Colonnata

and his very delicious lardo

Colonnata is a small town built for marble workers, right near the dig sites. The name of the settlement is believed to derive from the Latin word columna, indicating the place where the marble columns were extracted to be sent to Rome.

The town perched 532 meters above sea level is situated at around 8 kilometres from Carrara and dates back to Roman times, when slaves had to work in the caves. The quarries of Colonnata are by far the most imposing of the Apuan area. Marble isn’t the only thing associated with this place, even though it is connected: the other one is the famous lardo di Colonnata (lard), a traditional salami made with pork lard seasoned in basins of Carrara marble. It has been awarded the IGP quality certification and is so special because of the storage and for its flavour: there is sea salt, ground black pepper, fresh rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves.