IF THE small mounds in the image above brings to mind the mountains below, that鈥檚 deliberate. They have been arranged as a ghostly rebuke to their removal from the Apuan Alps in Tuscany, Italy.
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These mountains are the source of prized Carrara marble, the same pure white stone that was used to create Michelangelo鈥檚 David, as well as countless columns, floors and fireplace surrounds. The marble has been quarried for two millennia, but modern techniques are accelerating excavation, with the mountains disappearing before our eyes. There are now an estimated 800 quarries. 鈥淓very time I return to the Alps I see that a piece of them is missing,鈥� says Tuscan photographer Andrea Foligni, who took the images and juxtaposed them as part of a series.
The brutal excavation methods mean that, of the stone that is removed, only a quarter is used as decorative marble. The rest is ground into calcium carbonate (below), an ingredient in products such as medicines, cosmetics, food, paint, plastic and toothpaste (top).
Campaigners say the industry is mutilating beauty, full of unique flora and fauna. Part has been made into a national park, yet illegal quarrying continues even there. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not difficult to imagine that very little of these mountains will remain,鈥� says Foligni. 鈥淚s it really worth sacrificing an amazing landscape and unique ecosystem for profit?鈥�
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淢ountain mutilation鈥�
