🏭 Historical context
Marble extraction began around 1920, initiated by a Swiss industrialist named Bering, and continued until about 1970. Its green colour, with many shades, made it highly sought after and valued for floors, cladding and more.
👥 Work in the quarry
Around twenty men worked here on a permanent basis; every stage of the process demanded hard labour, considerable skill and experience.
⚙️ Cutting technique
Once the target block had been identified, vertical core drillings 6–8 metres deep and horizontal ones of about 5 metres were made. Steel cables and pulleys were then inserted into these cuts which, together with very fine quartz sand and water, gradually eroded the rock. The water both carried the sand forward and cooled the steel cable.
🚚 Transport and destinations
Once cut, the piece was secured with strong cables and slid down a track of roughly 700–800 metres to the yard, where it could be loaded onto a lorry and taken to the workshops in Massa Carrara – before being sold on markets in Egypt, Lebanon, Germany and the United States.