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Old Town Centre at Carrara, Tuscany

Fine Art Academy – Carrara Malaspina Castle (XI sec.)
The old castle of Carrara meant autonomy for the town from the rule of the Bishops of Luni. In fact, in the thirteenth century the laymen of the town reorganized the military defences, and fortified the Rocca. Subsequent transformations turned the Fortress into a splendid seigneurial residence, next to the Palace of the Prince Alberico Cybo-Malaspina (16th century). This building became the seat of the Fine Art Academy in 1805.
The palazzo of the Academy stands on the piazza, having the same name, and the facade has a prevalent baroque seventeenth century style, large windows and a big portal decorated with many marble inserts.
Info: only the exterior can be visited.

Il Duomo di Carrara (11th century)
The pieve di Sant'Andrea Apostolo, around which the town of Carrara developed, is mentioned for the first time in a notary’s deed dated 1035. It is built entirely of marble, and was realized in several phases. Some sculptures and the portal with the capitals remain from the original building which was built at the end of the eleventh century.

This was followed by a second phase of construction (around the middle of the 12th century) in Romanesque style, evidence of which can be seen in the internal colonnade and in the lower parts of the façade and side walls. The top part of the facade, with the fine portico with stepped arches and the impressive rosette, is Gothic (second half of the fourteenth century). The rectangular layout with a semicircular apse has three naves. The central nave is significantly higher and has a trussed roof, while the lateral naves have cross vaults. The interior is very picturesque, with roof arches on columns with a variety of capitals, rich with marble and prestigious works.

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