i899 H. WINWOOD— CARRARA QUARRIES 59 



The town of Carrara itself is most picturesquely 

 situated at the foot of the Apennines, whose various 

 summits form a fine background. The buildings are of 

 a superior class, as might be expected from the excellent 

 material so close at hand, especially the public buildings, 

 Duomo, theatre, schools, &.c. Two fine statues of 

 Garibaldi and Mazzini adorn the piazzas, and the west end 

 of the Duomo has a beautiful " Rota window." what we 

 should call a rose window. From the weathered appear- 

 ance of the outside one would not recognise its material, 

 until told that the box of the wheel and the spokes were 

 cut out of white marble. The inside, which was dimlv 

 lighted at the time of our visit, was a mass of marble of 

 various colours. 



The Apennines 



It may be well to give a short description of the range 

 of the Apennines. It is a continuation of the Maritime 

 Alps, striking off E.S.E. from Genoa towards the Adriatic 

 Sea. Trending then S.S.E., it runs down nearlv through 

 the centre of Italy, terminating in Italy's toe. Forming 

 the southern boundary of the great plain of North Italy, 

 the range is a watershed, the drainage flowing on the one 

 side into the Adriatic, and on the other into the Mediter- 

 ranean Sea. The summits of this range reach from 5000 

 to 6000 feet, so well described by Virgil — 



" Gaudet (que) nivali 

 " Vertice, se attoUens pater Apenninus ad auras." 



(^neid XII, 703.) 



Deep valleys and rugged ravines cut into the heart of 

 the mountains, thus making detached ranges and spurs, 

 especially on their southern slopes. One of these spurs, 

 dividing the valleys of the Macra and Serchio (Auser), 

 contains the celebrated marble quarries of Massa and 



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