts. In 1838 an urban plan was
approved, which established the layout of the town once and for all, leading to
the development of the quarter. 1845 witnessed a second attempt to construct a
port in the Marina di Avenza. In the first half of the 1800s the Fabbricotti
family, who were destined to play an important role in the history of Carrara,
began to gain prominence. In 1841 Domenico Andrea, who is considered the true
founder of the dynasty, launched the schooner St. Andrea, setting off the
resurgence of the marble fleet. 1848 had a profound effect on our zone, which,
after various changes in government, was returned to the control of the Duke of
Modena. In this period an industrialist called Walton set up a fleet and
subsequently constructed a landing stage. Thus the port was born. This had a
positive effect on the whole local population. Furthermore the population of
Marina di Avenza settled; mostly portuaioli (employees of the great
marble firms) and boscaioli (workers without a fixed position).
Construction of a new church began, and schooners, brigs and two-masted
sailing-boats with 20/25 sails began to inhabit the waters. Sadly, in 1854, the
sea also brought cholera, which led to the deaths of about 150 inhabitants.
From Italian Unification to the Construction of the Port
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The Risorgimento marked a great period of reprise for the marble sector. Marina was recognised as an urban area in its own right in 1861, and two more landing wharfs were constructed; the Binelli in 1874, and a second at the beginning of the 1900s. Work on the church finished in 1880, and the Society for Public Assistance was established in 1898. In 1920 construction of the port began to take place, and the size of the population grew rapidly. The seascape and landscape were transformed and the sailing-boats disappeared. Marina di Avenza became Marina di Carrara.
In order to gain more knowledge of themes connected to the development of the Apuan coast, we invited the Deputy Mayor of Carrara, Dr. Vannucci, to our school. He kindly accepted our invitation, and we would like to take this occasion to thank him for his helpfulness. This meeting provided us with the opportunity to know better the resources of our zone and to understand the future prospects for the territory.
We would like to sum up what we learnt, so as to inform our European friends regarding the prospectives for development in the Apuan zone.
Our territory is characterised by the presence of the coastline; by an urban centre, which has important appendages containing ruins of great historical and cultural value; and by mountains which, apart from hosting a considerable number of mountain villages, represent a source of wealth unrivalled anywhere in the world.
In our territory, in fact, you can find marble quarries which are unique in the world, given their height, quality and capacity. Our area is not just formed by the coastline, but rather is a zone which brings together the coast; the mountains with their quarries, which represent such an important part of our history; and the urban centre. Tourism should not be considered an element which brings together our territory, but rather as an element that integrates several territories, given that it is difficult to think of our Apuan coastline without considering its links with the coastlines of Massa, Versilia, and the Cinque Terre.
Whoever visits our territory should know that there is the seaside, should know that there is a historically important city centre, and should be made aware that the quarries of Carrara offer not only a marvellous cross-section of a landscape, but also one that is, above all, human and social in nature.
Tourism should not be just for holidaymakers, but also aimed at increasing knowledge of our territory.
Our Marina di Carrara is characterised by two major activities; the port and its bathing establishments. The port is destined to become even more important than it currently is. This will enable us to attract hoards of tourists, who must be catered for, without ignoring the sea and the coastline as a starting point.
The development element of greatest importance is the port. Currently, it is limited in its size and specialises in the transportation of marble; the reason for which it was constructed. It becomes necessary, therefore, to integrate the mercantile activity of the port with activity based around pleasure craft, offering a space for the building of such pleasure craft, but, above all, catering for those who see sailing as a means to get to know places that can also be reached by sea. Our maritime tradition, in fact, took as its point of departure the mercantile tradition, before subsequently developing, over recent years, the sporting tradition that is characterising Marina di Carrara.
The development of the port is a theme of great current importance. Our political representatives have managed to reach agreement with the administrations of neighbouring coastal areas regarding possibile development. Marina not only needs a new tourist port, but it should also be possibile to aument the mercantile port, so as to realise, through the construction of this infrastructure, an opportunity for the growth of our territory.
The nature of the population living in this zone is also one of the fundamental points that needs to be taken into consideration. With regard to the private bathing establishments present in our zone, you can note that they are frequented almost exclusively by local residents.
Thus, a further proposal that might serve to help tourism is the opening up of these establishments to the prospective of improving the accommodation and renewing the welcome reserved for tourists, by seeking a more direct contact with the customer. This might be achieved through the creation of small-scale structures such as ´bed and breakfast´ hotels, which are increasing in number thanks to the political decision to offer incentives to those wishing to start up such a business.
These are the things that stuck in our minds after the chat with the Deputy Mayor, who encouraged us to ask further questions should we have needed clarification and also invited us to visit him in the City Hall, so as to be ever up-to-date and thereby be more knowledgable about everything regarding our territory.
We are more than happy to accept the invitation!