What does marble tell us?
Marble speaks to us, it conveys emotions and it raises our awareness. It does so, while we admire it in the magnificent form of a block, or in contemporary architectural works and in historical monuments.
It is with this purpose that “Essere Marmo”, the Carrara marble sustainability Manifesto, was conceived. It is a project promoted by Carrara Marble Way and curated by Italia Circolare in partnership with Confindustria Livorno Massa Carrara and Fondazione Marmo Onlus.
This project stems from the awareness that Carrara marble, with its beauty and its materiality, have always created value for Carrara, not only generating allied activities of world importance but also a culture and a tradition that are essential to plan the future and live the present with full knowledge of the facts. It is necessary to lower the environmental impact of marble as much as possible, to reduce waste, to incrinsingly qualify the dedicated work, to innovate and to do research. These are the imperatives that cannot be left out and the Manifesto represents the concrete commitment of an entire sector and of a community that values those aspects mentioned above, which univocally come from various community.
The Carrara marble Manifesto is a document that goes into ten key points regarding the relationship among marble, its community and Carrara.
It tells a very old story, it defines the contours of a tradition and culture and it offers a vision to plan a future ethically possible and sustainabe for marble.
The first reflection point of the Manifesto is ” Marble narrates”.
So let us go back to the initial question: what does marble tell us? It tells us the incredible journey of the man that was able to recognise the original beauty of this natural stone and a potential so high as to make it become the best companion on many journeys taken over the centuries through art and architecture.
These journeys have now taken the appearance of the many signs witnessing the universal beauty of marble all over the world and its deep historical bond with man, his creativity and hand.
It is true: marble speaks many different languages, but its ability to represent the eternal and absolute beauty that we call perfection is unique and unrepeatable. It is a perfection that does not exclude the effort and hard work, but somehow celebrates them and makes them sacred.
Therefore, we must listen, learn to understand, and recognise the story that marble tells us everyday and everytime we see it: the narrative of a winning combination of a material and a city, of nature and humanity.
It is a fascinating story that never tires, a model of excellence that is enriched with important meaning and significant details.
