Colonnata is a small town, which is situated 590 metres above sea level, a few kilometres far from Carrara. Colonnata is one of the many towns of the Apuan Alps’ area, inhabitated by the quarrymen, who, in the past, went working in the quarries on foot. Colonnata’s basin is probably – together with Torano and Miseglia ones - the most important of the region. Since the ancient times huge marble blocks were extracted from this area of the Alps.

Marble has undoubtedly made Colonnata famous, but thanks to its tasty “lardo”, the town has became a symbol of the high quality of italian gastronomy, known and estimeed all over the world. Originally it was defined as a simple and poor kind of salt pork, the typical food of quarrymen, who, working in the quarries for entire days without coming back home, needed an easily conservable food.The “Lardo of Colonnata” is said to be the best of the world because it is conserved in the most proper way. The pork fat is placed in different layers in a special marble basin, called “conca”, then salted and covered with spices as black pepper, cinnamon, clover, coriander, sage and rosemary and a little bit of garlic. The basins are closed with a marble slab. Marble is the ideal stone for this use: it is very rich of calcium and has particular features of transpiration and impermeability. After a 6 months seasoning, it is possible to eat the “lardo”, which is very sweet thought the great quantity of salt of its covering. It is usually served cut into thin slices as appetizer but it is possible to use it for a great number of recipies.

Colonnata is just a small town, but it is famous all over the world, thanks to this faboulous and genuine food.

Our advice is to take a break in Colonnata and have a snack with “Lardo” in one of the typical inns, where it is still possibile to breath the atmosphere of the past and to taste traditional and genuine flavours.

Sightseeing in Colonnata

• St.Bartolomeo Church, consecrated at the beginnig of the XII century, had been restored in the the nineteenth century. Particularly beautiful are the bas-reliefs under the belfry, probably of Longobard origin.
• Monument to the Quarryman (Monumento del Cavatore), work of the sculptor Sparapani, it is dedicated to the quarrymen of Colonnata and the neighbourhood, who had worked for years in the quarries and died in tragical accidents.

Walking in Colonnata

• A visit to the stunning marble quarries, crossed by the so called “ravaneti”, flows of marble rubbles, to see personally the instruments and work-places of quarrymen.
• Several tours are possible on the Apuan Alps. From the Mount Sagro, at an height of 1749 metres above sea, it is possible to see a charming view, which, in sunnny days, allows the tourist to see some islands of the Tyrrhenian sea as Capraia, Elba and even Corsica island.